Short on symbolism in Miller's drama "Death of a salesman"

Essay by Roland StoneUniversity, Bachelor'sB, April 1997

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Many symbols are incorporated into the play 'Death of a Sales man' and

they in turn relate to both character and theme. The hose, tape recorder

and the seeds are some of these symbols.

The hose in Miller's drama directly relates to the theme of death.

The hose is a line attached to the gas main in Willy's house which allows

him to snif f the gas. This action can be seen as Willy's suicide wish, and

escape from the realities of life. As seen in the loss of his job and his

failure to succeed. The hose also represents grief and deception. For when

Linda, Willy's wife, finds the hose, she is distraught over its in tended

purpose. The deceptive nature of the hose is apparent when Willy is

confronted about it by Biff his son and Willy denies its existence. A

similar denial is also evident when Willy is confronted with the tape

recorder in Howard's office.

The tape recorder signifies the change in Willy's life throug h the

advancement of technology. It also represents the end of Willy's career.

This is brought about when Howard, Willy's boss and godson, shows the tape

recorder to Willy and appe ars to be more interested in the sound and

technology of the machine instead of Willy, who i s fighting for his job.

Howard no longer need s Willy's services and without concern fires him.

This , to Willy, was like, 'eating the orange and throwing away the peel'.

However, Willy is partly to blame, as he does not accept change and wants

to remain in the pas t. This is foreshadowed in the scene where Willy is

left alone with the tape recorder and is unable to shut it off. Willy

believes in using his old techniques...