Abstract

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman tells the story about Willy Loman, a salesman, who wants to be successful through his own efforts and realizes his American Dream. Although he has worked hard for more than thirty years, he is not successful. He is finally fired by his boss and his sons, on whom rests his hope, idle about and do no decent work. Unable to face up to the frustrations and sense of failure, Willy chooses to take his own life. This paper makes an analysis into the causes of Willy Loman’s tragedy so as to disclose the pernicious influence of the money orientation of American society, the deceptive nature of American Dream and the materialistic pursuits of ordinary people. Hopefully my analysis will further enrich our understanding of the author’s thinking and his criticism of the social reality.

Key words: Willy Loman, tragedy, society, family, personality

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction1

  1.1 Arthur Miller and His Works.1

  1.2 Death of a Salesman and the Critical Studies of the Play.2

2 Social Milieu of Willy’s Tragedy.3

  2.1 The Money-oriented American Society3

  2.2 The Delusive American Dream.5 

3 Family Factors of Willy’s Tragedy6

  3.1 Family Financial Difficulties6

  3.2 Marriage Without Real Understanding7

4 Deficiencies in Willy’s Personality8

  4.1 Willy’s Vanity9

  4.2 Willy’s Lack of Sound Morality10

5 Conclusion11

References .12