“We Never Told the Truth for Ten Minutes in This House”: Competition in Death of a Salesman

Shanghong Li

doi:10.4312/elope.22.2.97-112

Authors

Shanghong Li Shanghai International Studies University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/elope.22.2.97-112

Keywords:

Death of a Salesman, competition, the law of the jungle, American Dream

Abstract

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman does not broadly critique the American Dream, but rather targets the competitive ethos, the “law of the jungle”, as a defining American tradition. This reading reinterprets perceived contradictions in the play, positioning competition as its central theme. Charley, often viewed as a kind neighbour, subtly embodies this ethos, locked in a lifelong rivalry with Willy over masculinity, business, and fatherhood. Willy, living in a post-colonial society, does not abandon the colonial spirit represented by his father and brother, but adapts it to a modern and metropolitan environment. Personality, or popularity, is but a disguise of pragmatism in his salesmanship, of which his liaison with the Woman is only a minor expression. Well-informed of social Darwinism, Willy raises Biff and Happy to be fearless competitors. While Biff experiences an epiphany and disentangles himself from the law of the jungle, Happy carries it forward. Through Happy, Miller reveals a gloomy future of America beset with corruption and alienation.

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