I recently saw a performance of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Millar at the Lyceum Theatre. The play was performed by the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company and was directed by John Doyle.
Death of a sales man is a play about America and its" Dream; It is about the little guy with big ideas. It is a classic play that keeps on coming back to test our humanity on a person, social, political and spiritual level. It reflects the struggle to look at ourselves positively against the difficult demands life and society make on us.
The main character Willy Lomand cannot distinguish between reality and illusion. This is the main factor, which causes conflict throughout the play. He is unable to see who his sons and he are. Willy believes they are all great men and have what it takes to be successful businessmen. Willy believes that being "well liked" is the key to being successful. Throughout the play he has flashbacks and appears to be reliving conversation and situations that happened years ago. .
Charlie is the Lomand's next-door neighbour and owns his own sales firm. He and will do not get along very well due to Willy's jealousy but manage to be friends on one level. Charlie is very much to voice of reality throughout the play. The problem of distinguishing between reality and illusion eventually is the course of Willy's downfall. In the end his belief is "you are worth more dead than alive". Charlie tells him "A man isn't worth anything dead".
The idea of planting a garden is another theme running through the play. Willy spends a fair bit of his time in his garden (he has a small garden). In one of the last acts before his death he is planting seeds in the garden. The garden is symbolic of Willy needing to leave something behind for people to remember him by.
The play can be viewed as a commentary about society.
Happy Lomand (Willy's son) carries Willy's dream on and is also confused by reality and illusion.