The Use Of Symbols Arthur Miller’S The Death Of A Salesman
The use of symbols as literary elements has told the world’s stories in clearer, better depicted, and more real ways than perhaps any other literary medium ever before. We study them, learn the meanings that they foreshadow, and sit back in awe at how they are able to give us insight into stories and characters like we could have never imagined gaining from simple words on a page. The use of these tools does not go without notice in Arthur Miller’s The Death of a Salesman. The symbolic elements, and the ways in which Miller was able to bring characters to life, as well as give them meaning through the use of this medium, in his creations were often the center of wide spread critical attention, as stated in the following quote from Meredith Broussard, a renowned literary scholar, "Miller writes ingeniously, conveying the message that 'if the proper study of mankind is man, man's inescapable problem is himself’”. In general, the essence and plot of The Death of a Salesman is widely reliant on the use of symbolism to tell the tale the way it was meant to be told, and to truly understand the messages that the author is portraying. The use of symbolism in Arthur Miller's The Death of a Salesman, specifically regarding the authors use of seeds, diamonds, & stockings, allows for the author to portray a sense of urgency over the psychological & behavioral strong suits and flaws of his characters.
The use of seeds as a literary symbol in The Death of a Salesman give light to the importance of the element of success to the play and broadcast an impactful presence of the emphasis placed on improvement of Willy’s labor’s worth as a salesman, father, and more. It is needless to say that the reader observes that Willy is not highly successful in his line of work. He completes mediocre business trips, and is found in the play to be significantly upset at the fact that he is unable to pay all of his expenses, due to this lack of success and, in return, income. Due to this, it can be found in the use of the symbol of seeds that he is signifying his lack of ability to provide for his family and make ends meet. According to Susan Smith, featured in The Arthur Miller Journal, “The most immediate and overwhelming response of the business world to the failure and death of Willy Loman was to try and erase it from the public’s consciousness”. This describes the urgency and tragedy of just how bad this failure was in terms of current society at times of composition. This symbol can also be seen as a metaphor at Willy’s despair at having nothing to pass onto his children when he dies; this conclusion can be drawn from comparing the ways in which Willy is planting seeds to the common phrase of modern society, “put down roots”. When someone uses this phrase, they typically mean to build a life, establish wealth, and to start a family or legacy somewhere.
The following quote illustrates Willy’s urgent nature and concern with the fact that he has nothing to leave with his family through his sudden interest in seeds, “’I've got to get some seeds. I've got to get some seeds, right away. Nothing's planted. I don't have a thing in the ground. ’” The irony and similarity behind this common phrase and Willy’s actions of planting seeds in the play are no coincidence. Willy, by planting his seeds, is showing his desire for having something to leave his family with when he passes. The element of this event taking place at night is insight that he is regretful of being without his great desire, as the darkness is often portrayed as a place of sadness or uncertainty and fear. The symbol of seeds can also be manipulated into broadcasting light on the ways in which, just as the American Dream failed Willy, despite the bulletproof enigma it may have, Willy failed at raising Biff to be the successful child he had always hoped and believed he would be.
The following quote, in the words of Willy Loman, the ways in which Biff’s father’s disappointment at the success of his son, and regret that he did not mend the issue, is apparent, “Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world, a young man with such -personal attractiveness, gets lost” (Miller, Act I). The ways in which Biff goes from a well-liked all-American football star to an ambition-lacking free-rider, per say, show this awry outcome contrary to everything Willy had planned for his child. Willy, in a highly narcissistic manner, takes Biff’s failure to reflect upon himself as his own. The use of stockings as a literary symbol in the Arthur Miller play The Death of a Salesman enlighten readers to the impact of infidelity, pride, and betrayal on the narrative being told. The nature of Willy’s odd fetish over the condition of his wife’s stockings can be traced to his ties and relations with sexual infidelity within his relationship, and his guilt regarding the betrayal of Linda and Biff. The ways in which Willy obsesses over whether or not Linda’s stocking are in an acceptable state broadcast a flashback of Biff’s discovery of his father’s flawed loyalty and infidelity with The Woman in their Boston hotel. Evidence of this is found when Biff accuses Willy the discarding of, the devoted wife and mother, Linda’s stockings to this mistress that Willy was involved with in that moment. The following quote shows this previously discussed event, “I won’t have you mending stockings in this house! Now throw them out!”. Regardless if Willy was to have, in fact, given the stockings to the woman with whom he shared his night with, the metaphorical impact of this event carries heavy significance as it shows the unfortunate betrayal of his family that Willy had concurred. The ways in which Willy shows insubordinate nature with Linda repairing her stockings and insisting that she just discard them and purchase new ones also symbolizes a great importance placed on pride for Willy.
The overall idea that Miller was portraying to his readers is that the stockings assume a metaphorical weight as the symbol of betrayal and sexual infidelity. As stated by Terry Nienhuis, this particular use of family involvement is not at all atypical of Miller’s creations, “Using family relationships as a starting point, Miller’s plays confront contemporary moral dilemmas and focus on people’s responsibility to be true to themselves as well as their responsibility to be a part of the human race”.
New stockings are important for both Willy’s pride in being financially successful and thus able to provide for his family and for Willy’s ability to ease his guilt about, and suppress the memory of, his betrayal of Linda and Biff. Diamonds as a literary symbol in The Death of a Salesman, allow for the author to give an elemental approach to representing his character, Willy Loman, with a strong sense of pride and importance placed on wealth and labor. This symbol, like those previously discussed, also bring to the table an underlining sense of anxiety surrounding the fact that Willy is getting older with no material wealth to pass onto his children or wife. This symbol arises multiple times, but most prominently when discussions involving Ben are brought up. The fortune-making discovery of Ben, which is likely the person Willy most envious and jealous of from clues the author gives in context throughout the play, allows yet another way for Willie to embrace his monumental failure as a salesman. This jealousy described previously comes from the missed opportunity presented to Willy to have taken part in the Alaskan trip that made Ben so wealthy. Due to this fact, and his general failure in sales, he feels excluded by the American Dream that is capturing so many fellow Americans around him. The diamond also symbolizes Willy’s suicide. “Willy leaves the house and drives the car to his death. In the play’s last scene, in the cemetary after Willy’s funeral, Linda talks to Willy over his grave and reflects on the irony that he killed himself just as they finished paying for their house”. The reason this event occurred, and the meaning behind it and the involvement of the symbol of diamonds, is because of the ways in which Ben encourages Wily to go into the “jungle and get his elusive diamond”, essentially telling him to kill himself to be able to retrieve his “diamond”, which is representative of his life insurance money. Thus, the symbolism present behind the use of diamonds in The Death of a Salesman, is just as apparent as it is clarifying to much of the authors purpose in composing this play.
The impact of symbolism and motifs in the renowned play The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, is nothing short of monumental. The ways in which the author is able to give his character’s feelings and depth through his use of symbols are some of the most valued literary elements of his compositions, and this play is no exception. The use of seeds, diamonds, and stockings as insights into his character’s nature and, in fact, their minds allows for readers to better connect with the characters and gives a personified, real idea of just who these figures are. Overall, the use of symbols and their impact on the progression of the plot in The Death of a Salesman makes the play what it now is, a literary staple and gem, and without the use of this element the Willy, Biff, Linda, and Happy we have all come to know and love, just wouldn’t be the same.
