e several other ideologies offered by Miller in this play. There is the pastoral ideology, to which it would seem that Biff has subscribed: to live on farm land raising crops, building homes and making your own living instead of being a wage slave. There is the urban version of success, such as the one enjoyed by Howard. He was born into the wealth that he enjoys; all the hard work was his fathers. This is what Willy really wanted to give his boys. It is interesting to note that Willy pays little attention to his brothers actual way of life: Ben left the land of opportunity and so made his fortune. Also worthy of note is the lifestyle that his (Willys) father led. He made his own produce to sell (flutes) and travelled around selling them. We never actually discover what it is that Willy sells throughout the length of the play. When Willy tries to grow his own vegetables, we are offered a glimpse of what the man really wanted to do with his life (Willy curses the skyscrapers the very icons of capitalism and monetary success. This is a stark contradiction and a telling clue to he way the man genuinely feels). Miller asserted that the tragic mode is archaic owing to the absence of socially elevated heroes7. In Willy Loman Miller has created a more relevant hero. Willy is a tragic hero because his faith in that belief system leads him to death; he kills himself to save his family from financial ruin, assuring that they have a modicum of success and social acceptance, but at the expense of their happiness. Willy never actually realises his flaw is the pride that goes with his materialism. The question is raised throughout Death of a Salesman as to whether Willy is a victim of the society in which he lives, or a victim of his own poor judgement. Willy is not simply a victim of that success-mongering culture. Miller wishes us to see that Willy accepts the success value all too easily and completely. The play suggests that, along with our pi...
