the death of a salesman essay topics

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122 Death of a Salesman Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on death of a salesman, ✍️ death of a salesman essay topics for college, 🎓 most interesting death of a salesman research titles, 📌 easy death of a salesman essay topics, 💡 simple death of a salesman essay ideas, ❓ death of a salesman essay questions.

• The American Dream in Death of a Salesman
• The Failure of American Dream in Death of a Salesman
• Death of a Salesman as a Social Drama
• Reality vs. Illusions: Death of a Salesman Analysis Essay
• Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman: Character Analysis
• The Representation of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman
• American Family in Death of a Salesman
• Death of a Salesman Psychoanalitic Analysis Psychological problems and communication difficulties prevent the Loman’s from happy life and lead to breakdown of values, personal principles and family life.
• Symbolism in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller In Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman, the sub-surface ideals of the American Dream are investigated and a very close ruinous look is the outcome.
• Themes in Death of a Salesman: Research Paper This paper discusses a depressing story of illusions – 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller – and describes its main characters.
• “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller Seeds can be discussed as the most intriguing image presented in Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” because seeds symbolize the hope of the main character Willy for the best future.
• Death of a Salesman: Plot Analysis The events of Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman take place in 1949, four years after the Second World War has come to an end.
• Death of a Salesman: Critical Analysis In “Death of a Salesman” setting performs a task of great importance: the melody, the sound of flute, that is the initial element of the setting, speaks about something light and pleasant
• The Last Scene of Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” The paper analyzes the scene the is at the last of Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman”, beginning about line 780 in Act II and continuing to the end of the play.
• Willy Loman Death of a Salesman: Character Analysis Miller’s “The Death of a Salesman” vividly portrays a life of a middle-class salesman who tries to achieve the American dream and realize his life hopes.
• Willy Loman and His American Dream: Essay on Death of a Salesman In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, we see a devastating portrait of a man, Willy Loman, consumed by the wrong dream.
• Tragic Hero in A Death of a Salesman The Death of a Salesman is play written by Arthur Miller that touches upon the analysis of the downfall of an ordinary man.
• Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman: Character Analysis The main action of Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” is focused on the final two days in the life of an ordinary man named Willy Loman.
• Social & Personal Values in Death of a Salesman Stylistic devices and unique vision of economic development help Miller to unveil social changes and new traditions influenced by new culture.
• Willy & Linda: Family as a Theme in Death of a Salesman Miller creates contrasting characters of Willy and his wife Linda in order to depict and demonstrate different social and personal values typical for his age.
• Miller’s Death of a Salesman vs. Ibsen’s A Doll’s House The plays “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller and “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen are different in their use of character, plot development, settings, and existing themes.
• Willy Loman’s Character in “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller In his play the Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller narrates a story of Willy Loman’s desperate searching for happiness and recognition.
• Similarities and Contrasts between “Fences” and “Death of a Salesman” Both plays are works that question the right of the average American to be a tragic hero. The central conflict of both works is consistent with the laws of tragedy
• Protagonist in Death of a Salesman: Character Analysis In Death of a Salesman, Miller depicts a contradiction between industrial society and personal values, false dreams, and inability to understand and find his place in this society.
• Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”: The Theme of the Small Man in the Play In the Death of a Salesman, the author – Arthur Miller – uses characters, plot and structure, and dialogues to advance the theme of a small man and the ruination of his illusions.
• Symbolism in “Death of a Salesman” Play by Arthur Miller The play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller is a story of a salesman, Willy, who is trapped by his daydreams.
• Money & Wealth in Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” is, to me, all about the dangers of defining happiness in terms of financial success.
• “Death of Salesman” by Arthur Miller: Play Review In the play “Death of a Salesman,” American dramatist Arthur Miller wrote about the moral predicament of the working class.
• The Comprehension of the American Dream in “Death of a Salesman” This play is a perfect example of a typical story of people attempting to define their American Dream and follow it through the struggling, yet those attempts are not successful.
