Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Death of a Salesman presents a society where the capitalist culture defines a person's worth through economic success. A capitalist culture is centered on the accumulation of private ownership and market exchange emphasizing on individualism, competition and efficiency. Within the play, Willy has been shaped by these cultural values hard work and success projecting his failures onto his son Biff. He believes that “the only thing you truly have is what you can sell”. This directly correlates to the value of a person to their ability to sell, embodying the ideals of a capitalist culture. This use of dialogue, with directly speaking this in confidence, confronts the audience with the harsh realities of the capitalist culture, critiquing the definition of worth given through success. Willy's psychological downfall due to the critical society can be seen in the set design, which reveals the pressure on him. He plays stage directions describe his house in the beginning of the play, as “a small fragile seeming house” with “towering dark shapes behind it, surrounding it on all sides”. This set design visually represents the capitalist culture surrounding Willy, creating visual external pressure on him. He then projects this pressure onto his son, who doesn’t…” work, saying that “a man who makes an appearance in the business world… is the man who gets ahead.” This dialogue not only projects his concerns of failures by defining the ideal economic success but also likes the capitalist cultural values to his self-worth.

Moreover, by providing a deeper analysis of guilt and success. Arthur Miller continues to critique America’s capitalist culture by showing through his play how masculinity is valued to fulfil the provider role. Through Willy and Biff's characterization, we can see the toxic masculinity effects on their identities. Willy reveals his belief of what a man is by stating that “a man who cannot handle his tool is not a man”. This shows the capitalist cultural values of individual and success has shaped masculinity to being able to handle his job and provide for the family. Biff, Willy's son, struggles with this expectation and the expectations on him exclaiming “why was I made to become something I don’t want to be”, revealing the negative impact of the shaped masculine ideals upon his experience, which leads him to work at a city. The audience further understands the effects and pressure of Biff with his posture and movement given by stage directions. This representation of the pressure experienced by him due to his father and the culture surrounding him, highlights the display of negative effects of the identities created through the capitalist culture to critique the values of the capitalist culture.

Death of a Salesman continues its critique of values presenting the belief of the American dream as an illusion that fractures identity. The American dream promises a life of success and happiness through hard work. Miller critiques this perception by presenting the constructed path through allowing the audience to witness how success collapses visually. Throughout the play there is a repeating sound of the flute. In the following excerpts: “a melody is heard, played by the flute… telling of grass and trees and of horizons”. The flute becomes a symbol of longing for Willy, as he longs for a life like his father’s, who was a great man who was connected to nature more than he was. This use of music externalizes the longing allowing the audience an emotional edge. This is replicating the critique of the promise of happiness supposedly rooted within the American Dream, which Willy yearns for escape.