develops the image of being all used up at the end of the play (Hayman 55). Willy says of his refrigerator that it consumes belts like a goddam maniac. They time those things. They time them so when you finally paid for them, they are used up (Miller 73). Here, Willy voices his feelings on consumer capitalism; products that last forever are not good for the economy. These products must break in order for companies to develop newer and better models. Throughout the play, Willys desire to own something that works properly becomes poignant: Once in my life I would like to own something outright before it is broken! I just finished paying for the car and it is on its last leg (Miller 73). Like the products that surround him, Willy is also broken and used up. Over the years, the Wagner Company has drained the life out of him. When Willy is fired, his employer discards him like a useless piece of orange rind.Part of Willys despair comes from a sense of being boxed in Brooklyn. In the first scene, Willy comments that he feels boxed in by bricks and complains that he cannot get anything to grow. Even in his distraught state he recognizes that if he can make a little plant grow, he may be saved (Dusenbury, Loneliness 119). Willy remembers the time when Biff and Happy were young; there were lilacs and wisterias growing in the yard. The flowers symbolize real life and good times. He dreams of life in the country and tries to plant carrots, beets, and lettuce seeds. Now, that life is closing in on Willy, he desperately wants something to grow, to plant seeds that have life, but his attempts are futile, both in his efforts in the back yard and in his efforts with his sons. With suicide on his mind, the dirt makes Willy want to live again. The choked seed is[a] symbol: Willy Loman is trapped in a society which prevents him establishing anything to outlast himself, ruining the lives of his sons as well as his own (Parker 27). Iron...
