A Quest for Positivity through Negativity in Death of a Salesman

Abstract

Death of a Salesman is basically a novel about the lives of those people who are
living a double meaning life. Arthur Miller creates in Willy a typical member of middle class
with negativity of middle class pressures. Willy Loman the aging salesman loves his family but is
unable to satisfy his own dream. He is a psychological study: self deluding, a man unable to
quest positivity through negativity. He discovers positivity in a remembered past and imaginary
life, an existence dramatically different from the one he is living and in which he feel imprisoned.
He follows the American dream of success through entrepreneurship. He believes that if a
person is well liked and has an attractive personality, he will be successful in business. Willy’s
American dream of financial success is in fact a false dream. It describes the problems of the
common man and his conflicts and struggles with society to achieve the dream.