Dysfunctional Family In Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller

“Death of a Salesman” is one of the most important plays in Twentieth Century American Theatre. Arthur Miller creates tragedies that are easily relatable for Americans. For instance, his play “Death of a Salesman” uses the idea of a dysfunctional family through out to support its plot. The play is centered around its protagonist, Willy Loman. Willy is a salesman, but also an old man, and from the title of the play the readers of the play can easily conclude what happens to him by the end of the play. Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” is a story of business, family, and life, all revolving around Willy Loman. In “Death of a Salesman” Arthur Miller recreates the American economy in the play as a large obstacle for Willy Loman. The protagonist …show more content…
Willy is the father and husband that is trying to support his family, not so much his sons, but his wife, Linda, and paying off so many bills a week. He doesn’t have the best relationship with either of his sons. Form the flashbacks Willy has, the readers can see that he was very fond of Biff when he was young, but he never paid much attention to Happy, even though Hap tried to get his attention quite often. At the present time of the storyline, it becomes clear that Biff doesn’t get along well with his father, but readers later realize that Biff knows something about Willy that no one else in the family does. Happy is Biff’s support in the family, he’s what keeps Biff sane while he’s home to visit. Linda is the glue of the family, she’s the only support Willy has left and the only reason her sons come back home. The Loman family in “Death of a Salesman” is a typical American family with its little …show more content…
All the things in this play are like lessons of life or at least things that relate to life. Such as growing up, commitment issues, financial struggles, and growing old. Biff and Happy are both still growing up even though they are older. Happy is more settled than Biff is as far as work because Biff won’t commit to anything too serious. The financial struggles that the Loman family goes through relates to those that families can go through in reality. Also, commitment issues can address to relationship issues as far as marriage goes with staying faithful. Growing old is a key conflict in “Death of a Salesman” because the play revolves around Willy Loman, who is an old man now. His life is falling apart in ways that he cannot help, like talking to himself, not even to himself, but hallucinating. Miller shows his readers the struggles of life through steps, using Willy’s life to do