Themes of a salesman

     Arthur Miller in particular, as a playwright, fills his plays with dramatic themes that are not only inspiring, but also all the more compelling for their accurate interpretation of the real world. One such theme is that "A man who blindly follows a dream is blind to its consequences". Willy Loman desperately wants to be a successful businessman, and he wants his sons to follow successfully in his footsteps. He devotes himself utterly to this dream, and won't accept that any of the shortcomings of the Loman household are consequences of his failure at achieving his dream. Willy blames Biff and Happy for the way that they turned out, and comments that it wasn't his own fault. Perhaps if he recognized that there were other ways to achieve success, he'd be more open to the consequences of his own path.
     Another apparent theme in this play is that "When you fail to see your own failures, you cannot fix them".  Willy's problem is that he is a failure in business, and his sons have sunk into his footsteps. Willy is so focused on being a successful businessman, that he doesn't realize, that at this point in life, he has already failed, and his failure to take corrective action is creating a stagnation that has spread to Biff and Happy. Willy has no idea why things are going wrong in his life, so he cannot fix them himself.
     Yet another theme in Death of a Salesman is that "In order to inspire greatness in others, you must first become great yourself". This essentially is the idea of "put your money where your mouth is" or else not being a hypocrite. Willy tells his son's to achieve success and to be role models, but at the same time he encourages them to steal, and he has an affair which destroys his credibility in Biff's eyes. If Willy had not had the affair, Biff may have become a success after all.

Death of a Salesman

      Willy, as a father, tries to teach his son's the value of hard work. Happy and Biff have become accustomed to chores. They are immediately ready to carry things for their mother, hang the laundry, and there was also the time where they cut lumber to sell. He impresses upon them how other people such as Ben became successful and rich just through hard work.
      It may do Happy and Biff some good to learn these values, as it makes them more helpful and prepared to work hard. It doesn't however, give them what they really need. Willy should instead, or at least additionally, be teaching them ways to enjoy life. He should be providing them with an outlook that will inspire them to work hard at something they enjoy, rather than something that makes money. By depriving them of this kind of childhood, he seems to have inadvertently caused Happy and Biff to try and hold on to childhood through parties and nights at the bar, when they should be beginning their lives.





      Willy, as a character is very inconsistent in his perspectives. The contradictory statements may indicate that he's confused or stressed, but they also reveal that Willy doesn't seem to have to the full scope of his cognitive faculties. He doesn't seem to know what he believes anymore. His job has worn him down after all these years, and his warped perspective on what a person's life should be like has down ridden the quality of his own.
       Linda, as it turns out, has a very interesting character throughout all of this. Though people rarely talk to her, provides the household with morals. She tries to stop the boxing match that Willy is egging on, and she tells Biff to return the stolen football. She, in a way, holds the household together while Willy is tossing around orders and contradictory statements. On the other hand however, she covers for Willy's failures and ineptitudes. She is aware that there is something going wrong with Willy, but she does not take action. This may cause him harm if he continues to deteriorate throughout the play.