• American Reality vs. American Dream: Death of a Salesman Theme Analysis Arthur Miller dramatizes not only the disappointments of a little man in America but he focuses readers’ attention on the gap between the American dream and the American reality.
• The Downfall of Willy Loman in the “Death of a Salesman” In the play “Death of a Salesman”, Arthur Miller manages to masterfully show how dreams, combined with pride and stubbornness, are able to destroy a person’s life.
• Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” Play Analysis The play “Death of Salesman” by Miller is a truly unique and valuable piece of art. It can be recommended to become familiar with this composition for both youth and adults.
• Analysis of “The Death of a Salesman” by A. Miller “The Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, is a play that sheds light on issues several individuals in America experience in their quest for the American Dream.
• The Character Study of Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” Miller’s Death of a Salesman is iconic and representative since it takes place during a time of national catastrophe, the Great Depression.
• Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” in the Context of Modern Human Resource Fundamentals Since its first play in 1949, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is still recognized as one of the greatest dramatic pieces of the 20th century.
• Miller’s Death of a Salesman: Thematic Analysis Death of a Salesman is a 1949 chef-d’oeuvre stage play by Arthur Miller, which addresses various issues that were affecting American society at the time.
• Death of a Salesman: Literary Analysis Essay A literary analysis of Arthur Miller’s "Death of a Salesman," as to draw out its theme, plot, structure, character, and setting proves that the literary merit of the play is astonishingly great.
• Death of a Salesman: Imagery & Sumbolism The Death of a Salesman was a tale of broken dreams, aspirations of the characters and unfulfilled promises. The Loman family is portrayed in the play as a dysfunctional family, each member with his or her issues.
• Willy Loman as a Protagonist in Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller, the author of Death of a Salesman, is a well-known American playwright of the twentieth century. The play won him international fame and came to be counted by as a real achievement.
• Death of a Salesman: Book Review “The American Dream” is the highlight of this story. However, it can be learned from the story that the most meaningful way to achieving the American dream” is by climbing the ladder.
• Material Success and Failure in Miller’s Play “Death of a Salesman” The impossibility of gaining material success in Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” is transmitted through a variety of symbols.
• Death of a Salesman: the Theme of a Small Man in a Big City This research paper is designed to analyze the literary work of Death of a Salesman from the point of view of a small man in the big city.
• “Death of a Salesman” Dramatic Tragedy by Arthur Miller The genre of dramatic tragedy is revealed comprehensively in the play “Death of a Salesman” written by Miller.
• “The Death of a Salesman” Film by John Malkovich John Malkovich’s film “The Death of a Salesman” is an adaptation of the 1949 play by Arthur Miller, which was also staged many times in the US, London, Berlin, and Bombay.
• Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s “The Death of a Salesman” This paper discusses the character of Willy Loman from Arthur Miller’s “The Death of a Salesman” – one of the essential tragedies in American literature.
• “The Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller Overview Arthur Miller defies the American dream mythology in “The demise of a salesman.” He invented the salesman character for the audience to connect with him without a recognized product.
• Plot and Characters in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” In the play, “Death of a Salesman” Miller says that the latest boom in real estate is one of the testimonies of the success of the American businesses.
• “Death of a Salesman”: The American Dream by Arthur Miller Even though many readers consider the American Dream as one of the core ideas in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, there is always a chance to find some new interpretation.
• Death of American Dream in Death of a Salesman Using a dramatic point of view, Miller creates a theme loosing hopes and tragedy as a result of false ideals and inability to achieve the American dream.
• “Death of a Salesman,” Misinterpreting the Concept of the American Dream The American dream consists in altruism and spiritual values, rather than material welfare as such. In other words, it is more about spiritual prosperity.
• Success in Death of a Salesman There are two types of people: those who do all they can to achieve some success, who work hard and at last achieve success.
• Symbolic Character in “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller demonstrates the struggle of a man in an attempt to reach success in life.
• Heroes and Cowards in “Oedipus Rex” and “Death of a Salesman” In the two plays, “Oedipus Rex” and “Death of a Salesman” there are many parallels. One major parallel is courage and cowardice.
• Death of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman Miller’s play Death of a Salesman depicts the American dream and the inability of a person to understand the meaning of life and family happiness.
