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The reader is made aware of past dreams and present failure through this device. The action moves between the present and the past. Miller highlights the pathos of the Loman’s failure by inserting a series of flashbacks into Act I. Happy, although more successful than his father and brother, is a philanderer and admits, “I’m Lonely.” The American Dream is a mirage for all the Loman men. Biff tells his brother, “Hap, the trouble is we weren’t brought up to grub for money” (1270). Biff too has “Lotta dreams and plans” (1268) but is unable to survive the cut-throat competition of the business world.
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He also regrets not going to Alaska with his brother. He is ‘boxed in’ in a crowded neighborhood of apartments and feels stifled. The man who once believed in the promise of America, where “The greatest things can happen” (1283), is now reduced to failure. This does not happen and he is trapped in the life of a travelling salesman. Loman dreams that “Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave home again” (Miller, 1273). Miller’s drama sharply points out the failure of the ‘American Dream.’ The three men are caught in joyless lives and have not experienced any fulfillment.
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This focus on money is Miller’s subtle criticism of the American frenzy for material wealth. Willy’s hero is his brother Ben, who supposedly made a fortune in the African jungles. The cost of domestic necessities is often catalogued by Linda. Willy Loman is cut out of a salary and is struggling to support his wife on sales commissions. Again, the word ‘requiem’ in the sub-title, which means a solemn chant for the repose of the dead, warns of grief.Īct I is filled with references to financial success and failure and money matters. At the very start of Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, the reader is conscious of impending tragedy because of the obvious implications of the title.