Rhetorical Summary: Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman – Rhetorical Summary
In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, an aged salesman deals with the differences between reality and what his dreams hoped for in life. While in reality, he was just another salesman with little importance to his company and his family is in a state of turmoil and economic instability; but in his dreams and false perception of reality, he was a well-like and recognized salesman whose family is picture perfect and is well off economically. His dream and false perception of reality depicts the idea of the American Dream.
What Arthur Miller tries to show in his reading or what his argument is that a someone’s desire to get ahead in life and gain the American Dream can sometimes arise consequences if he doesn’t tread carefully. In the novel, Willy Loman tries do everything to get ahead in life and be well-liked that he doesn’t lend any attention to other important things. The biggest example in the novel is when he tries to teach his son how to get ahead in life. He tells him that being well-liked is more important than getting an education. This and other events cause Biff to become a workless wanderer as his friend who did focus on his studies gets ahead in life.
Arthur Miller uses pathos in his argument as he uses the characters to show deep emotions of sorrow and grief as their family descends into turmoil and instability, both economically and psychologically. The reader is to feel sorrow for Willy Loman and his family as they continue to descend throughout the novel.