• Women in Oedipus Rex and Death of a Salesman: Compare & Contrast Essay The leading females in Oedipus Rex and Death of a Salesman are submissive characters who are unable to avert the imminent tragedies of the dominant protagonists in both plays.
• Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” and the American Dream The play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller is a prominent and well-known work with vivid and deep characters, and each of them had one’s own story.
• Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman” by A. Miller “Death of a Salesman” is one of the brightest works of Arthur Miller, and the problems enlightened in it remain actual long after the work was first published.
• Seeing Inside Willy’s Head in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• The Loman Father and Sons in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Symbols and Journey Used in Ellison’s Book Invisible Man and Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• The Selfish Linda Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• The Tragic Hero, Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• The Dead End Dream in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Sympathy for Willy Loman – Death of a Salesman
• Hardships, Family Relationships, Insanity and Death in Two Renowned Dramas Fences by Wilson and Death of a Salesman by Miller
• The Conflicted Linda Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Characters Willy and Biff Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Contrasting Biff and Bernard in Death of a Salesman
• American Values and Success in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Would Aristotle Label Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman as a Tragedy
• Comparing Willy Loman From Death of a Salesman and Joe Keller From All My Sons
• The Positive and Negative Personalities of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Seeking the American Dream Of Success as Presented in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• America’s Preoccupation With Materialism After World War II in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Comparing Light and Growth in a Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman
• Marxism and the Fall of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman
• The Crucible and Death of a Salesman: Search for Happiness
• Achieving the American Dream in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Chasing the American Dream in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Comparing Father and Child Relationships in Death of a Salesman
• Father and Son Relationship Between Willy and Biff Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Good Looking and Popularity in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Arthur Miller’s Play, Death of a Salesman: How Willy Loman Was Killed by Change
• Father and Son Willy and Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• How Women Are Portrayed in Death of a Salesman
• How Does Miller Use the Father-Son Relationships to Question the Values of 1940’s America in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• The Perfect Wrong Dreams in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Arthur Miller Based the Death of a Salesman in the Pursuit of the American Dream
• Structure, Themes, and Motifs in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• The Conflicted Linda Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman
• The Reality for Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Willie Loman’s Corrupted View of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman
• Willy’s Tragic Flaw and the Effect It Has Upon His Sons-Death of a Salesman
• The Struggles Regarding Life Fulfillment Leading the Characters of “A Death of a Salesman” to Death
• The Secret Between Biff and Willy in Death of a Salesman, a Play by Arthur Miller
• Protagonists Looking for Happiness in “Death of a Salesman”
• Is “Death of a Salesman” a Tragedy According to Aristotle?
• Why Do Some Individuals Consider “Death of a Salesman” a Tragedy Instead of a Drama?
• What Kind of Play Is “Death of a Salesman” and Why?
• Why Is the Title “Death of a Salesman” Ironic?
• How Is the Conflict in “Death of a Salesman” Resolved?
• How Does “Death of a Salesman” Relate to the Real World?
• What Is the Significance of the Title “Death of a Salesman”?
• How Is Foreshadowing Used in “Death of a Salesman”?
• What Is the Main Conflict in “Death of a Salesman”?
• Does Modernity Play a Major Role in the Play “Death of a Salesman”?
• What Is the Moral Lesson of the Story “Death of a Salesman”?
• How Is the American Dream Represented in “Death of a Salesman”?
• What Was the Original Name of “Death of a Salesman”?
• Is “Death of a Salesman” Relevant Today?
• What Techniques Does Arthur Miller Use to Highlight the Conflict Between Past and Present in “Death of a Salesman”?
• Who Is the Tragic Villain in “Death of a Salesman”?
• How Is Language Used in “Death of a Salesman”?
• Is “Death of a Salesman” Realism or Expressionism?
• Who Are the Main Characters in “Death of a Salesman”?
• What Conventions Does Miller Use in “Death of a Salesman”?
• How Does “Death of a Salesman” Link to Tragedy?
• Are the Two Plays by Arthur Miller “The Crucible” and “Death of a Salesman” Similar?
• Why Is “Death of a Salesman” Considered a Social Drama?
• How Does Arthur Miller Define a Tragic Hero in “Death of a Salesman”?
• Who Is the Best Character in the Story “Death of a Salesman”?

