Arthur Miller has expressed his social concerns in each of his work from his first play to Death of a Salesman. His life experience in Depression are also present in many of his works.
It is the Depression which influenced Miller’s sense a person’s self and towards society. This in turn influenced his words. These ideas are expressed best in Death of A Salesman. The play was initially named “Inside His Head”, and it captures in whole the idea of society which Miller had in mind. The expression of his idea then gave him Pulitzer prize in 1949. It is also known as his masterpiece.
The main character in this play is Willy Loman, who wants to become successful and respected in society, not knowing that society in itself is unstable just as Willy is. He choose popularity and material as his choice of things to purse, which eventually brought him to his downfall. At his age of 63, he then faces destruction and retirement.
Throughout the play, Willy argues that he is a reputable businessman, honorable husband and good father, however, he still cannot face the facts that his own life is falling apart. He can no longer control his own thoughts, and evident from the car which he always allows to slip from the road. He also cannot pay off his bills, his sales keep dropping, while his sons seem not be successful.
Willy is the idea of today’s “ordinary man” which is a modern day tragic hero. He does not have a dragon to slay, but has to face challenges in society such as failure, instability, and getting used to being rejected. He asks himself why he is always contradicted while not seeing that it is his own life that is full of contradictions.
His car then changes from a fine vehicle to becoming a total junk, while he also face the fact that he talks a lot is overweight and not attractive, still, he argues on his gifted persuasion skills and his ability to please others.
In the final act, Willy was shown to be a tragic hero. He steered his car off the road and finalizes with many avoided suicide attempts. Still, Willy believed that money given by the insurance company from a suicide will make him be a sufficient provider of his family. It is therefore the real picture of how an ordinary man tries to struggle in society and how society views such man.
Tags: Arthur Miller, Broadway. Theatre, Death of A Salesman, Musical, Review