Arthur Miller's 1949 modern classic Death Of A Salesman has been said for years to be a communist attack on the American government. Its critical edge, ironically tragic plot and far from subtle comment on how the lives of everyday Americans are effected by the wave of overwhelming consumerism that engulfs the Western world have all the makings of a post-war anti-capitalist masterpiece. In this essay, I am going to look at and explore how the lives and relationships of the play's key characters are effected by concepts of the American Dream, how Miller shows the downfalls of a capitalist government within the text and yet also how Miller explores the possibilites for success that capitalism can hold.
Dreams are a potent feature in the text, in particular references to the American Dream. Throughout the play the key characters are constantly in search of not only their own ideas of this concept, but how they will achieve them and chase their own pursuit of happiness. In act two, Linda describes Willy as a little boat looking for a harbour. This is a perfect representation of Willy, the protagonists, quest for the American Dream. Willy is so lost as a character, and despite his exaggeration and denial regarding himself (Im a New England man. Im vital in New England) he cannot find a way to obtain everything he wants out of life, as he struggles with contradictory ideals. The same is true for his sons, Biff and Happy, whom are also lost characters. Biff in the sense of his restless attitude (such as his kleptomania) and difficulty holding on to a steady job and Happy in the sense of his promiscuity with women and inability to feel content in his supposedly pleasant living situations (where we find the irony in his name the unhappy Happy). Happy and Biff are two quite contrasting characters in personality and ideals, whose characteristics and indeed views on the American Dream change significantly towards the end of the play. In particular Biff, whom experiences an epiphany of enormous standards in the final act when he decides to change his ways of life and accept that the dreams and principles he has been raised upon may not have been entirely correct or thriving. He demonstrates this in the requiem when he makes the bold statement He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong. concerning his father. This is an interesting comment, as it gives the audience a good depiction of exactly how complex Biffs relationship with his father is (as he had recently described Willy as a fine, troubled prince. A hard-working, unappreciated prince.) and possibly how any resentment or pity Biff holds for Willy is directly related to those dreams and principles Willy raised him upon that came to serve him nothing of any use in later life.
As an openly communist playwright whom had been blacklisted by the FBI and put under severe observation on more than one occassion, it is no surprise that Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman has famously been targeted as one of his many literary attacks on the American capitalist governement and its ways of life, and there is certainly just reason to make this speculation. In Act 1, Ben states "Never fight fair with a stranger, boy, you'll never get out of the jungle that way." This is a clear example of the view Miller takes on capitalist leaders and businessmen, and their attitudes towards other human beings. He is making a statement to the audience that this supposedly grand capitalist lifestyle is in fact a fierce competition, in which people are forced to be ruthless and uncaring towards others. Towards the end of Act 2, Willy says to Biff, whom is talking of the false ideals Willy has installed in him, "And when youre down and out, remember what did it. When youre rotting somewhere beside the railroad tracks, remember, and dont you dare blame it on me!". These two quotes paired show the kind of message Arthur Miller sends to his audience during the play, the message that capitalism is an unruly and careless state of affairs in which a man can lose all sense of integrity or loyalty to those close to him. Miller portrays capitalism as a profitless game, not only morally but also financially. He gives the impression capitalism can and will either make a man or destroy him completely, and to the characters' dismay it is usually the latter of the two. This is shown in Act 2 when Willy comments to Charley "After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive." Miller uses repetition of the phrase 'and the' in order to put emphasis on the long and dragging trial that is life in the endless cycle of consumerism.
However, despite this and although it is the major theme throughout the play, Miller does show some success in the world of capitalism in two characters in particular during the play. The character of Bernard and his father Charley are depicted as the positive faces of capitalism. Contrasting to the poor lost Willy, Charley seems to be a voice of wisdom, both successful and just in his actions. Despite the fact he and Willy are not necessarily friends, seeing that he is completely strapped and in desperate need of money after being fired, Charley offers Willy a job ("Nobody can say I'm in love with you, but I'll give you a job because- just for the hell of it, put it that way."), which Willy then refuses, in order to help him. This is an act of charity rarely seen in the world of capitalism that shows Charley's character as one of integrity. His son Bernard has the same effect to his character, however we see more in Bernard the keys to success and accomplishment. Again, a contrast to both Willy and his sons, Bernard's character is seen by the audience at a young age to be hardworking and loyal, a strange sort of ignored father-figure to Biff and Happy- he attempts to install the correct principles in them that Willy failed to do ("He's gotta study, Uncle Willy. He's got Regents next week.") The audience later sees that Bernard has managed to make a name for himself in the business world, and that all his hardwork and loyalty has paid off. This shows that perhaps Death Of A Salesman is not entirely a critiscism of capitalism, moreso a critiscism of some of the slogans and connotations we get from the idea of capitalism. That appropriately directed consumer toil can be a blessing, however the idea of making something out of nothing with only a likeable personality to your name, something Willy firmly believed in and passed on to his children ("The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates a personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want."), can surely only lead to failure- just as it did for the Loman family.
In conclusion, Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman does take a mainly critical view of both ideas of the American Dream and a capitalist government, as one would assume it would given the playwright's background and beliefs. However, when analysed closer, we find that this may be a more ambiguous concept than first thought. Although it is true to say that Miller portrays these routes to happiness as somewhat, if not entirely, misdirected, it also must be considered that there are different elements and views taken in the play and that it cannot be simply cast-off as a generic communist attack on the American government of the 1940s. This may have been its original purpose, to make a subtle statement to its audience regarding the flaws in their own lives, but it is not necessarily a complete critiscism on these elements of American life, more a comment on them. A comment suggesting that the ideas themselves are not necessarily the absurd factor in the matter, but instead the competative and greedy ideals and principles taken by the average post-war American that have been influenced by these ideas.
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