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These essay examples and topics on Death of a Salesman were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on June 21, 2024 .

Death of a Salesman

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Discussion Questions

Arthur Miller’s narrative technique is critical in portraying both Willy’s mental state and his skewed perception of reality. When unable to face the current reality, Willy recreates his memories to help him come to terms with his current mental state and maintain his hopes for the future. How does the fluidity of time impact the audience’s understanding of the plot, character development, and the story’s main themes?

Despite Willy’s religious dedication to the American Dream, his longing for nature and life outdoors is heavily implied in his regret at not taking Ben’s offer to go to Alaska. It is clear that the Loman men long for the outdoors and are not suited to life in the business world. How does each of the Loman men respond to their natural inclination to the outdoors? Why does each Loman choose the paths that they do? What implications do these choices have on their lives?

The fractured relationships between the Loman fathers and sons significantly impact their lives. While Willy’s father abandons him, Willy himself betrays his family despite working to provide them with the American Dream’s idea of success. How do the choices of each father impact their sons’ interpretations of success? How do Willy and Biff perceive their respective fathers and why? 

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Plays — Death of a Salesman

Essays on Death of a Salesman

What makes a good death of a salesman essay topic.

When it comes to writing an essay on Arthur Miller's iconic play, Death of a Salesman , choosing the right topic is essential. A good essay topic should be thought-provoking, engaging, and allow for in-depth analysis. Here are some recommendations on how to brainstorm and choose a compelling essay topic:

• Consider the themes: Death of a Salesman explores various themes such as the American Dream, disillusionment, and the nature of success. When brainstorming essay topics, consider how these themes can be explored in depth.
• Character analysis: The play features complex characters such as Willy Loman and his son Biff. Choosing an essay topic that delves into the characters' motivations, conflicts, and development can lead to a rich and insightful analysis.
• Symbolism and imagery: Death of a Salesman is rich in symbolism and imagery. Look for essay topics that explore the significance of symbols such as the Loman house, the seeds, and the flute, and how they contribute to the overall meaning of the play.
• Social and cultural context: Consider how the play reflects the social and cultural context of its time, and how these themes are still relevant today. Essay topics that explore the play's cultural impact and relevance can make for a compelling analysis.

Best Death of a Salesman Essay Topics

When it comes to choosing the best Death of a Salesman essay topics, it's important to think outside the box and choose topics that stand out. Here are 20 creative and thought-provoking essay topics to consider:

• The Illusion of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman
• The Tragic Hero: Willy Loman's Downfall
• The Role of Gender in Death of a Salesman
• The American Dream: Success or Failure in Death of a Salesman
• The Loman Family Dynamics: A Dysfunctional Portrait
• The Symbolism of the Loman House in Death of a Salesman
• The Disillusionment of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman
• The Tragic Flaw: Willy Loman's Fatal Mistakes
• The Portrayal of Friendship and Betrayal in Death of a Salesman
• The Relevance of Death of a Salesman in Today's Society
• The Disintegration of Willy Loman's Mental State
• The Significance of the Flute in Death of a Salesman
• The Role of Women in Death of a Salesman
• The Conflict Between Reality and Illusion in Death of a Salesman
• The Representation of Success and Failure in Death of a Salesman
• The Impact of Capitalism on the Characters in Death of a Salesman
• The Role of the American Dream in Shaping the Characters' Lives
• The Influence of Society on Willy Loman's Mental Health
• The Betrayal of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman
• The Tragic Nature of Willy Loman's Fate

Death of a Salesman Essay Topics Prompts

Looking for some creative prompts to kickstart your essay writing process? Here are 5 engaging prompts to inspire your Death of a Salesman essay:

• Imagine you are Willy Loman's therapist. Write a journal entry reflecting on his mental state and the factors contributing to his disillusionment.
• Choose a minor character in Death of a Salesman and analyze their significance in the play. How do they contribute to the overall themes and narrative?
• If you were to rewrite the ending of Death of a Salesman , how would you envision a different fate for Willy Loman and his family? What changes would you make to the characters' arcs?
• Explore the significance of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman and its portrayal as both a driving force and a destructive illusion. How does the play challenge traditional notions of success and happiness?
• Take on the perspective of Biff Loman and write a letter to his father, Willy, expressing his feelings of resentment, love, and the complexity of their relationship.

Choosing a compelling Death of a Salesman essay topic requires careful consideration of the play's themes, characters, and cultural context. By brainstorming thought-provoking topics and prompts, you can embark on a compelling and insightful analysis of Arthur Miller's timeless masterpiece.

Symbolism in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman"

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The Value of Money in "The Death of a Salesman"

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Willy Loman as a Tragic Hero in The Death of a Salesman

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How Pride is Willy's Tragic Flaw in Death of a Salesman and How It is The Central Theme of The Play

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February 10, 1949

Arthur Miller

Willy Loman, Linda Loman, Biff Loman, Happy Loman, Ben Loman, Bernard, Charley, The Woman, Howard

Mythic figures, the American West, Alaska, the African jungle,Seed, diamonds, Linda’s and The Woman’s stockings, the rubber hose

The American Dream, the anatomy of truth, and infidelity.

“Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be? What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am!” “I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have - to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.” “And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ’Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?” “You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away — a man is not a piece of fruit!”

The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949 and ran for 742 performances. The play has been adapted for cinema ten times. The play Death of a Salesman won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.

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Death of a Salesman

By arthur miller, death of a salesman essay questions.

Does Willy Loman die a martyr? How do Linda's and his sons' interpretations of his death differ?

A strong answer will note that Willy has a noble conception of his suicide - he kills himself because he truly believes that the insurance money will allow his sons to achieve their destined greatness. But Miller does not give the audience the easy satisfaction of seeing Willy's plan come to fruition. It is highly doubtful that the Lomans would actually receive any insurance money at all. He has a record of suicide attempts, and it would be near impossible to convince the insurance company that his death was an accident.

The crux of an essay should be that Willy thinks he is martyring himself, but his martyrdom is in vain.

Death of a Salesman is one of the foundational texts describing the American dream. How does Miller's play differ from the more traditional Horatio Alger model? Is Miller overwhelmingly cynical on the topic?

Strong answers will contrast Miller's pessimistic and cynical take on the concept of the American dream with its glorified Horatio Alger representations. Traditionally, the American dream means that any person can work his way up from the bottom of the ladder to the top. Miller's work isn't so much a direct subversion of that dream as it is an exploration of the way in which the existence of the American dream can ruin a person's expectations.

