Love Issues in Millers Death of a Salesman - Essay Example

? Love Issues in Miller’s Death of a Salesman By Love Issues in Miller’s Death of a Salesman Introduction Uranga(2008) describes Death of a Salesman as a “love story” which involves capitalism (p. 93). At the heart of Willy Loman’s American dream is parental love and his desire for his sons Happy and Biff to be more successful in business than he was. Happy shares his father’s version of the American dream. As for Biff, his self-discovery comes with the realization that he loves his father as he is and with that realization, Biff feels free to be what he wants to be despite the demands and prescriptions of capitalist America (Uranga, 2008). Essentially Death of a Salesman delves into the 20th century capitalism and how it impacts morality, love and relationships generally (Abbotson,2007). This paper examines the themes and issues relative to love in Death of a Salesman by reference to the pursuit of the American dream and parental love in capitalist 20th century America. The American Dream and Love in Death of a Salesman Miller’s Death of a Salesman can be described as a commentary on material gains as prioritized by the American Dream of the 20th century. Through the main character Willy Loman, the reader learns that a man’s self-worth and value to society is measured by his material gains. In many ways this equates with self-love, self-respect and love and respect from family, friends and acquaintances. Willy’s suicide thus presents him as a victim of a society that dehumanizes love and relationships (Emami, 2011). Thus the tragedy of Willy Loman,” is “also the tragedy of American society’s pursuit of the American Dream” (Stanton, p. 156). The tragedy of the American dream and Willy’s pursuit of the American dream is tied to issues of love, particularly in terms of self-love and perceptions of self-worth and love from others. According to Tracy and Robins (2003) capitalist values and its connection to self-worth and thus love sets off a chain reaction. As Tracy and Robins (2003) explained, Willy’s suicide reflect a poignant feelings of “self-doubt” (p. 57). Moreover: Willy’s self-esteem is also contingent and highly dependent on feedback from his employer, sons, and mistress (Tracy and Robins, 2003, p. 57). Thus, the pursuit of the American Dream as depicted in Death of a Salesman draws attention to the fragile nature of love and relationships in 20th century America. Self-worth is measured by material possessions. Willy for example, perceives that his validity as a husband, father, lover, son, brother and employee are highly dependent of his material gains. Thus in his pursuit of the American dream he is determined to obtain the admiration of his family, employers, colleagues, and so on (Tracy and Robins, 2003). In this regard, the issue of love is one that presents “the mismeasure of love” (Tracy and Robins, 2003, p. 58). Essentially, the emphasis on the American dream as a measure of self-worth transfer over to the manner in which love and acceptance are measured. Love and happiness are regarded as implicitly impossible without the acquisition of the American Dream. Willy’s pursuit of the American dream not only prescribes his understanding and appreciation for himself but also dictates his view of successful parenting, employment and personal life relations. Willy does often remind the reader that: It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it -because personality always wins the day (Miller, 2007, p 51). Bloom (2007) explains that the belief that personality always wins the day was a belief of Willy’s that was so entrenched in Willy’s psyche that it rose to the level of a religious doctrine. It was Willy’s way of giving voice to the belief that success in life, business and love was prescribed by a rigid formula. In this regard, Bloom (2007) informs that Willy does not: see the banality in such cliches and is actually using bromidic language to bolster his own faltering self-confidence (p. 27). Willy’s subscription to cliches thus represents the manner in which individuals in 20th century America senselessly and passionately pursued unattainable goals. By following and adhering to unsubstantiated prescriptions and beliefs, errors and mistakes in love and personal and business relationships were easily rationalized. Willy’s desire for his children to be more successful in business than he was, thus represented a cliched approach to life and love in a capitalist society where the pursuit of the American dream was the yardstick by which success in life and love were measured. Parental Love and Family Love in Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman is primarily an exploration of masculine identity and bonding between males, particularly the love that binds a father to his sons and vice versa. Central to an understanding of this paternal parenting, is the dynamics of the family in capitalist 20th century America. At the time, society was dominated by men with women playing a more passive role in lending blind and unfailing love and support to the male members of the family (Abbotson, 2007). Willy pays only lip service to his love for his wife Linda. He describes her as his “foundation and support” (Miller, 2007, p. 13). Yet, in his treatment of Linda, Willy does not demonstrate authentic love as he continuously subordinates her, even tells her to be quiet and cheats on her (Miller, 2007). Taken together each of these actions demonstrate the kind of superficial love that accompany superficial material values in the materialistic world of capitalist America during the 20th century. Even so, the love of the wife is apparently unconditional and far more authentic and thus Willy’s characterization of Linda as his foundation and support is more meaningful. Abbotson (2007) informs that Linda is unwavering in her love and support of Willy. Despite his superficial love for her and his seeming lack of respect for Linda, she stands by him unconditionally. Linda goes as far as to adopt Willy’s own dreams without question. Abbotson (2007) also maintains that Linda is far from a representative of the weak female figure in Death of a Salesman, however. She manifests strength in her demonstrations of love for both her husband and her sons and was even willing to send her sons away when they demonstrated disrespect for their father. Thus according to Abbotson (2007): Linda can be seen as working against the stereotype of the weak, maternal figure. She loves her husband and is prepared to sacrifice anything to make him happy (p. 139). In many ways, Death of a Salesman is therefore a representation of primal love as depicted in the proverbial “primal family unit” of 20th century America (Roudane, 2010, p. 83). The dramatic issue of familial