However, Willy is partly to blame, as he does not accept change and wants to remain in the past; this reluctance to move forward is also symbolised at the beginning through the image of the whipped cheese when Willy asserts “I don’t want a change! I want Swiss cheese.” When Willy is left alone with the tape recorder he is unable to shut it off; yet, Willy still has hope and wishes to leave some form of support behind for his family as illustrated in his planting of the seeds. At the end of his life, it is too late for Willy to leave anything substantial behind, whether it be financial or emotional. But, as Willy’s life becomes more hectic and burdened he desperately tries to grow plants. These seeds are in fact symbolic of what he has been unable to do, the roots he has been unable to grow in his career and in his family.
Death of a Salesman exhibits many motifs in its context. An example of one motif is Biffs recurrent theft that takes place throughout the play. Biff wasn’t raised to tell the difference between right and wrong. As a result, each time Biff decides to steal something, the consequences of his actions become apparent later on in the play. An early presentation of this motif can be seen during Biff’s teenage life, after he steals a football from school. Although his father is aware of this, he receives no punishment for his wrong-doing; instead, he is encouraged through his father’s positive reinforcement, "Sure, he's gotta practice with a regulation ball, doesn't he? Coach'll probably congratulate you on your initiative!" (page 19). During that scene, Biff is lead to believe that stealing is ok as long as he can get away with it. Although Biff is unaffected by his actions on this occasion, his perception of right and wrong is now biased. Willy believes that Biff must do everything in his power to achieve success, even if it resorts to stealing in the process. Unsurprisingly, Biff looks at Willy as a role model and in turn is directed to believe this as well. As a result, Biff follows in the steps of his father and faces the penalties. This can be seen exhibited when Willy is ordering Bernard to provide Biff the answers for the test. "Bernard: Where is he? If he doesn't study! Willy: You'll give him the answers!" (page 27).
Another motif is Happy’s recurrent attempts to draw his father’s attention to his weight loss. “I’m losing weight, you notice, pop?” Willy consistently ignores those attempts. This is an important motif because it shows that Willy is more interested about blowing Biff “so full of hot air” rather than acknowledge the potential of his other son. This results in catastrophe because Biff never reachs his potential and Happy, who could have made a successful business man, was never acknowledged in the same way Biff was. This represents Willy’s failure at cherishing his family life; he should have put the life and happiness of his family before his career.
In conclusion, Miller’s criticism is successfully achieved in his use of symbolism and motifs; the tape recorder and the seeds symbolise Willy’s inability to move forward in his life; in turn, this blinds him to the dangers of Biff’s stealing habits, a motif in the play, mistaking it for potential to achieve great things instead of recognising the habit as dangerous and wrong.
