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Death Of A Salesman Analysis

909 Words4 Pages
Everyone wants to live the American Dream, the ideals which means that if hard work is put into something, than there will be great success. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy, tries to live the American Dream but can 't achieve it. Throughout the play, music and theft are used as motifs to show the successes and failures of Willy. The flute is the first and last sound that is heard in the book. It 's used as a motif to connect Willy Loman 's vague memory of his father, a flute-maker and salesman. When Willy is young, his father abandons him leaving him with little memories of his father. The flute is used as nostalgia for Willy, when Willy has had happier times in the past. The first line of the book, "A melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon" (11). The flute is like the "theme song" for Willy, which plays whenever one of Willy 's memories are shown such as, "From the right, Willy Loman, the Salesman, enters, carrying two large sample cases. The flute plays on. He hears but is not aware of it" (12). There are many different interpretations as to why the flute represents Willy. Willy 's dad has a business selling flutes and was able to make a profit of it. Willy also works as a salesman but isn 't successful. Willy is having one of his flashbacks and talks to his dead older brother, Ben. Ben states that, "Father was a very great and a very wild-hearted man... And we 'd stop in the towns and sell
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