Arthur Miller's 1949 play Death of a Salesman whisks viewers through the final days of the life of Willy Loman, a financially and socially struggling traveling salesman that is deteriorating in health by the day. Willy lives with his wife Linda, and has two adult sons, Biff and Happy, that are visiting home in the waning days of Willy's life. Much strain is ado in the Loman house at the time, with Willy beginning to lose his mind, Biff attempting to find his, and flashbacks to what seem to be better times bringing it all together. Throughout the play, there are various themes represented, all of which tie back to the narcissistic nature of the protagonist, Willy Loman. Willy simply wants his family to be successful in life, and the only way he sees this as possible is through the same route he took. Narcissism is omnipresent as themes of the American Dream (or Nightmare), and the Quest for Identity are represented in the play.
To begin, the definition of narcissism must be stated. Narcissism is defined as "a personality construct typically characterized by grandiosity, vanity, entitlement, and exploitativeness" (Hyatt, Sleep, Lamkin, Maples-Keller, Sedikides, Campbell, Miller 1). Willy sees the American Dream as it is commonly stereotyped; having a large home, nice cars, and a home-cooked meal to come home to nightly. The commonly stereotyped path to this lifestyle is through hard work and dedication. While this could be considered a proper definition of the American Dream, Willy's vision of the path to the aforementioned lifestyle is skewed. Willy believes that there is no need for hard work in order to be successful, for he sees personal attractiveness as the only key to success in the business world. As he states, "…personality always wins the day" (Miller 43). While the opposite may be true, Willy sees himself as a successful salesman. In turn, due to his beliefs in how one becomes successful, Willy sees himself as having a superior personality to those of his fellow salesmen. This feeling of superiority is one of the primary components in the definition of narcissism.
While Willy certainly strokes his own ego, he is not the only one to blame for his ever-present narcissism, and therefore his vision of the American Dream. Past experiences that were presented as flashbacks in the play serve as evidence as to why Willy thinks so highly of himself. In one of these flashbacks, Biff, obviously the favorite of the two Loman brothers, has a conversation with his father while practicing passing a football before an important upcoming game. Biff says, "This Saturday, Pop, this Saturday – just for you, I'm going to break through for a touchdown" (Miller 17). In his attempt to make his father proud, Biff deepens Willy's sense of self-pride, contributing to the "vanity" portion of the aforementioned definition of narcissism. "Miller is truly great at self-deception. His most enduring characters are self-deceivers or plain fantasists" (Raine 31), states Nina Raine in a journal entry on Arthur Miller's use of the American Dream in his work. This assertion holds true for Willy Loman. He has convinced himself that he is a well-liked, successful salesman, when he, in fact, falls on the exact opposite side of the spectrum. However, Willy is not just a self-deceiver in his thoughts of whether he is living the American Dream, narcissistic tendencies also play into his personal visions thereof.
Narcissists are also commonly characterized as individuals who do not take others' feelings into account in many situations. Willy displays this characteristic as well, specifically in his handling of Biff's situation. Biff is struggling, attempting to find himself and his true happiness. In a conversation with Linda, Willy states, "How can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life? A farm-hand?" (Miller 4). Willy continues to say, "But it's more than ten years now [since Biff was young] and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week!" (Miller 4). With this, Biff does not represent the traditional occurrence of the Quest for Identity theme in literature, but he represents it nonetheless. In Biff's case, he knows what he enjoys and therefore what he would like to do, but he simultaneously sees it as a sort of a waste of his life, due to the lack of pay that comes with the work, leading to his continuing search for a "real job." Biff states, in a conversation with Happy, "There's nothing more inspiring or – beautiful than the sight of a mare and a new colt. And it's cool there now, see? Texas is cool now, and it's spring. And whenever spring comes to where I am, I suddenly get the feeling, my God, I'm not gettin' anywhere!" (Miller 9). Biff enjoys what he is doing – working with cattle and being outdoors – but because it is not a traditional career in business, similar to that possessed by Happy and Willy, Biff sees this as an invaluable occupation, causing him to question if it is truly what he wants for the rest of his life. Through it all, a good parent would support their child in anything that they may choose, whereas Willy does just the opposite. Instead of allowing Biff to find his own life, Willy wants him to find a life as quickly as possible, just as he did when beginning his career as a salesman. Willy states, "Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!" (Miller 4).
Biff is described as "woefully unable – or unwilling – to make the big leap from carefree childhood to responsible adulthood" (Thompson 246). This feeling of being essentially unable to grow up stems from Willy's parenting style through the early stages of Biff's quest for identity, one based around his idea of how to be successful, one based upon his narcissistic tendencies. Willy, as mentioned before, sees personality as the deciding factor in success. In a flashback to Biff's days in high-school, Willy states, "Bernard can get the best marks in school, y'understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y'understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him. That's why I thank Almighty God you're both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead." (Miller 18). Willy characterizes a narcissist in this assertion in his desire for self-imitation and his great self-esteem, essentially saying that he "got ahead" through creating personal interest, and building his personality rather than his academic profile. Willy's narcissism is ultimately the cause of Biff's inability to find himself, which presents the Quest for Identity theme in this work.
All in all, evidence shows that Willy Loman is a sick man. While he may or may not have an actual illness, he and his family are affected by his narcissism more than anything. Willy's narcissism has caused him to have a false sense of security on many elements of his life, one which he, based on fact, should not have. Willy feels as though he is a personable man, when he is not. He feels that he is a successful salesman, when he is not. Willy feels as though he is living the American Dream, and while he may be, his family certainly is not, due to his narcissistic attitude. With that said, Miller's Death of a Salesman incorporates various themes, with the ever-present theme of narcissism overseeing them all.