Death Of A Salesman's Hatred

Hatred is the driving force of the play in the sense that it is a result of the constant competition that is essential to the success in the field of sales. The importance of being on the winning side of sales competition is shown by the rewards and punishment system Williamson establishes in the four person company: the number one salesman gets a new Cadillac and the bottom two are fired. The luxurious reward in concert with drastic consequences shows the true extremities of the risk and rewards system in sales and creates an environment centered entirely on competition and hostility. Each of the conflicts presented between the characters are a result of each character’s desperate need to either make a sale or to somehow overcome the current situation of …show more content…
When working in a sales firm, one doesn’t necessarily have to hate their co-workers or boss. However, there is that understood notion that each person is in competition with one another, and that teamwork and unity is not going to provide the sales revenue as individual competition would. This results in people adopting different methods of selling things in order to maximize the rate of success, and each person does so differently, as seen in the play. However, when these methods conflict with each other, or someone’s strategy is far more successful than other’s, jealousy is an inevitable consequence among colleagues. Additionally, people with careers in sales typically adopt a personality different than their own, as certain characteristics are imperative to convincing clientele, however this often carries over into daily life and people’s authenticity is questionable in the workplace. Although this is not hatred it still creates distance, and perhaps pure hatred is not always present among sales colleagues, but the complete acceptance and appreciation for one another is rare and simply unnecessary given the design of the