Death Of A Salesman Literary Analysis

Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” portrays the story of Willy Loman, a struggling salesman, who tries to provide economic security for his family. His pursuit of success affect his family, and especially his drive to make his two sons, Happy and Biff, to follow his footsteps to become businessmen. The concept of the American dream corrupted Willy’s common sense, which eventually caused his suicide, that preserved his idea of success by taking it to the grave. According to the “Oxford English Dictionary,” requiem defined as “a mass said or sung for the repose of the soul of a dead person” (OED, web). Therefore, in this paper I will argue that the function of the requiem and the literary device which takes the form of the juxtaposition of …show more content…
But he declined Ben’s offer in order to pursuit the dream of being a successful salesman, with the acknowledgment that if he went with Ben “everything would've been totally different” (I, 1079). From this statement one can understand that Willy is aware of his mistake, but he still tries to persuade himself and Ben that “selling” in the cement jungle of Brooklyn is the same as Ben’s jungle (I, 1080). The rhetoric effect of the juxtaposition in the requiem helps to make sense of Willy’s attitude. Miller placing the characters of Charley and Ben side by side as contrast of ideas make one wonder and perhaps understand Willy’s character. Biff, who is the only Loman who comes to realization with himself that he finally “know[s] who [he] [is],” declares that his father had “the wrong dreams” all along (1106). From this statement one still cannot understand why Willy had the wrong dreams, and why he kept pursuing them rigorously. Then, Miller juxtaposes Biff’s idea of Willy having the …show more content…
“Death of a Salesman.” The Bedford Introduction to Drama 6th Edition. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford, 2009. 1070-1106. Print.
"requiem, n.1." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2015. Web. 26 June