Subconsciously, Willy knows where he went wrong, but consciously is unable to come to terms with it. The more he struggles the faster his decline. There is no self-pity, only frustration, bewilderment and epic struggle. One after another, all the myths he has created in the past are exposed before his eyes. As the play progresses, it becomes more and more difficult for Willy to lie to and delude himself. Having achieved his self-esteem through the approval of others, Willy has watched these ‘approvers’ go to their graves and take his self-esteem with them. All of Willy’s other problems - his lack of self-knowledge, his refusal to follow his natural instincts, his constant self-doubt, confusion and lack of confidence (no sooner does he make a decision then he needs to be reassured that it’s the right one), his stubborn, pigheaded determination to do things his own way, positive that he’s right and yet in the next moment afraid that he’s wrong, begging for another opinion, the very bad influence he is on his sons-all of this stems from the primary theme. This, to me, is the primary theme of Death of a Salesman. Self-esteem based upon the approval of others is evanescent and leads to self-delusion and self-destruction. As Arthur Miller says, “The commonest of men may take on that to the extent of his willingness to throw all he has into the contest, the battle to secure his rightful place in the world.” Of course, this willingness automatically removes him from being the commonest of men.
He will risk his very life to achieve his “due”, what he considers his rightful status. He must attempt everything even if it means ending up with nothing. Like Eddie, he could never settle for half. Willy, like Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, demands to be “totally known”. Perhaps most people will relate to Willy, be moved by him and, most important, think, contemplate and learn from his life and his mistakes. Willy’s passion, love and drive go way beyond the norm. This is not the story of a salesman it is the story of Willy Loman, who just happened to be a salesman.
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