摘 要

《推销员之死》是阿瑟·米勒的代表作。主人公威利·洛曼一生都在全心全意地追寻他的美国梦。他总是徘徊在幻想与现实之间。最终当他的幻想在现实生活的重压下破灭时，他选择了自杀。本文从社会因素、个人因素和家庭因素三方面入手探讨威利的死亡原因，从而使人们对社会的价值观、人生的梦想以及家庭关系的重要性进行反思。

关键词：《推销员之死》；社会因素；个人因素；家庭因素

Contents

1.Introduction.................................................................................................................1

2.Demonstration.............................................................................................................2

2.1. Social factors causing Willy’s death........................................................................2

2.1.1 A victim of American dream.................................................................................3

2.1.2 A victim of indifferent society...............................................................................4

2.2. Personal factors causing Willy’s death....................................................................4

2.2.1 Personal vanity......................................................................................................5

2.2.2 Inaccurate selling concept.....................................................................................6

2.2.3 Inability to face reality..........................................................................................7

2.2.4 False attitude towards money................................................................................8

2.3. Family factors causing Willy’s death......................................................................8

2.3.1 The failure of Biff and Happy...............................................................................9

2.3.2 The idolatry and indulgence of Linda.................................................................10

3.Conclusion.................................................................................................................11

Works Cited..................................................................................................................12

Bibliography.................................................................................................................13

Cause Analysis of Willy Loman’s Death in Death of a Salesman

1. Introduction

Arthur Miller (October 17, 1915—February 10, 2005) was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre and cinema for almost 100 years. He wrote a wide variety of dramas in his life. His first play, The Man Who Had All the Luck, was published in 1944, and his first important work, All My Son, did a good deal in fostering his reputation as an Ibsenian playwright. His masterpiece, Death of a Salesman, won him the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. His other plays are The Crucible (1953), A View from the Bridge (1955), The Price (1968), etc.

Arthur Miller is best known as author of Death of a Salesman. The play tells a story about the unfortunate destiny of Willy Loman. Willy is a diligent traveling salesman, who has worked for the company for over three decades, but is fired at last. He “believes wholeheartedly in the American dream of easy success and wealth, but he never achieves it.”(Ward and Greaves 19) He lives in illusions and lies, and is never willing to admit his failure and accepts other people’s help. Willy places high hope on his sons, but they don’t fulfill his expectations. Finally, when Willy’s illusions begin to fail under the pressing realities of his life, his mental health begins to unravel. He is driven to the edge of desperation and commits suicide.

Death of a Salesman is Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, and it has triggered off a lot of negative comments and controversies. The attack on Death of a Salesman came from the anti-communist movement known as McCarthyism, but most of the comments are praises. As in Modern Critical Views: Arthur Miller, the scholar argues that:

Death of a Salesman is considerably more than that. It ranks with Iceman Cometh, Long Day’s Journey, Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, and Albee’s The Zoo Story as one of the half-dozen crucial American plays yet its literary status seems to me somewhat questionable, which returns me to the issue of what there is in drama that can survive indifferent or even poor writing. (Bloom 3)

A number of scholars in China focus on the study of Death of a Salesman. Some of them concentrate on the disillusion of American dream and values. Others focus on the creation of characters to show the characteristics of different figures to readers. What’s more, some scholars also study the background of the story such as the stage design and the tragic ending, which leaves readers lasting impression.