For Willy Loman, ambition is the ultimate foe—the Darth Vader to his Luke Skywalker, the Voldemort to his Harry Potter, the Cruella to his Pongo.
Death of a Salesman is a tragedy about the differences between the Loman family’s dreams and the reality of their lives. The play is a scathing critique of the American Dream and of the competitive, materialistic American society of the late 1940s. The storyline features Willy Loman, an average guy who attempts to hide his averageness and failures behind increasingly delusional hallucinations as he strives to be a “success.”
Join Shmoop as we analyze the play in all its depressing glory.
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