Death of a Salesman?  It’s What Happens When the Customer Says “I’ll Think It Over!”

No one likes to be turned down. It can sting, leaving a person feeling rejected and unseen, or worse yet, closing the door on a sale that could have meant financial success. It’s hard to let go when you feel your livelihood on the line. We’ve all been in that situation before: where we are at our wit’s end and someone crosses us up by saying “I’ll think it over!” Well done! You made it through one more rejection and lived to tell the tale.

Rejection is not just a part of business, it’s a part of life. We can’t all have the same car, live in the same neighborhood, or have the same job. The people we care about will eventually leave us one day and that can be difficult to accept. When things don’t go our way, we find comfort in understanding that it’s all part of life and nothing is permanent—except death!

The Salesman Who Didn’t Want to Hear No

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a classic tale about the decay of American dream during the depression era. Miller’s play, now performed around the world, tells a story of three men in their prime—Loman, his eldest son Biff and his friend Willy. They are all in the same company and all three have reached different levels of success. But as time passes and those dreams are no longer fulfilled, they face new challenges in life.

The play opens at the beginning of winter when everyone is concerned with the cold weather. We learn that Willy has been laid off because another salesman out-sold him last week (the door is open to this situation because Willy was selling too much). Now, Willy is confined in his depression and he feels as if he is going crazy. His wife Linda worries about him sleeping on the couch, and considers moving him to a hospital. George is also aware of this and can see that there are things about his father that bother him.

Before Willy became a salesman, he always wanted to be a farmer. He dreamed of making it big by selling seed drill machines to the “rich farmers” in town and owning his own small farm too one day (I. i). Eventually and unfortunately, Willy is laid off from his job and has to sell the drill to survive. The money that he received was not enough for him and he is forced to put his seed drill in a warehouse.

According to Miller’s play, the success of salesmen was based on two things: how much they sold, and how many customers they had.

One day Biff comes home in an emotional state because he has been turned down by a girl named Linda. It seems that Linda did not want anything to do with him because she feels that he is too old for her (I. 40). She feels that she can find better young men at college than him (I. 41). Biff is a bright student who, at one time, had a high potential to play professional baseball and was also captain of the team. Unfortunately he comes home empty handed and spirits are low among the family.

The next day Willy takes Biff out on a sales call to help him practice his skills. This is important because Willy needs his son to be ready if an opportunity comes along for him to start working (I. ii). When they return home, Willy and Linda have an argument about Biff’s future in baseball. Linda feels that Biff did not try hard enough to become a success and that he could not make it as a professional player (I. iii). She is worried about her son’s future. Willy does not agree with her at all and tells her that Biff can make it big if he sets his mind to it (I. iv).

The next day Biff makes his way to the doctor to get a physical exam in order to be eligible for college. He decides to skip going to school and tells everyone that he failed the physical because he was too busy working for Willy (I. v). Willy is obviously upset with this news and knows that something has changed in Biff since his rejection from Linda. Willy also knows that Biff is not well and starts to worry about his future with his company. Willy does not want to lose his friend as a salesman because he needs him to make sales (I. vi). Willy is disappointed in Biff and feels that he has been living in a dream world for a long time.

Biff’s sister, Happy, who is the youngest of the Loman siblings, feels happier when she is happy. But when she hears bad news, she becomes upset and cries—just like Linda did when she was interviewed by her boss earlier in the play (I. iii). That night, Willy wakes up in the middle of the night and puts on his coat to go out. He feels restless at home and wants to get away. Willy goes to a bar where he meets a colleague who tells him that he was laid off too (I. vii).

Willy finally realizes that nobody is immune from failure, even if they have worked hard for years (I. iii). He is also upset about being laid off because for many years he looked up to Biff’s potential as a baseball player and wanted him to follow in his footsteps (I. iv). Willy tells Happy that he is getting old and cannot do it any longer (I. viii). He also feels that he has failed to live up to his son’s expectations and has let him down in his baseball career.

Happy tells Willy about a friend of hers who tried to commit suicide after failing a test in school (I. iii). Willy tells her that death is natural and that the world continues turning no matter what we do. Willy dismisses this story by saying, “Death is natural! The body stops, the wheel stops, everything stops!” Everyone knows that everything on Earth is temporary so eventually they will pass away one day—including your feelings (II. i).

Conclusion

So, life is not all that wonderful after all. There are things that you can and cannot control in your life. We should accept this fact and try to make the best of everything we have instead of trying and striving to be something or someone we cannot achieve. It’s not a bad thing to enjoy yourself in life—it’s bad to think that you will be able to do anything huge or great and have your heart broken when it does not happen.

This is the problem with attempting perfection in all things: it leads us to believe, rightly or wrongly, that our future must be a reflection of our past.