"The assumption was that we all knew Willy Loman", wrote Arthur Miller about the protagonist of his play Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman is indeed a human character whose limitations and errors cause him to be too incompetent for the harsh competitive American capitalist society in the forties. The fact that the play continues to be appreciated and performed in America as in many other countries today can make us ask ourselves what significance the play holds for audiences today and what impact it has on them. We are therefore going to study the persisting relevance of miller's plea against a capitalist society, and of his accusation of destructive, universal and timeless values.

First of all, one can expect Death of a Salesman to especially have a strong impact on American modern audiences. In his play, Arthur Miller indicates to the audience both what is truthful and...