er. He pictures images of his brother giving him advice on how to be successful and constantly regrets the decisions he has made. At the end of the film, he offers the only thing he knows that can make recompense; he takes his own life. He does this so that his family can obtain the insurance money. Lomans sincere desire is directed at something greater than himself, his image or success. He is motivated by the love he has for his family. The falsity of the American Dream is the dominant theme in Death of a Salesman. Historically the American Dream meant a promise of freedom and opportunity for all. Loman represents the primary target of this dream. Like most middle-class working men, he struggles to provide financial security for his family and dreams about making himself a financial success. After years of working as a traveling salesman, he has only an old car, an empty house and a defeated spirit. Loman is the protagonist in this film. He is a traveling salesman, the lowest icon of popular United States culture, who believes in the false promises of the American Dream. That false promise is the antagonist, which makes people believe that anyone can become rich through hard work, perseverance, or personality. Unfortunately, Loman is overcome by his dreams and illusions during the course of the film. He is fired by the company that he believes will promote him, rejected by his sons and forced to see that his life and philosophies are lies. Loman, like traditional tragic heroes, has a tragic flaw. His fear is that he wants to be viewed as a well-liked person who does not make mistakes. He regrets such failures as raising his children poorly, not doing well in business, and cheating on Linda. In Tragedy and the Common Man Arthur Miller stated, The quality in such plays that does shake us derives from the underlying fear of being displaced, the disaster inherent to being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in the...
