Death of a Salesman

Death of A Salesman The continuing conflict between illusion and reality can be seen from beginning to end in Arthur Miller’s “Death of A Salesman”. The travelling salesman, Willy Loman, is plagued by this constant battle of what is real and what is not. As the play nears its end Willy is unable to tear himself away from his illusions of past, present, and future. This results in his inevitable demise. Willy Loman is …

…the requiem at his funeral. What Willy had wished for was to die the “Death of a Salesman” and have many buyers and salesmen mourn for him. But the cruel reality was that the only mourners were his family, Charley, and his son Bernard, “Why didn’t anybody come? But where are all the people he knew?” (pg. 110), asks a bewildered Linda. These illusions are Willy’s tragic flaw that followed him throughout this play.