Explain what you consider to be the message of 'Death of a Salesman', explain how and why Miller conveys that message
My interpretation of the message within 'Death of a salesman' is that the play makes a mockery of the American Dream, American society and of the capitalist insanity of these times. Also it highlights parts of life and raises issues that are still relevant today such as lack of work, affairs and family life. We receive the message for the most part through Willy Loman and the Loman family; Willy is the epitome of a failed attempt to infiltrate the materialistic and money-orientated ideas of capitalist America in the 1940s.
He wants to have the latest gadget or white appliance for his home to display his 'wealth' even if it's all paid for on credit. Willy, by setting his life up to achieving this possession filled lifestyle, realises that after his 35 or so years of being a good salesman he is old, unknown, off salary and now can't afford to keep up with payments on the house, the car or fridge.
Arthur Miller, American playwright
Arthur Miller in Washington Square Park. The photo...
English: , Republican representative from Nebraska...Like so many other Americans hoping to achieve the same vision of success, after working hard all his life he seems to have failed.
To be someone in American society during the 1940s you had to own everything. Your significance in society didn't depend on your honesty, ability to work hard or your decency. Instead it was calculated by your rising bank balance, the size of your house and vitally, the number of expensive things that filled your house. America in the early 1940s was still recovering from the depression and was dominated by the drive to accumulate the money and material wealth that couldn't be found a few years before.
The play shows us that this...