Luck In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Throughout life people yearn for the thrill of success; however, they often do nothing to achieve that success and instead wish for it. This desire raises the question of how success is truly achieved; is it through pure luck or perseverance? Arthur Miller answers this through Death of a Salesman, where a variety of characters obtain their version of success. Being an unrealistic and unapproachable path to success, Miller emphasizes that luck is not a reliable method to gaining success. Through the use of various characters, Arthur Miller illustrates that relying on hard work brings more success than luck does. Emphasizing the unrealistic success of luck, Benjamin Loman (Ben) proves that relying on luck is absurd. Ben’s luck did prove successful in allowing him to obtain wealth, but reality states that his method was unlikely and fictitious. Primarily, he claimed to have “gone south” to reach Africa from Alaska when basic geography outlaws the possibility (Miller 48). Immediately, one notices how unrealistic his method was without even mentioning the fact that, upon speaking, he is a figment of the protagonist’s imagination. In addition to Ben’s unrealistic method, his vague statements thereof indicate deception. He speaks constantly about entering a “jungle” and leaving with unimaginable wealth, however, the

From the moment he is introduced, it is obvious that Biff’s place of contentment is any farm in the southern states. He uses the words “spring” and “beautiful” to emphasize his awe for that setting, and Biff even claims that all he desires is the “outdoors” (22). Expressing distaste towards the idea of working in business illuminates his true goal: working agriculturally. Since the agricultural industry is one of physical exertion, Biff’s idea of success- achieving happiness in his ideal employment conditions, proves that hard work leads to