Arthur Millers Play Death of a Salesman - Essay Example

Naturally, in order to understand how the play itself is autobiographical, one must perform a great deal of background analysis into the early life of Arthur Miller. Once this has been completed, it is readily seen that Arthur Miller’s protagonist Willy Loman is likely a direct representation of his own father – Isadore Miller. Yet, this autobiographical nature should not be considered merely as a means of Arthur Miller relating a story; rather, it has a correlation with respect to the way in which life is understood and represented within middle class America during the time period in question; specifically the perennial fear of abandonment that is felt not only by Willie Lowman, but by his family.

The first evidence of this fear of abandonment is with regards to the unbelievably high esteem that Willie Lowman has for an individual who gains the trust and respect of his business partners and/or clientele. An overarching theme of the entire play is the unnatural and dogged determination that this level of love and respect, on the part of his clients, is what defines him from the faceless mass of individuals throughout society. Ultimately, rather than merely representing a narrow-minded salesman that struggles to find a place in this world and define himself differently from others, the greatest level of understanding that can be provided from a psychological standpoint is the fact that Willy Lowman is in fact terrified of the reality of abandonment and censure (Hooti & Farzaneh 19).

This fear keeps him feverishly working and preaching the gospel of self sufficiency and good relations with clients to any and all who will listen. Rather than viewing Willie Lowman as a completely and entirely deranged individual, it is far better to understand his particular case from the standpoint of an individual that has traumatized from some previous instance; forever fearful that a life of abandonment and solitude will be his to live. But perhaps the greatest irony that is represented within Arthur Miller’s play is with regards to the fact that the greatest fear that Willy Lowman has is in fact realized.

Unbeknownst to Willy Lowman, as he lies dying, the abandonment and ostracism from the very individuals that could have cared about him and would have otherwise helps to ameliorate the greatest fear that he had, were disassociated from him and ultimately standoffish. Although it is of course true that his two sons were by the side, as well as his loving wife, the level of disassociation it was represented within this particular scene helped to reinforce the irony of a man that was perennially fearful of the loss of relevance that he may have if he ever came to find himself in a position of being unloved and/or unneeded.

Miller’s own early life was eerily similar to that of what the reader is made aware of Willy Loman’s life. For instance, Miller grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood in New York City; the son of Polish Jewish immigrants. Miller’s own father was a successful businessman in a textile mill; which eventually employed 400 individuals. This successful lifestyle enabled the family to enjoy the luxuries of having a new car at a time when cars were still a novelty, attending private schools, and enjoying the occasional vacation.

However, the good times would not last as the crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression shattered the family’s bliss. Miller’s father, out of work and out of options sold their home and moved to Gravesend, New York. It was during this time that young Arthur Miller was forced to take a bread route ever morning