Question

What are 3 pivotal turning points in The Death of a Salesman?

Answer 1

Answer:

The main point Arthur Miller makes in Death of a Salesman is that the "gospel of success," which preaches that people should be valued according to their wealth and professional position, is corrosive and false.

Explanation:

Perhaps the most important point Arthur Miller makes in Death of a Salesman concerns the false and corrosive nature of what is sometimes called the "gospel of success." This is an idea based on the works of various nineteenth-century writers, notably Horatio Alger and the multi-millionaire Andrew Carnegie, who encouraged the idea that there was no limit to the wealth and success that ordinary Americans could achieve with hard work and perseverance. This belief in the possibility of economic success is at the heart of the American dream.

Willy Loman is an ardent believer in the gospel of success. He admires wealth for its own sake and has an idealized and deluded image of himself as an outstanding salesman who makes large amounts of money through his popularity and charisma. This delusion extends to his family, and he makes Biff miserable by insisting that he, too, measure his personal worth in terms of financial and professional success.