Death of a Salesman Themes

The title forces the reader to wonder throughout the entire play when and how Willy is going to die, and what will happen to his family. The whole story is Willy trying to hold on to what little sanity he has left, while everyday his family grows more scared and angry. Willy finally loses it all and kills himself by crashing his car. This is the climax of Death of a Salesman, and the music in the stage directions add drama to the last scene.

Very few people attend Willy's funeral, contrary to his desire to have a big "salesman" funeral. This gives rise to the first major theme, desertion. Many people had deserted Willy during his lifetime, including both his father and his brother.

Since Willy never had a true family during his childhood, he was always striving to create the perfect family that he envisioned in his mind. His constant strive for perfection made it hard for him to enjoy his life. Biff, Willy's favorite and most perfect son in his mind, ultimately left him disappointed. Happy did the same. Perfection and desertion are two main themes of the play.
I think that Death of a Salesman teaches us that life has both good and bad times that everyone must face, but we cannot let these obstacles get in the way of our happiness and living our lives.