Discuss the motif of women's stockings in Death of a Salesman? What are Willy and Biff's attitudes toward them? How do Linda and the woman with whom Willy is having an affair regard them?

To the women, stockings serve as a symbol of what Willy can provide and as a measure of his success. To Willy, they are a symbol of his guilt over the affair. To Biff, they are a symbol of Willy's fakeness and his betrayal of Linda. Each time the stockings appear, they serve each of these three purposes for every character present.

Describe the significance of names in this play. How do Happy and Biff's names contrast with or support their characters? Interpret the name "Loman."

Happy - a boy's name. As his name implies, Happy is someone who should be content - he has a job, an apartment, and a never-ending stream of women - but he remains deeply unhappy.

Ben - Willy's brother is named after the biblical figure Benjamin, which means "one who is blessed." The biblical Benjamin far outstripped his brothers in all areas, rousing their jealousy.

Loman - Willy is a low-man. No great hero, he is already so low on the ladder that he has hardly anywhere to fall.

What is the role of modernity in Death of a Salesman? Have cars and gas heaters fundamentally changed the American dream? How does Miller view these innovations?

The answer should note that Willy is a man left behind by progress. His is a profession that only functions in a small niche of time - he is reliant on the automobile and the highway system, but can't survive the advent of more sophisticated sales methods than the door-to-door. He is startled and confused by Howard's gadgets, and longs for an outdoors life that involves creating things with his hands.

Discuss the gender relationships in this play. Are there any positive models for a harmonious relationship? Does Miller find this concept plausible?

There are only two women of significance in the play, Linda and The Woman, who does not even merit a name. Happy nicely exposits the dichotomy between the two types of women in the world, as represented by his idealized mother and by The Woman and Miss Forsythe. The attitude towards women that Willy modeled for his sons was that women exist to be conquered - and once they've been had, they are no longer worthy of respect.

Analyze the role of seeds in Act II's final segment. What do they stand for?

Willy begins to obsess over seeds as he realizes that he has nothing to pass on to his sons. He hasn't created anything real, nothing physical that you can touch with your hand. But seeds are an investment in the future, something that is both tangible and grows with time, and that is what he wants to pass on to his sons.

Discuss examples of ways in which Willy Loman's suicide is foreshadowed in the first act of the play.

Be sure to note that the question isn't really whether Willy is going to die, but how. The discussion of Willy as suicidal is quite on the nose in the first act, but what is left ambiguous at that point is the how and the why. We are given both the rubber hose and the car as possible modes of suicide, and general despair and desperation as motivations, but the ultimate motivation of insurance money does not become an issue until the end of the play.

Compare Death of a Salesman to A Streetcar Named Desire. How do Willy Loman and Blanche Dubois each represent a fundamental element of the American drive towards progress and success?

Willy and Blanche are both victims of modernity. Willy cannot compete against the young men in the modern business world. And Blanche cannot adapt to the coarseness of life in the new South. Rather than adjusting, both characters descend deeper into their idea of the idealized past, until they lose hold on reality altogether.

Compare Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby. How do Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby suffer a similar fate?

Answer: Although they lived very different lives - Willy, objectively a failure, and Gatsby, objectively a success - Willy and Gatsby had similar downfalls. Both were caught up in the illusion of the American dream, fervently believing that they could and should reach for the stars. But after a lifetime of having relied on personality to get by, the men found themselves terribly alone, even in death.

Death of a Salesman Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Death of a Salesman is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Significant of the tittle in 600 words.

I think the title refers to both the death of Willy the salesmen and the death of his dreams. Willy's dreams of success turn to disillusionment when he cannot compete in the capitalist world. An extended metaphor might also involve Capitalism and...

death of a salesman

Charley visits because he is worried about Willy.He knows Willy is a proud man and he wants to help him, though Willy isn't really willing to take his help.

Please submit your questions one at a time.

How have biff and happy responded to their father’s condition

Biff denies responsibility for his father's condition, but he is forced to acknowledge that he is linked to his father's guilt and irrational actions. I think happy is just stressed about it.

Study Guide for Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman study guide contains a biography of Arthur Miller, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Death of a Salesman
• Death of a Salesman Summary
• Character List

Essays for Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.

• Shattered Dream - The Delusion of Willy Loman
• Perceptions of Self Worth and Prominence: Spaces and Settings in Death of a Salesman
• Sales and Dreams
• Musical Motifs
• Death of A Salesman: Shifting of the American Dream

Lesson Plan for Death of a Salesman

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Introduction to Death of a Salesman
• Relationship to Other Books
• Notes to the Teacher

Wikipedia Entries for Death of a Salesman

• Introduction

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Death of a Salesman Essay Topics & Samples

As a Pulitzer Prize winner, Death of a Salesman deserves some attention, which is most likely the reason why you were asked to write an essay about it. Even though Arthur Miller wrote it in the middle of the twentieth century, the play is still relevant.