and parental love comes across in the paradigms of the relationships between husband and wife, children and parents and the binding nature of familial and parental love in an increasingly abrasive world (Roudane, 2010). Willy finds himself terminated from his employment having committed 34 years to the firm. Thus we see Willy’s coming to terms with the fact that he is continuously being distanced from society and is constantly reminded of his “own insignificance” (Roudane, 2010, p. 83). First he finds himself driving hundreds of miles to make a sale only to find that the sale is rejected. He also finds himself planning to meet his children for dinner only to have them bail on him. The only undying love and support Willy can count on, is the love and support of his wife. All of these capitalist challenges infiltrate the family and Willy’s relationships with his sons and his wife. In his alienation from society and in his failure to realize the American dream, Willy’s value and love for his family remains measured against material possessions. Willy comes to the realization that he will achieve more self-worth and worth to his wife and children should he commit suicide. He thus ponders to his brother Ben, “does it take more guts to stand here the rest of my life ringing up zero” (Miller, 2007, p. 100)? As it is, Willy continues to assess his life, love and value in terms of dollar values. Willy points out: After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive (Miller, 2007, p. 77). As Roudane (2010), points out, Willy has reached a point in his life where he is tired of battling emotions relative to guilt, shame, innocence, betrayal, protection, celebrating and losing. Thus familial love and parental love have become intricately tied to “various American mythologies and pathologies” (Roudane, 2010, p. 83). In other words, love of wealth and success are far more important than love of family or the love of family is meaningless without fortunes and material success. At play is a prescription of personal happiness, without which the family is a failure. Thus for Willy his death will achieve the success for his family that his life’s work could not since his family will be able to cash in on his life insurance policy. Through Bliff however, authentic love and acceptance is revealed. Bliff’s love and acceptance of his father and thus himself without reference to superficial values as enshrined in 20th century capitalist America are revealed in his dialogue following his father’s death. Bliff points out that his father’s greatest tragedy was in prescribing and pursuing misguided dreams (Miller, 2007). Therefore, Bliff comes away as a self-defined and assured young man who is prepared to identify his own values and visions and loved his father for who he really was rather than what he perceived society demanded of him. Conclusion Death of a Salesman is a tale of death and love. In many ways it is the tale of how misguided capitalist values are responsible for the death of love itself. Through Miller’s characterization of Willy, the reader comes into contact with misguided ideas of personal happiness and the undying belief that personal happiness and therefore love is unattainable without material success. Willy thus loves and values himself only by reference to his own material possessions and thus his failures reconstruct his love for his sons and his wife. He takes his wife’s love and support for granted and views his love for and form his children in terms of material wealth. In the end he kills himself to ensure that his family obtains the material wealth that he could not obtain for him in his life time. In this regard, the issue of love is dramatized as closely linked to and defined by capitalist values. Bibliography Abbotson, S. Critical Companion to Arthur Miller. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc. 2007. This book provides a biographical sketch of Arthur Miller and literary criticism of his major works. The themes in Death of a Salesman are analyzed and explained by reference to time and place and Arthur Miller’s own life. Bloom, H. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, New York, NY: Chelsea House, 2007. This books offers a detailed literary critique of the Death of a Salesman and explores all the important themes such as the American Dream and its impact on love, relationships and goals. Emami, K. “An Anti-Social Socialist: A Critical Reading of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 2(2): 353-358. This article offers a critique of Miller’s Death of a Salesman in its social context. It analyzes capitalist values and its impact on the lives and values of the individuals living in a capitalist society. Miller, A. Death of a Salesman: Longman Study Edition. New Delhi, India: Dorling Kindersley, 2008. This is a script of Miller’s play Death of a Salesman with critical essays and analysis to help with understanding the characters, place and time and the main themes in the play. Roudane, M. “Death of a Salesman and the Poetics of Arthur Miller.” Cited in Bigsby, C. (Ed). The Cambridge Companion to Arthur Miller, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010, pp. 63-88. This books is comprised of a collection of essays and articles providing themes, context, and historical analysis of Miller’s various works. The Essay chosen is relevant to this essay as it explores the dramatic issue of familial love in Death of a Salesman. Stanton, K. “Women and the American Dream of Death of A Salesman”. Cited in Miller, A. Death of a Salesman: Longman Study Edition. New Delhi, India: Dorling Kindersley, 2008, pp. 156-200. Stanton’s article takes a unique look at the women and their role in the pursuit of the American Dream. Many critiques have looked more acutely at the relationships between men in the pursuit of the American Dream in Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Tracy, J. and Robins, R. “Death of a (Narcissistic) Salesman: An Integrative Model of Fragile Self-Esteem.” Psychological Inquiry, (2003) Vol. 14(1): 57-62. Tracy and Robins offer insight into the emotional implications of an ordinary man pursuing the extraordinary goals implicit in the American Dream. What emerges is an interesting commentary on the fragile nature of values, morals and thus love in relationships. Uranga, L. “Willy Loman and the Legacy of Capitalism”. Cited in Sterling, E. J. (Ed.). Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Rodopi, 2008, pp. 81-94. Uranga’s article explores the cultural, economic and emotional issues of 20th century America. She analyzes Willy Loman’s character and interprets his actions and responses and comes to the conclusion that Loman’s characterization is about love and its complications and issues within capitalist America. Read More