Dawn Light in the Darkness： Thematic Interpretation of Death of a Salesman

1 Ending in Tragedy

It is universally acknowledged that Arthur Miller’s play， Death of a Salesman， is a tragedy. The reasons that lead to the tragic ending may be divided into two parts in this essay. One is individual experience， the other is social environment.

1.1 Willy Loman’s self-contradiction

From the very beginning， the main character， Willy Loman， enters to confront readers in all his exhaustion and terror. Willy is a salesman in his sixties. It is impossible for him to sell out his goods with the increasing age. Whereas he still cherishes the ambitious ideals. Since he was young， he has been always dreaming of being a successful person with money and social status as well as Ben， his first idol， who starts from scratch， suffers a lot and sets up his business because of diamond. His second idol is Dave Singleman， also a salesman in his eighties. To young Willy’s surprise， Singleman could still promote his products at this age. Willy’s father is his third idol， because his father supported the whole family in his childhood. Now this mission belongs to him. Many years past， he still remains in distress due to his self-contradiction. These can be seen in the dialogue between Willy and his family. At the very start， Biff， Willy’s elder son， comes back home after finishing a long， fruitless job on a western farm. When Willy and his wife， Linda， talk about Biff， Willy ascribes Biff’s failure to his laziness， but he denies his words right now with his new thought. There is another scene in which Biff’s classmate Bernard reminds Willy of Biff’s math test. For Bernard points out Biff’s shortcoming， Willy is mad with Bernard and drives him away. In fact， Willy is clear about Biff’s situation and ability， but he refuses to accept. It has kind of inconsistency. Then Willy always worships that being ‘well-liked’ and having a personal attractiveness can bring success. He preaches this belief to his sons， especially Biff. However， from this play， it is clear that Willy is a fractious person. He is easy to be angry and can not do anything to control his fury. In the Act Two， even when he talks to his new boss， he fails to control his temper， although he has promised Linda that he would solve his trouble peacefully. He always boasts his popularity and ‘well-liked’， while the reality is on the reverse side. His self-contradiction leads to his failure and disappointment.

1.2 Social circumstances

Willy Loman’s failure also concerns American society. This essay mainly talks about the indifference in capitalist country. Willy is a victim of cruel competition and material society. Willy trusts American myth with the naivety of a child and accepts American social values uncritically. He is told that everybody who works hard can get success， regardless of the limits of his ability and social convention. Willy has devoted all his energy， love to his work， whereas he is still fired by his new and young boss ，Howard Wagner， whose name is given by Willy， because of his increasing age. In Act Two， Willy tries to persuade Howard to assure him of the basic commission and he makes a decision that he would rather not travel any more. Howard says “I could understand that， Willy. But you’re a roadman， Willy， and we do a road business. We’ve only got a half-dozen salesmen on the floor here.” In his world， if someone is useless for company to make a profit， he should find another one to instead. Filled with anger， Willy speaks out his real thought “I put thirty-four years into this firm， Howard， and now I can’t pay my insurance！ You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away — a man is not a piece of fruit！” It impressed me a lot. Willy’s complaint towards Howard， even towards society shows in these words. The disillusionment of his beliefs and dismissal urge him to choice “death”.

2. Sowing hope

Besides the tragic ending， this play contains the hope. In the play， Willy often talks of happier days when there are more light and air and they can grow flowers and vegetables. In Act One， when Willy hears that his two boys plan to go out to ask Oliver for some financial help， he feels happy and hopeful. He says， “There is no question， no question at all. Gee， on the way home tonight I’d like to buy some seeds.” Here seeds may symbolize hope. Nearly at the end of this play， Willy buys some seeds to sow in the darkness. At that time， Willy has decided to suicide. Actually， Arthur Miller may convey an implication that Willy wants to leave the hope to his family. The darkness symbolizes their present situation. These seeds will grow into the green plants， though they live in the darkness. At the same time， hope and fortune also come to his family. Furthermore， Biff begins to realize something wrong with his father’s life creeds and values at the funeral. He says， “He had the wrong dreams. All， all， wrong.” “He never knew who he was.” This means Biff starts to query Willy’s life and his dream. It is the first step for him to separate himself from his father’s belief and to rethink his life. Even now he does not find who he is， future is full of hope.

3 Conclusion

As a realistic Playwright， Arthur Miller not only shows a vivid， authentic picture of the common people’s life in American society， but also reveals the hypocrisy of American dream， the confusion of the common people and the callousness of the business world by depicting tragedy of the Lomans. Willy seeks for his place in the world and preaches his beliefs to his boys， but he does not get anything what he wants. It can be supposed that Miller also expect a hopeful future， and he may plant hope at the end of the play. For his part， Willy’s tragedy should not be passed. Biff and Happy should have their own life and make their decisions freely. In a word， Death of a Salesman， the most impressive play， has its own tragic sprit and also has a glimmering future.