Study Notes On Death Of A Salesman

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade September 2001

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SYMBOLISM / IMAGERY · Willy symbolizes the common man · Biffís football game = a symbol of success for the future to Willy · Ben represents all that Willy wishes the boys to be, yet his actions in the past are not firmly established. He is, for Willy, a symbol of all that is ëgood in the land of opportunityí · The garden is symbolic of Willy needing to leave something behind for people to remember him by.

SOCIETY · consumer society à pressures of advertising persuade people to acquire goods and to do so by paying for them by installments · money defines success: people are judged by the amount they acquire, and the amount of success is linked with the amount of money they have.

- that is why Willy feels he has to succeed, and the only way to show his success is to acquire money and material goods.

· Willyís America à land of opportunity in which ambition young people like Biff can accomplish great things · Real Americaà although it still may be the land of opportunity, it seems to have acquired a new set of values · countryside is different from modern consumer society: the structure of society there is much simpler and differentÖit is an image of an older America · Willy feels that he has to be within societyÖyet looks back to a golden age when life was simpler.

· Society in which the Lomans live is governed by people like Ben-ruthless managers who care little for the opinions of others, and in such a society the Lomans, although they only occasionally realize it, are out of place.

· There are many forms of failure as well as success that are spawned by our American system. The Lomans are all an...