This Custom-Writing.org article aims to help you if you have questions or are looking for a decent Death of a Salesman essay topic or have to choose between many variants.

• The first section of it contains a list of ideas that might help you write a great essay.
• The second one contains Death of a Salesman essay samples that you are welcome to use for inspiration.
• 💡 Essay Topics
• ✒️ Essay Samples

💡 Death of a Salesman: Essay Topics

Miller addresses various themes, such as the American dream and betrayal, incorporated into family life. To write a killer essay on Death of a Salesman , you should first study all aspects of the play. So you don’t forget to read through our analysis of the main characters and themes !

Now you are all set up to pick a topic from the list below.

• Analyze the main symbols of the play. There are multiple hidden symbols that Miller uses to represent one idea or another. The interpretation depends on you. There are no wrong answers. However, to set a direction, we recommend looking at such a symbol as the stockings. It is quite an obvious hint on the theme of betrayal.
• How is Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman as a father? Willy Loman, the main character in Death of a Salesman , is far from being the employee of the month. But as a father, he is also supposed to be a role model to his two sons. However, we can see that Biff and Happy have developed their personalities according to their dad’s behavior.
• Can Willy Loman be considered a hero? Loman tries to solve the problems which are too big for him. He cannot possibly overcome capitalism and becomes its victim. Analyze Willy’s last act and see whether it can be genuinely regarded as a good deed or it is a desperate attempt to get rid of a problem.
• Discuss the theme of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman . Is it Willy’s fault that he failed his family? Think about how our ambitions shape the course of our lives and write an essay reflecting on it in relation to the play. Discuss the fate of the salesman as the embodiment of the American dream.
• How reasonable was Willy’s despair in the final scenes? Look through all the details you can find about the Loman family and analyze their social and financial state. Try to write an objective opinion on whether Willy’s suicide was the only option for them. What might have caused him to exaggerate the problems they were having?
• Discuss the statement “Be liked, and you will never want” from Death of a Salesman . This prompt is related to Willy’s life philosophy, which he passes on to his sons. Are there any reasons to claim that it doesn’t work? Why? Maybe reflect on the same idea circulating in modern society.
• What is the meaning of Arthur Miller’s play? We suggest you answer the question, “What is the main message of Death of a Salesman ?” Rereading our analysis of the main themes and characters should give you some ideas! However, remember to focus on ONE idea and present persuasive arguments.
• Analyze Willy Loman’s career choice. What do you think about Willy’s decision to go into the sales business? Was it the right choice? Find the evidence in the play? Think about how different his life and life of his family could be if he had chosen a different occupation, which fits his natural abilities.
• Illusions and realistic dreams as Willy Loman’s coping mechanism. Look at Death of a Salesman as a tragedy and the story about the main character’s inner fight. Write about how he retreats into the memories to escape real-life problems. Does it have anything to do with his failure to understand his ambitions?
• Discuss the reason for Willy’s rejection of Charley’s job offer . Loman keeps turning down his friend’s job offer, and it seems to be annoying him more and more every time. But what is the reason? He might have been more well-off if he accepted it. Is it about his pride or social values?

✒️ Death of a Salesman: Essay Samples

Below you’ll find a collection of Death of a Salesman essay examples. You are welcome to use them for inspiration!

• “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller
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Is the American dream attainable? What makes someone a successful person? How does your image of yourself shape your life? Arthur Miller’s play is a tragic but true-to-life illustration of these philosophical questions without definitive answers. This Death of a Salesman Study Guide will help you understand the author’s intention...

Looking for a summary of Death of a Salesman? This article by Custom-Writing.org experts contains everything you might need for your studies or essay: Death of a Salesman’s synopsis, a plot infographic, Death of a Salesman’s short summary, and detailed descriptions of the events in the play act by act....

This Custom-Writing.org article contains all the information about Death of a Salesman characters: Willy Loman, Biff, Happy, Linda Loman, Ben Loman, Charley, Bernard, the Woman, and others. Additionally, in the first section, you’ll find a detailed Death of a Salesman character map. 🗺️ Death of a Salesman Character Map Below...

This Custom-Writing.org article explains the key themes in Death of a Salesman. The American dream, family, betrayal and abandonment are the core issues represented in the play by Arthur Miller. 🗽 Death of a Salesman: American Dream One of the main themes in Death of a Salesman is the American...

