Death of a Salesman- Themes

There were a variety of themes that were explored throughout the play. One of the main themes that I found while reading the play was that family plays a huge role in success. This theme was very apparent in the plot of the play because it often seemed as if Willy did nothing but criticize his son's inability to get started in life, but things may have been different if he had showed more support for Biff and encouraged him rather than discourage him on top of his already existing frustration with himself. Another theme that stood out in the play for me was that being the absolute best or the most successful at something is not always the most important aspect. Throughout the play, it often appeared that that Biff, Happy, and Willy only cared about succeeding in business and making money. There was so much pressure that the result ended up being that nothing really worked out the way it could have. Linda on the other hand, was aware that the family relationships were important and she was the strong-willed character of the family who worked to make the relationship between Biff and his father stronger rather than watch the two of them fight over something so trivial, even if it may not have appeared that way. These were the most apparent themes in the play and were portrayed multiple times in the interaction between the characters in the play.