Theme and Conflict in Death - Essay Example

Theme and Conflict in Death of a Salesman of Theme and Conflict in Death of a Salesman Thesis ment Willy Lowman is morally reprehensible as he forces his empty value system on his family. ThemeThe most prominent theme that runs in the play is regarding the reality and illusion. The main character of this play is Willy and throughout the play he faces difficulty in distinguishing reality and illusion. Despite that he is a disrespected salesman but he considers himself as a “New England man.” He thinks that the day will come when he and his sons will get success.

An example of forcing empty values on his family is that though his son has done nothing, he makes himself and others believed that his son is doing great things (Karim, 2006). The illusion in which Willy lives is that he believes that success is only achieved when one is well liked. This ailment of reality versus illusion finally gives rise to the downfall of Willy. He believes that a man “worth more dead than alive,” and the reality that is Charlie tell Willy is that, “A man isnt worth anything dead.

” Willy because of his thinking cannot see change and he lost himself in modern times. As according to him “How can they whip cheese?" and is continuously "In a race with the junkyard."ConflictThe obvious conflict that we can see in this play is the conflict that exists between the reality and the dreams of Willy. His reality in many cases conflicts with his hopes (Zhao, 2010). Throughout the play he form fantasies and denies his reality. Throughout the play he often contradicts himself, for example while referring to his car as "a piece of trash" and then he calls it as "the finest car ever built.

"In addition to a former example is when he refers to Biff, first he says that "Biff is a lazy bum" and almost immediately straight after saying that "theres one thing about Biff. Hes not lazy". These are the prominent conflicts in the character of Willy in the play.ConclusionArthur Miller in his play “Death of a Salesman,” uses good techniques and because of which there are a number of important themes are developed throughout the play. For the modern readers and audience, the character of Willy Lowman remains as a figure of unsuccessful person, to a certain extent as a consequence of a wrong value system of society but to some extent due to the inability of the Willy to face the reality of life.

ReferencesKarim, S. (2006). Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman: A Nightmare for a Dreamer. 3 (2), pp.67-74Zhao, J. (2010). Corruption of the “American Dream” in Death of a Salesman: A Thematic Analysis of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Cross-cultural Communication, 6 (3), pp.122-126.