74 pages • 2 hours read
Arthur MillerDeath of a Salesman
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1949A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
Alaska and the African Jungle
The motif of Alaska and the African jungle represent Willy’s fascination with his brother’s success in the wilderness and his inclination towards natural work. The Loman men have an innate inclination towards nature, and they are only truly satisfied when working with their hands. Willy’s father and Ben both chased their dreams of the wilderness by heading off to Alaska, and Ben in turn became rich and successful, coming across diamonds in an African jungle. Such success is a stroke of luck that completely contradicts the requirements of hard work for success in the American Dream that Willy is so religiously committed to. However, it is clearly seen even in Willy’s moments of happiness and hope that his contentment is in planting a garden, having a house in the country, and doing work around the home. While Willy repeatedly justifies his choice to remain in Brooklyn as a businessman to pursue the American Dream, he never fails to be fixated and fascinated with his brother’s success. He deeply regrets never taking on Ben’s offer to head to Alaska, a fulfillment of his deepest fantasies. This regret pushes Willy to fall deeper into his dedication to the capitalist, modern American dream of hard work and success in the business world.
Seeds
When Willy is at his most optimistic, his first instinct is to obtain seeds and plant a garden. The symbol of the seed represents Willy’s imagined opportunities. The possibility of Biff’s business venture with Bill Oliver is an opportunity that gives Willy hope and motivation—thus, he buys seeds to plant in the garden. Just as the hard work put into growing plants provide the fruits of one’s labor, Willy strives to be a successful businessman and a worthy father by doing what he believes to be the only path to the American Dream.
Stockings
Stockings symbolize Willy’s guilt for his betrayal and the affair with the unnamed Woman. Despite his attempts to bury such memories, Willy is constantly reminded of both the affair and how he has failed his family whenever he sees Linda repairing her stockings. He is disturbed by the sight because that is his gift of choice for the Woman, and because he failed to provide such a symbol of dedication and stability to his own wife. Just as Linda continues to mend her stockings throughout the play, she constantly attempts to keep her relationship and family together no matter how much it is falling apart. For Willy, new stockings symbolize financial success and status. Seeing Linda repair her stockings also reminds him of his failure to provide for his family and give them the status he so desires.
The Rubber Hose
The rubber hose serves as a prominent symbol that is inserted into multiple scenes, reminding the audience of Willy’s disturbed mental state and foreshadowing his eventual suicide. His desire to kill himself by inhaling gas ironically represents his failure to provide the basic necessities of the American Dream. Gas and heat are the most basic modern luxuries that Willy must provide for his family. Death by inhaling gas symbolizes the toxic nature of his attempts to attain the American Dream.
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By Arthur Miller