Like any other literary work, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman contains various stylistic devices to discuss, symbols to interpret, and motifs to find. That is what this article written by Custom-Writing.org experts is about! This analysis can answer any question you might have about the play, including: What do...

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Othello by William Shakespeare is an outstanding piece of literature. Written in the 17th century, it still attracts readers from all around the globe. Othello, the Moor of Venice is performed in the theaters even today. This tragic story touches the viewers of different ages and nationalities. Othello is a...

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Shakespeare’s play is a tale of tragedy and revenge, and this Hamlet study guide will focus on this. In the present articles, we will discuss the literary piece, its plot, themes, and symbols. Additionally, you will get to know more about Shakespeare’s writing style and Hamlet’s genre. Hamlet Key Facts...

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This article by Custom-Writing.org experts provides an explanation of The Great Gatsby themes. The core issues represented in the novel by Fitzgerald are: the American dream, money, social class, love, morality, and time. Keep reading to learn more about the themes of The Great Gatsby! ✉️ What Is the Main...

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10 Interesting Facts About Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller wrote famous plays like Death Of A Salesman and The Crucible. The American writer was also married to Marilyn Monroe.

The Jewish-American playwright Arthur Miller wrote several masterpieces, exploring themes like the psychological toll of capitalism and the American Dream. His private life was full of ups and downs. While he gained fame and recognition for his writing during his lifetime, he was also a victim of Senator McCarthy and his unjust persecution of various celebrities. His short-lived marriage to Marilyn Monroe and his refusal to go to her funeral also made him a part of newspaper headlines more than once.

Who Was Arthur Miller?

Arthur Miller was a key 20th-century playwright, who made his way all the way to the top of New York’s intellectual circles and into the crème de la crème of Hollywood. Among other things, he wrote over 30 plays including The Crucible and Death Of A Salesman . He also wrote various screenplays and essays. Born in 1915, Arthur Miller was part of a generation that lived through a particularly tumultuous time in history. During his lifetime, the writer witnessed the Great Depression, two world wars , the Cold War , and the battle between communist and capitalist ideologies.

His private life was no less tumultuous. He married (and divorced) Marilyn Monroe and experienced the highs and lows that come along with writing for the fickle American public. In 1954, at the height of America’s Red Scare, he was one of the many artists invited to appear in front of the Committee on Un-American Activities as a suspected communist. But despite all of these ups and downs, Arthur Miller remained a key voice among the New York intelligentsia until his death in 2005. Here are 10 things you should know about the Jewish-American writer and his work.

1. Arthur Miller’s Father Lost Everything During the Great Depression 

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Arthur Miller was the son of a self-made man who owned a factory with over 400 workers.  However, once the Great Depression struck in 1929, Miller’s family lost almost everything. Experiencing such a drastic shift in wealth must have affected the teenage boy on a deep level. His famous play, Death Of A Salesman, which is about the death of the American Dream, seems to draw on this experience. It also meant that the young Arthur Miller went from driving around in a chauffeur-driven car to having to deliver bread in the mornings to support his struggling family.

2. His First Broadway Play Was a Flop

Arthur Miller went on to study journalism at the University of Michigan. After winning an award for a play he wrote during his student days, Miller decided to study English and pursue a career as a playwright instead. His first professionally produced play was The Man Who Had All The Luck. The plot of Miller’s piece focuses on an auto mechanic, for whom everything seems to work out well against all odds. But instead of enjoying his good fortune, the protagonist descends into feelings of guilt and existential angst. Unfortunately, the luck of his protagonist did not extend to Miller himself. The play turned out to be a huge flop on Broadway and had to be closed down after only four performances.

3. His Second Play Earned Him a Tony Award 

Luckily, Arthur Miller did not let his early failures derail him, and he decided to give playwriting one last shot. His second play All My Sons ran for 328 performances and earned Miller his first Tony Award. All My Sons centers on the businessman Joe Keller. As we find out throughout the play, his greed has caused him to sell faulty engines to the military, causing several soldiers to die. The play was based on a true story and is commonly thought to be critical of both capitalism and the American Dream . It also catapulted Arthur Miller to the top of New York’s theater scene.

4. Miller Wrote a Part of His Play in One Day

When asked how long it took him to write his masterpiece, Death Of A Salesman , Arthur Miller stated that it took him “one day and a night.” However, writing the second act would take the playwright significantly longer. Death Of A Salesman centers on the aging salesman Willy Loman, whose family life and professional success turn out to be little more than a facade. The play, which questions the concept of the American Dream, has since become a classic in theaters and continues to be studied in school curricula across the world. Death Of A Salesman premiered in 1949 and won Arthur Miller his second Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Having written two of his best-known works by the age of 33, Arthur Miller had firmly established himself as a writer who was unafraid to criticize the American value system.

