Realistic fiction is an excellent genre to pull many societal concepts from because relatability is a key factor in a story set in an everyday environment centered around the feelings and emotions of people. Although “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller is written as a play and not a typical story this still remains to be the case. After reading “Death of a Salesman”, the societal concept of financial success really stuck out as important, raising many questions. What does it mean to be successful? Does it come with many price tags or pictures you take with the people you love? Willy has a material definition of success that prevents him from happiness. When you are moderately successful yet unhappy are you really successful at all?
In the opening of the book Willy is returning to his house after a long day of work literally falling asleep behind the wheel of his car during the commute. Even in his old age he has to travel to New England very often for his job in order to maintain payments on his house which he complains about being empty all the time. “Work a lifetime to pay off a house you finally own it and there is no one to live in it.” (15) Although financially owning a house is a success, while his children were young Willy was at work making the goal of owning that fine piece of real estate a reality. When asking for a new job that requires less traveling from the boss to which Willy has done so many services throughout numerous years, he is fired. As he worked a job that cared nothing about him as an individual, he was away from his family. He was missing parts of the childhood of his two sons. Is money success? Is Willy successful in the act of owning the house or did he fail to enjoy the success of his family while his children were young?
Willy also struggles with depression eventually leading to a suicide. He has heroic intentions for his son, Biff, in that his trust fund would be enough to start their business. In order to make another more successful, Willy threw away all of his accomplishments putting himself second in what he thought was a gesture of love.”Loves me. Always loved me. Isn’t that a remarkable thing? Ben, he’ll worship me for this.” (135) By doing what he thought would prevent his son from living the same mildly successful life, Willy decided to be a martyr and by doing so, he took the easy way out. In terms of success with a disease, it is celebrated when a person is no longer plagued not when the disease beats them. Depression and other mental illnesses are no different. Willy ued his son as an excuse to take the easy way out making nothing that he had worked for matter at all. All of the measures of success and material things are forgotten and now all that is left is a widowed women and two lost young men without a father. Is it wrong to do as willy did and measure success in finances as opposed to relationships? Yes, Biff now has the means to become a successful businessman but his children will never know their grandfather. Biff felt that the measures Willy used to mark success were entirely twisted. “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong… He never knew who he was.” (138) On the other side of things, his brother saw his incredibly excessive gesture as one of love. ‘Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have- to come out number-one man.”
In conclusion after further thought, success is measured entirely in the eye of the beholder. Everyone’s idea of what it means to be successful is specific to them. A societal concept of trying to get the most out of life and be a success in a material fashion is very prominent in today’s world but it is important to think more deeply about whether a price tag is worth more than a person in the scheme of things.
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