Symbolic elements in Death of a Salesman

                                              Introduction


                    Symbolism is a technique, employed by a large number of playwrights, in which an object or a metaphor is described having meaning and implications beyond its apparent meaning.
                    Many of the symbols used in "Death of a Salesman" have specifically American connotations. Even in the setting of the play, symbolism and expressionistic technique are obvious.It is a play full of symbolism and themes that are intervened with one another throughout the entire play.

                  Symbols used in 'Death of a Salesman'

      1. Car

                    The play opens with reference to cars. Car is an American symbol of individual mobility, freedom and social status. But Miller uses it in a negative and ironic manner. In the very beginning of the play Willy comes home exhausted with driving. His exhaustion with driving symbolizes his tiredness from life. The car is going out of control. The symbolism gets its final intensity in the climax of the play when Willy drives his car out of the house into darkness and death.

    2. Colors  

                  When Willy is lost in his memories of the past, the house is draped in a mantle of green. Here green symbolizes the greenery around the house. Similarly, when Biff and Happy picks up two women at the restaurant callously ignoring their father, the stage direction demands "lucid red". When Willy appears to be at the wits end trying to sow seeds. The stage is flooded with "blue", suggesting moonlight and his desperate mood.

   3. Alaska, Africa, American West

                 ''Death of a Salesman' takes place primarily within the confined landscape of the Loman's home. This narrow and increasingly narrowing , setting is contrasted with the vastness of the American West, Alaska and Africa. If the Lomans' home symbolizes restriction, both physical and mental distant locations symbolize escape, freedom and the possibility of something better. While Willy insists New York is a land of opportunity and abundant success, his idolization of his brother Ben's adventures and forays into faraway lands shows that he is really not so convinced. Willy's obsession with distant lands further proves that he might prefer a very different livelihood than the one he has.

  4. Seeds

               Seeds represent for Willy the opportunity to prove the worth of his labor, both as a salesman and a father. His desperate nocturnal attempt to grow vegetables signifies his shame about barely being able to put food on the table and having nothing to leave his children when he passes. Willy feels that he has worked hard but fears that he will not be able to help his offspring anymore than his own abandoning father helped him. The seeds also symbolize Willy's sense of failure with Biff. Despite the American Dream's formula for success, which Willy considers infallible , Willy;s effort to cultivate or nurture went awry. Realizing that his all American football star has turned into a lazy bum, Willy takes Biff's failure and lack of ambition as a reflection of his abilities as a father.

 5. Linda's and the Woman's Stockings

              Willy's strange obsession with the condition of Linda's stockings foreshadows his later flashback of to Biff's discovery of him and the woman in their Boston hotel room. The teenage Biff accuses Willy of giving away Linda's stockings to The Woman. Stockings assume a metaphorical weight as the symbol of betrayal and sexual infidelity. New stockings are important for both Willy's pride being financially successful and thus able to provide for his family and for Willy's ability to ease his guilt about, and suppress the memory of his betrayal of Linda and Biff.

 6. The Rubber Hose 

              The rubber hose is a stage prop that reminds the audience of Willy's desperate attempts at suicide. He has apparently attempted to kill himself by inhaling gas, which is, ironically, the very substance essential to one of the most basic elements with which he must equip his home for his family's health and comfort - heat. Literal death by inhaling gas parallels the metaphorical death that Willy feels in his struggle to afford such a basic necessity.

7. Diamonds and the Jungle 

            The diamonds that made Ben rich are a symbol of concrete wealth in 'Death of a Salesman'. Unlike sales, where Willy has nothing tangible to show for his work, the diamonds represent pure, unadulterated, material achievement. The diamonds are also seen as a "get-rich-quick" scheme that is the solution to all troubles. When Willy is considering killing himself, he hears Ben telling him that, "the jungle is dark but full of diamonds". The jungle here is a risk which has the potential to yield wealth. In deciding to commit suicide,Willy perceives himself going into the dark jungle to get diamonds for his son.

8. Persons   

             The characters of the drama symbolizes the American dream of the people. Willy is a symbol for every American working hard to live in American dream. He represents the average American middle class man controlled by a dream instead or reality; the belief that anyone can become rich and famous.  Uncle Ben represents both the American Dream and death. He went into a new land with nothing and came out rich. He is also the only flashback which is dead and he appears to Willy before he dies. Charley symbolizes the good side of business whereas the Howard symbolizes the bad side of business, all of which can be observed through their actions.

9. The Tape Recorder

            The tape recorder reflects Willy's inability to learn new technologies and adopt to society. He is afraid of new technology and made no attempt to change or evolve.

                                   Conclusion

                In a nutshell, Arthur Miller skillfully uses symbols in 'Death of a Salesman' to contrast between the characters themselves, the society and the Loman's family relationship. Willy Loman stands as an important character in the play by being a common man with a tragic story in fifties. 

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