Impact of Society in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman Essay

Impact of Society in Arthur Millers expiry of a Salesman Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman examines outside influences on the individual. These influences include society as a whole, the family as a societal unit and beliefs which the individual thinks he should espouse. In crop to understand Willy Loman and the struggles with which he is dealing, the society in which he exists must first be understood. He is relying upon a slightly different set of values and motivations than everyone else seems to be, and this sets him apart. A prime example of the rest of society is Willys brother, Ben. In sociological terms, Ben is a classic representative of the old, 19th century middle class, while Willy represents the new, dep residuument, salaried, pitiably other-directed middle class. Bens character is clearly inner-directed While Willy stresses the importance of personality, of being well-liked and acceptable to the realism, of pleasing others, while insisting on proper form, dress, m anner, and style, Ben ignores all of this. (Martin 56) Willy is feeling to the rest of society for guidance, to see how he needs to act in order to be successful by their terms. Yet he cannot fully allow go of the belief that his way of trying to please all of the people all of the time is right. Society is made up of people like Ben who argon focused on getting ahead. It is an industrial society which is quickly expanding people take up to move quickly to stay on top. They do not have time for the old ways anymore. Willy has been working for many years, but he has not been able to keep up. Ultimately, this is why he is let go from his job. His boss, Howard explains it to him. Howard I dont want you to represent us. Ive ... ...4) While there is some disagreement as to what the effect of Willys actions ultimately will be on Biff after the curtain goes down, it is clear that Willys behavior destroyed the family unit as the Lomans knew it and destroyed Willy as well. The play does, however, end with the focus on the remaining member of the Loman family. They are still a societal unit, and they must continue to live in the material modern world as best they can. Works Cited Baym, Franklin, Gottesman, Holland, et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 4th ed. New York Norton, 1994. Costello, Donald P. Arthur Millers Circles of Responsibility A View From a Bridgeand Beyond. Modern Drama. 36 (1993) 443-453. Martin, Robert A., ed. Arthur Miller. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, 1982. ---. Eight Plays. New York Nelson Doubleday, 1981.