Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller features three prominent characters, critical in illustrating how an American family interacts around lies and secrets. Willy Loman attempts to run his life through the American Dream, which boasts easy success, easy money and happiness. Willy never achieves this leading to his suicide in the end of the play, his character is shown using endless dramatic techniques such as setting, plot and script.
Early on in the play the audience gathers that Willy Loman is an unsuccessful man who has hopes and aspirations to be wanted and to succeed. This is shown through the stage setting in the opening
scene where the house setting is being described: “As more light appears we see a solid vault of apartment houses around the small, fragile- seeming home”. This indicates that Willy and his family are being outlived and outshone by the surrounding high rise apartments which are challenging the American Dream that Willy so greatly desires. The physical stage in the play also allows the audience to take an insight into Willy’s previous affair while on a work-call, all flashbacks are shown in the foreground of the stage and ‘the boundaries are broken’ with characters walking through imaginary walls that would stand in present day.
The pinnacle of the play is where Willy Loman ultimately kills himself to provide his sons with enough insurance money to be able to live the American Dream. Willy is consumed by the constant search for the Dream to