Comparing Willy Loman And Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Terrence Smith and Mike Miller stated that “the purpose of drama is not to define thought but to provoke it.” While “defining thought” implies to guiding the reader towards a specific idea or belief, a piece of work that “provokes thought” allows readers to analyze the content with different perspectives. In the post World War II era, American playwrights such as Arthur Miller and Lorraine Hansberry used a variety of literary techniques in their plays to provoke thought and inspire the audience. Miller’s Death of a Salesman chronicles the life of Willy Loman, a failing salesman, and his endless struggles with guilt, pride, dreams, and family relationships that ultimately destroys him. In Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the author explores

By prohibiting Biff from doing what he loves, Willy loses Biff’s love and respect. Willy is never shown making progress in his approach to gain fulfillment. In the end of the novel, he still does not understand that he should be satisfied simply because he has a family that loves him, Linda’s comments earlier are completely ignored. Since Willy believes that the only way to gain happiness is to become wealthy, he continues to pressure Biff so that he could achieve his own dreams through Biff’s materialistic success. Biff, who finally gathers the courage to confront his father, expresses his frustration of having to become someone he is not because of Willy’s high expectations for him. He struggles to receive Willy’s support and acceptance, but has met direct opposition every time. Even though Willy loves Biff beyond anyone else, he fails to properly convey his feelings because he does not realize that Biff’s happiness is more valuable than monetary success. Willy develops the wrong idea that everything will be perfect once Biff becomes a successful businessman, but he does not realize that Biff can only become happy if he is given the chance to pursue his own dreams. Throughout the play, Miller portrays the tragic consequences when a parent’s adherence to money pressures the child into a career against their wish. Due to the lack of love Willy

When Walter describes the disillusionment and lack of motivation he feels to Lena, she relays her apologies to him for being opposed to his investment plans previously:

MAMA. What you ain’t never understood is that I ain’t got nothing, don’t own nothing, ain’t never really wanted nothing that wasn’t for you. There ain’t nothing as precious to me… There ain’t nothing worth holding on to, money, dreams, nothing else—if it means—if it means it’s going to destroy my boy. (Hansberry