Summary and analysis of Death of a Salesman

Author: DOS was written by the American playwright, Arthur Miller. He also wrote other well known plays such as "The Crucible" and "All My Sons". Also...he was married to Marylin Monroe!

Setting: Late 1940's, with day dreams into Willy's past. The whole play takes place in a 24 hour period, except for the requiem, which is a few days after. It takes place in Brooklyn, and places he visits, like Boston.

Plot: Starts off with Willy Loman the Salesman, home from a trip. He complains to Linda that Biff is home and has done nothing with his life. His two sons (Biff and Happy) are upstairs talking. Throughout the play, Willy recalls times with his family in the past. (Ex. the family before Biff's big football game in high school, or when Biff walked in on Willy cheating on his wife, Linda.) Willy asks his boss if he can work as a salesman here in town, and he ends up being fired. Willy goes to visit Charley, and after asking him for more money to pay his bills that usual, he admits he was fired, and Charley offers Willy a job. Willy says no. Linda finds something in the basement with the gas pipes which leads her to believe Willy is thinking of committing suicide. Linda blames Biff and Biff tells Willy and Linda he will leave and never come back. Willy finds that the family will get 20,000 dollars of insurance money if he dies. Willy is found trying to play seeds in the backyard where there is no hope of them growing. Ben discusses the jungle with him. Willy kills himself in the end and the characters stand at his funeral for the requiem. No one but the family shows up for the funeral.

Characters:

Willy Loman: Willy never achieves this full self-actualization that the play seems to lead up to, which definitely relates to Miller's definition of tragedy. Willy is essentially a failure in all areas of his life. He was fired from a job he had worked at his whole life, he had an affair with a woman behind his wife's back, and his relationships with his children are certainly no where near healthy. Willy continues to have hope, as we see him planting seeds in his backyard, and fixing up the house. Willy has numerous flashbacks throughout the play, and we see him in anguish over his poor decisions in the past, and also reminiscing about happier times.

Linda Loman: Linda is Willy's wife. They're very close, and she often acts like a mother to him, persistently serving him milk or manipulating the family to ease his stress. She finds a pipe in the basement that she believes is his attempt at suicide, but refuses to bring this up to him. She blames Biff for Willy's unhappiness.

Biff Loman: Willy's first and favorite son. He was very popular in highschool, and preffered football over doing his schoolwork, and eventually ended up not graduating because he failed his math class. He likes to work with his hands and has a problem with stealing.  

Happy Loman: The younger of the two sons who seeks attention from his parents but is often ignored. He is very similar to his father.

Ben: Willy's older brother. Willy admires and looks up to him, and constantly asks for his advice. Ben is very successful and speaks of "the jungle". He is what Willy was constantly striving to be but never accomplished. 

Charley: Successful businessman and neighbor to the Lomans who is always trying to help Willy, although Willy always denies it. He even tries to offer him a job.

Bernard: Charlies son and Biff's foil. A nerd in highschool, bernard eventually becomes a very happy, successful man with whom Willy catches up with when Biff is back in town.

Tone and Style: The tone is somewhat pessimistic. There is such a lack of bright, happy experiences from characters in the play that the tone comes of sort of dark and depressing. Miller did a wonderful job however, in creating strong characters that make it something easy to reread.

Point of veiw: I think Miller's point of view is probably most shown through the character of Biff, who seemed to be the only one to actually learn something from the events of the play and from his father's death. He recognizes now that the American Dream and what his father strode for all his life are not necessarily good things.

Symbolism:
The Garden/Growth: Willy continually tries to plant seeds in the garden of his backyard throughout the play, which could be a symbol for the efforts he puts into his work and into fulfilling the American Dream. The buildings around his house have grown so tall that there is too much shade to grow anything at all, but Willy continues to try anyway.

Quotes:

"After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive."-Willy
This is one of my favorite quotes of the play that seems to sum it all up quite nicely. Willy worked at the firm his whole life, and when they let him go he had nothing, and wasn't even happy. This is what he got for trying to hold on to the American Dream.
“Because sometimes I’m afraid that I’m not teaching them the right kind of….. Ben, how should I teach them?” – Willy.
Willy is constantly questioning himself around Ben, wondering if he's doing things right or not.

Theme: Simply: the American dream
Willy thinks that being "well-liked" is the most important thing, and this superficial way of thinking ultimately leads to his unhappiness and suicide.