Death Of A Salesman

Everyone has memories, dreams, confrontations, and arguments. However, in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, that is the center of Willy Loman’s life. Loman was incapable of accepting the fact that he is a mediocre salesman. He dreams of what he wants to do in life, but he does not do anything to succeed. Three major themes in tis plays is: denial, contraindication, and order vs. disorder. Death of a Salesman addresses Loman’s loss of identity and a man’s inability to accept change within him or a change in society. Linda is the only character that recognizes the Homan family as it really is. She can tell that they all live in denial; however, she plays along with Loman’s fantasies. One of his sons, Biff, caught him having an affair, and
can no longer respect his dad. Loman cannot accept the fact that their relationship cannot be salvageable. Both of his sons, Biff and Happy, adopt Loman’s habit of denying and manipulating reality and practice it all of their lives. Each time Loman loses himself in the past, he does so in order to deny the present when it is too difficult to face. His obsession with dreams of the past prevents him from seeing how big of a wreck his life is. In act one, scene one, Loman labels Biff as a “lazy bum” but then contradicts himself by stating, “And such a hard worker.
There’s one thing about Biff---he’s not lazy.” Throughout the play Loman’s behavior is riddled with inconsistencies. One of his sons is a farm hand and the other is an assistant at a business. Biff is also having his own contradictory desires: He likes working outside on a farm during spring, but he becomes impatient and wants to return home to New York to “make something of himself.” In response, Loman talks about how he wishes both of his sons would be a business man like him. He thinks that people should see him as a respected person, because he established the company throughout New England and even named his boss. Although Loman wants respect, he does not get any because he cannot sell merchandise that well anymore. Loman thinks that past sales records and previous friendships are meaningful, but in his current world it does not really matter. These contradictions are a part of Loman’s outlook and part of his character. Loman gets tired of being contradicted especially by his son Biff. Loman believes that Biff’s popularity and success in high school makes it difficult for Biff to disappoint now. Loman thinks back to his past memories of Biff onto the present thinking that his son will have the same effect on people
now.
Consequently, Loman creates order versus disorder, because he manipulates facts to produce a better alternative. Ben appears after Loman is fired and he confides "nothing's working out. I don't know what to do." Ben quickly offers Loman a job in Alaska, but then Linda appeared. She convinces him that he should stay in sales, just like Dave Singleman. As a result, Loman’s confidence springs back into action, and he is positive that he has made the right decision by turning down Ben's offer. He believes that he will be a success like Singleman. Therefore, his memory has distracted him from the reality of losing his job. In addition, Loman escapes reality more and more when his problems become too much to handle.
In conclusion, all three themes create a dreamlike atmosphere in which the audience watches a man’s identity and mental stability to slip away.