One of the main differences between the dream and reality is the worth placed on personality, which Willy misestimates completely – he possibly realises he is not “well liked” and wrongly attributes his lack of success to this, though hates to admit it. This is not really the reason why he is unsuccessful, though – the reason is far more to do with Willy’s misconceptions about the world, as pointed out by Charlie; “The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell. And the funny thing is that you’re a salesman, and you don’t know that”. By believing entirely in the American dream, to an extent the early capitalist dream, Willy cannot accept that things change and business does not work like that.
Another issue brought up by Miller is the side of the dream which demands victory; Happy sleeps with the fiancées of those doing better than him in the company he works for, as he cannot compete with them in business (“that’s the third executive I’ve done that to”); both Willy and Happy feel the need to exaggerate all of their achievements, in order to appear ahead of the competition. This need for victory is another pillar of the dream, and again is damaging to the people who subscribe to it. Using Willy as the example again, he needs victory but despairingly claims that “the competition is maddening” – it is like a desire he can never satiate, as he is unsuccessful. This would be alarming enough, but it is made worse when we realise that the desire would not be satiated even if he was successful, as outlined by Hap when talking of an executive; “…he built a terrific estate on Long Island…lived in it for two months, and sold it, and now he’s building another one.”. This illustrates the constant need to be better, even when it is not necessary, and why it would not be possible to be satisfied for any successful executive in the way Biff would be happy on a farm.
It is this desire for ultimate victory which drives the businesses of the capitalist system – a need to make more and more money, to get ahead of the competition. Miller’s point is twofold; that made above, that it is unhealthy to have a dream that can never be fulfilled, and secondly that it is a very cruel system to those not at the top. Willy is not at the top, and after working for 34 years at a company, trying to build his own little empire, he is sacked with nothing to keep him going. He is surplus to requirements, and as his boss Howard says, “business is business”. It is unthinkable for him to give money to someone when they are not earning for him, making him succeed. This is something else which Miller draws attention to, very successfully (“one elderly man whom Miller saw leaving the theatre [was a wealthy shop owner …[who] gave orders that none of his staff were ever to be fired for being too old”1), and which links to another theme which runs through the play; the worth of human life.
Towards the end of the play, Miller repeatedly poses the question “what is the worth of human life?”. In Willy’s case, to his insurance company, it is $20,000. It is with this in mind that Willy commits suicide, in order to be able to provide for his family the way that he wouldn’t be able to do having been sacked by the Wagner Company. It is interesting to note that Willy kills himself just before the final payment on the house; there are clear parallels between this and the executive who built and then sold his houses; neither are able to accept the success of completion, and need to better themselves. The family’s grief at Willy’s death seems immense; had Willy had to stand and watch this, he may have not thought $20,000 was worth it. Certainly, to Linda the money isn’t even an issue; but to Willy, the capitalist doctrine states that the sole purpose of life is to accumulate wealth, which he does in the only way he knows how.
"Death of a Salesman" is an in-depth criticism of the disparity within the American Dream, and a warning about believing in an ideal so much that you ignore the lessons which life tries to teach you. The play’s main objective is to raise awkward questions of the American lifestyle, and thus the context of the cold war, when American patriotism was at a height, is important to consider. The aspects of American society which are reflected are those linked to the capitalist dream which Miller criticises, and then the repercussions which affect human lives. Linda is a victim throughout, and she is an example of this – she asks a key question relating to the lifestyle which Willy chooses, which only her love of him allows her to ignore – “why must everyone conquer the world?”. Throughout the play, Miller poses questions of the capitalist doctrine such as this, leaving them unanswered as to dwell in the minds of the audience.
