Death of a SalesmanBy: Arthur Miller

Presentation by: Natalie Sanchez

Is the main character one that

teenagers today can relate to?

Willy Loman lives his entire life as a salesman, going after the

American dream and believing that he will one day run a successful

company. He never achieves this goal, and as he gets older, his

mental health deteriorates making it impossible for him to run a

country. Considering most teenagers have barely entered the

workforce and don’t know much about a failed career, I don’t think

Willy is a relatable character for most teenagers. I do think,

however, that his son, Biff, is a relatable character. Biff was a star

in high school, but fails math and doesn’t graduate. With no clear

direction in life, Biff never succeeds in the work force and ends up

back at his parent’s house with no money or a job. I think most

teenagers can relate to not knowing what to do after high school; a

lot of teenagers fear not finding a job that they’ll be happy with for

the rest of their lives.

Important Issues/Images

• Mental Health

• Personal failure

Willy’s mental health has obviously deteriorated, but his family

refuses to acknowledge that he has become sick. Biff and

Happy pretend that their father doesn’t need help or care.

They are careless with him. Willy’s wife, Linda, sees that

he is sick, but allows him to continue his independent

lifestyle because it is all the family has ever known.

There is a lot of failure in this story. Willy doesn’t advance in

the workplace and begins working for only commission.

Considering Willy’s dream was to one day run the company

and be rich, this is a personal failure. Similarly, Biff fails

at finding a job and sticking to it. Happy, claiming throughout

the story that he has a successful job, doesn’t have an

assistant buyer job either. None of the characters know

how to accept failure and move on towards a brighter future.

They all stay in their permanent ruts.

Stockings:

Symbols

In the story, Willy gets very angry with his

wife for attending to her stockings

The stockings represent Willy’s guilt

for having an affair with his wife. The

woman he cheated on her with wore

stockings, and when he sees his wife with

stockings, it makes him remember his

infidelity.

Rubber Hose:Willy attaches a rubber hose to his gas line.

While they never say exactly what he was

using it for, the rubber hose is obviously

a symbol of his numerous attempts at

suicide. It also foreshadows Willy’s suicide

at the end of the story.

Seeds:Towards the end of the story, Willy becomes

obsessed with going to purchase seeds.

This occurs after he looses his job being

a salesman, and he realizes he can no longer

put food on the table. I believe that the seeds

are a symbol of Willy’s want to provide for his family

and prove to them that after so many years of work,

he has something to show for himself.

Purpose• What you sacrifice for success:

Willy, in pursuit of the American dream, makes

poor decisions throughout his life. He spends a

majority of his life traveling, away from home without

his family. He sacrifices spending time with his family

for his job. He chooses affairs over working on his

relationship with his wife that he so often doesn’t see.

He sacrifices once in a lifetime opportunities, like when

he rejects traveling to Alaska with his brother. Lastly, he

sacrifices his mental health by making his happiness

so dependent on a job that isn’t working out. I think this

story shows that while success is important, if you give

up on life opportunities and give up your responsibilities,

you’ll end up with life long regrets.