Death of a Salesman is an intriguing play written by Arthur Miller in 1949. The plot focuses on Willy Loman as the protagonist, along with his wife, his two sons Biff and Happy, and his deceased brother, Ben. Willy Loman is a hardworking traveling salesman in his late sixties who lives in Boston during the 1940s, and he firmly believes in the American Dream. To Willy, success is achievable if he works hard enough. However, as he ages, Willy struggles to accept his failures and projects his unfulfilled dreams onto his sons, which emphasizes the negative impact of prioritizing material success over personal relationships and well-being, and serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of blindly pursuing the American Dream.

The play begins as Willy comes home from work and finds his sons visiting. He tells his wife, Linda, that he was constantly daydreaming and lost control of the car several times on the way to work. Linda has also noticed signs of Willy's mental decline for some time. She has seen him talking to himself, forgetting things, and acting irrationally. Thus, she tells him to take some days off of work to rest, but he refuses. Alone in his kitchen, Willy remembers another night when he returned home from a business trip, and Biff and Happy were young boys who looked up to him as a hero. But now, time has changed, his constant pursuit of the American Dream has worn out his youth, and he is no longer the father that keeps up the family.

From Willy’s flashbacks, the reader learns that Willy has a strong preference for Biff over Happy. Willy sees Biff as his last hope for achieving the American Dream through his son's success, which causes him to put a great deal of pressure on Biff to fulfill his own dreams. This pressure proves too much for Biff, who is unable to live up to his father's expectations and subsequently drops out of high school. The reader also learns that Willy’s brother, Ben, has passed away. He is portrayed as a successful businessman who made a fortune in diamond mining in Africa. Willy often has conversations with Ben in his imagination and idealizes him as a symbol of success and wealth. In this scenario, Ben symbolizes the ultimate realization of the American Dream. However, Ben's success is achieved through ruthless means, such as exploiting the labor of African diamond miners. Both examples show that aimlessly pursuing the American Dream will eventually be detrimental to people’s relationships and well-being.  

As Willy approaches retirement age, he becomes more and more depressed because his goal of becoming a successful salesman remains distant. Due to his decreasing sales, his boss becomes dissatisfied and fires him. Willy finds it difficult to pay the household bills, and his life becomes a series of regrets due to his inability to reach his own aspirations. His depression and regret become too overwhelming that Willy ends up taking his own life.

The play explores the themes of the American Dream, family relationships, and the struggle for self-worth and identity. Willy's obsession with the idea of success and the American Dream is represented by his constant references to his sales record and his desire for his sons to be successful. However, his expectations and the pursuit of success in the end act as the last straw, highlighting the destructive impact of prioritizing material success over personal relationships and well-being. The play serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of living in a society that places too much emphasis on the idea of success and achievement.