DEATH OF A SALESMAN: BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM

Arthur Miller’s play Death of A Salesman addresses complicated historic topics such as the American dream, the growth of capitalism, and the difficulties of the typical suburban family. Some of the most delicate and difficult parts of Miler’s life are also reflected in the work such his complicated relationship with his relatives (the man who inspired the character Willy), the affects the Great Depression had on him and his family, and his eventual relationship with Marilyn Monroe.  Author Arthur Asher Miller was born October 17, 1915 in Harlem, New York. He was the second of 3 children to a wealthy middle-class family and lived a comfortable life until the Great Wall Street Crash of 1929 when his family lost everything, just like everybody else in the country. As a teenager, Miller had to work two jobs while he attended school to help support his family and save up enough money for his college tuition. During the Great Depression, a hard-working attitude was instilled in Miller and this value of hard work and dedication is reflected in Death of a Salesman. Responsibility and work ethic are discussed often in the novel but is specifically mentioned many times Willy like when he said, 
“I’m gonna knock Howard for a loop, kid. I’ll get the advance. I’ll come back with a New York job”. 
The importance of dedication is discussed often in the play and is reflected in Miller’s own life. He was rejected tice by the University of Michigan but he didn’t give up and he eventually got in. He then majored in in journalism and began his writing career. Starting with the production of The Man Who Had All The Luck in 1940, Miller went on to produce many plays over the years but the play and event that influenced Death of A Salesman the most was his Uncle’s reaction to All My Sons in 1947. Miller’s uncle Manny Neumann came to a showing of All My Sons and while they were talking afterwards Manny kept comparing Miller to his two son’s (Arthur Miller’s cousins) and bragged about their achievements instead of congratulating Miller on his show. Miller used his uncle’s way of viewing life as a constant competition of success and created the character Willy Loman. Like in this quote when Willy says to Bernard,
“Well, Bill Oliver-very big sporting-goods man-he wants Biff very badly. Called him in from the West. Long distance, carte blanche, special deliveries”
 in an attempt to brag about Biff it shows just how similar the character is to Miler’s uncle Manny. Miller also stated that the characters Biff and Happy were based off of his cousins – one was a popular high school athlete who was unsuccessful in college and one was good with the ladies and lied about his success. Since Miller deliberately modeled his characters after his own relatives it makes the use of a biographical lens in his work so much easier. Death of A Salesmen also discusses more personal aspects of Miller’s life and addresses some of his moral shortcomings. Miller cheated on his wife and had an affair with Marilyn Monroe. The couple broke up after being together for 5 years and he almost immediately got together with another woman. Throughout his life Miller went through three divorces and never really seemed faithful in any of his relationships. This is reflected in Willy’s affair with The Woman and the ease in which he cheated on Linda and is also reflected in the way Happy treats women as well. Early on in the novel Happy describes sleeping around like 
“bowling or something. I just keep knockin’ them over and it doesn’t mean anything. 
This blatant disrespect for women and conventional relationships reflects some of Arthur’s own issues with marriage and difficulties in respecting women in general.