Reality & Illusion in Death of a Salesman

Willy's failure in the business world has caused him to live a life of deceit because he does not want his two sons or wife to know how unsuccessful he really is. He has worked hard all his life and believes he has nothing to show for it, not just material success, but also respect and love. His wife Linda is the one exception. Willy also cannot admit his failure to himself, and so he practices self-deceit. During the course of the play, Willy is more and more possessed by illusions and hallucinations, so much so that it almost seems like the beginning of dementia, or at least a nervous breakdown. Even after he loses his job, he cannot admit that his idealization of the success promised by the American dream is wrong. He forces his dream on his sons, Biff and Happy, especially Biff. Willy believes he can overcome the forces leveled against him by the success of Biff. But Biff has come to see that the promise of the American Dream is false. He pleads

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f, now 34, was a star high school athlete for whom his father had high hopes and plans, but BiffÆs life has been a series of failures. After witnessing his father having an affair with another woman, BiffÆs life disintegrates; by playÆs end, however, he is able to start putting his life in order. Happy, BiffÆs youngest son, has achieved a small measure of success in his career and life. While he seems happy, he has not achieved true contentment because he has never taken risks or strived for greater success. By playÆs end, he decides to follow in his fatherÆs footsteps rather than go off with Biff to start over. The major dramatic conflict of the play is between Willy and Biff. When the play opens, an old and tired Willy has come to realize that he is not even able to make the few sales he used to be able to make. His new boss, Howard Wagner, the son of WillyÆs longtime former boss, has put Willy on straight commission so that Willy has very little money coming in. Howard, with his interest in new technology is a symbol of the future, while WillyÆs attitude symbolizes the past. In the opening early morning scene, Willy returns home carrying two sample cases, and his wife, thinking he has had a car accident, gets out of bed t
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Approximate Word count = 1288
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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