Explore the view that Willy’s tragic downfall and death is destined from the outset.
Miller, in ‘Death of a Salesman’, portrays the futility of the American Dream which inevitably causes
the tragic downfall of the protagonist, Willy Loman. Willy is a ‘Salesman’ from ‘New York’ who
worships the social values of the American Dream; an indispensable belief that through a
combination of hard-work and determination, prosperity could be achievable. However, Willy’s
position as a member of the working-classes prevents him from ever reaching the dizzy heights of
success which comes in conjunction with the dream. Furthermore, Willy Loman seems to transgress
the typical conventions of an Aristotelean tragic hero in that he is not a noble tragic hero and does
not hold an exalted status. Therefore, this heightens the tragedy of the play as there is no sense of
personal dignity or honour for Willy to defend in his final tragic moments; a key concept Miller
argues that is linked to the tragedy of the ‘common man’. Willy Loman’s ‘tragic downfall’ has been
destined from the outset of the play as his position as a working-class salesman chasing the
‘American Dream’ in a consumerist society, makes him doomed from the start. Even at the very
beginning of the play, the audience witnesses Willy’s life slowly deteriorating and this predicament
seems to stem from Willy’s excessive hubris and ignorance, which ultimately lead to his demise.
Willy’s ignorance provides him with a false sense of reality and Miller exposes the psychological
torment and inner turmoil which takes place inside Willy’s head, catalyses the tragedy of the play.
Notably, Miller originally wanted the play to be named ‘The Inside of His Head’ and structurally, he
wanted the ‘proscenium arch’ to ‘open up’ so that the audience would be able to see ‘the inside of a
man’s head’. Therefore, Miller seems to highlight that Willy’s psychological state runs parallel with
the tragedy of the play and this inner turmoil within Willy’s head stems from his failure to meet the
standards of the American Dream.
Initially, the opening stage directions capture the pressure of the American Dream and the futility of
consumerism, a concept shared by everyone in American society. Miller highlights how the dream
aided the rich and oppressed the vulnerable and that the American Dream was more of an
ideological concept. The use of the stage directions at the outset of the play highlights the futility of
the American. The use lighting around the stage is an ‘angry glow of orange’. Arguably, he use of the
colour ‘orange’ creates the allusion of heat and fire perhaps alluding to destructive nature of the
American and the fact that this ideology threatens society. Also, the colour ‘orange’ is often linked
with warnings and this could foreshadow the impending tragedy of the play. Furthermore, the
adjective ‘angry’ elucidates that the dream cultivated a negative impact upon society and was not
the positive influence that many outsiders perceived. To those on the inside, the dream was
dangerous, damaging and a constant threat to the stability of society. Furthermore, the ‘refrigerator’
which is located in the Loman’s ‘kitchen’ could be viewed as a symbol of the consumerist society
which emerged as a result of the American Dream. Many members of American society viewed
household devices such as refrigerators and hoovers as a symbol of materialistic wealth and an
emblem of success. This consumerist product could illustrate the sheer pressure that society was
under to achieve the social standards which were present in America and therefore, highlight the
lack of stability of the dream which had a crippling effect on the working classes. Additionally, the
audience learn that ‘an air of a dream clings to the place, a dream rising out of reality’. The use of
the verb ‘clings’ cultivates a feeling of claustrophobia and perhaps alludes to the suffocating nature
of the dream which trapped many of the working-class members of society. This concept of
claustrophobia illustrates the oppressive nature of the dream which aided the wealthy and failed to
support the vulnerable exposing the damaging nature of the American Dream. Furthermore, the
deliberate juxtaposition of this ‘dream’ to the ‘reality’ of American society could expose the idealistic
concept of the American Dream and highlight that realistically, it cannot be achieved. The
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