5. He Was Denied a Renewal of His Passport 

As it turned out, not everyone was happy with Arthur Miller’s socio-critical content. In the 1950s, he was called to appear in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities on the grounds of being a suspected communist. Miller sympathized with certain communist ideas, and many of his plays questioned American values. This was enough to make Senator Joseph McCarthy , who claimed that America’s elite had been infiltrated by communist agents, place him on a list of potentially dangerous elements.

As 1950s America was overtaken by the so-called Red Scare , various politicians and artists were accused of being communists. When Miller applied for a routine renewal of his passport, the House Committee of Un-American Activities used the opportunity to invite him for a hearing. During the hearing, Miller was questioned about meetings he had attended over 15 years earlier. While he did admit to having attended various left-leaning gatherings as well as studying Marxist ideas, he refused to answer any questions about other participants of these gatherings.

Miller’s unwillingness to cause any trouble to his peers had grave consequences. In 1957 his passport was taken away. He was also sentenced to a fine and a prison sentence. One year later, the ruling was overturned, but Miller never forgot about the unjust treatment he and many of his friends had suffered.

6. He Wrote an Allegorical Play About the Red Scare 

The unjust persecution of various artists during the 1950s inspired Arthur Miller to write The Crucible , which ended up becoming his most-performed play. The Crucible is based on the true story of the Salem Witch Trials , during which several innocent people were wrongfully accused of practicing witchcraft . Like any piece of art, the play can be interpreted in various ways. However, it does not take a lot of imagination to figure out the parallels between the 17th-century witch trials and the mass hysteria that overtook the USA regarding communist infiltrates in the 1950s.

7. He Married Three Times

During the 89 years of his life, Arthur Miller got married three times. His first wife was Mary Grace Slattery, with whom he had two children. Shortly after their divorce, he married the movie star Marilyn Monroe . The highly publicized marriage between the Jewish intellectual and the glamorous Hollywood star may have seemed unlikely at first glance. But as Arthur Miller shared in an interview , “the very inappropriateness of us being together was to me a sign that it was appropriate.”

Although Marilyn converted to Judaism, took a break from filming, and risked her own career by accompanying him to his hearings at the House Committee on Un-American Activities, their marriage only lasted five years. They ended up getting a Mexican divorce in 1961 and Marilyn died by suicide shortly after.

His third wife was the European photographer Inge Morath, whom he married in 1962. The couple remained together until Inge’s death in 2002. She also gave birth to two children, raising the total number of Arthur Miller’s children to four. Some sources have criticized Miller for sending his son with Down-Syndrome to an institution.

8. He Wrote the Script for The Misfits  

While the marriage of Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller did not result in any children, they did give birth to a joint creative project—a Hollywood film called The Misfits . The movie was written by Arthur Miller and starred Marilyn Monroe. However, the stresses of shooting The Misfits in the heat of the Nevada desert only served to accelerate the breakdown of their relationship. During the shooting of the film, Monroe’s mental health declined rapidly, causing her to turn up to the set late or not at all. At one point, things got so bad that Marilyn had to go to hospital for two weeks, which forced the film crew to take an unplanned break. According to sources, the couple barely talked to each other during the filming. They divorced shortly afterward.

9. He Did Not Attend Marilyn Monroe’s Funeral 

Shortly after the filming of Misfits and the finalization of their divorce, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her home. While some conspiracy theories suggest a murder, her death is commonly thought to have been caused by an accidental or intentional drug overdose. Arthur Miller did not attend the funeral. As he later explained in an essay, he believed that Monroe’s funeral was nothing more than a press event. He preferred to mourn her in private instead of joining the media frenzy. Given that he was already in a relationship with Inge Morath at the time, he may have also wished to protect his new partner by staying away from the funeral.

10. Arthur Miller’s Last Girlfriend Was Much Younger Than Him 

Once his third wife died in 2002, Miller fell in love with the painter Agnes Barley, who was 55 years younger than him. It seems that his family was less than amused about the relationship. Only hours after Arthur Miller’s death in 2005, his daughter is said to have ordered Agnes Barley to vacate the home where they had lived together. While his relationships with women certainly got him into the news on more than one occasion, he continues to be remembered as one of America’s most influential playwrights.

Death of a Salesman: Arthur Miller and the Collapse of the American Dream

By Agnes Theresa Oberauer BA Drama & Philosophy Agnes Theresa completed her BA in Drama and Philosophy at the Royal Holloway University of London in 2014 and is currently finishing her MA in Physical Theatre Performance Making at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. She works internationally as a writer, performance artist, theatre director, and performer. Born in Austria, she has lived in six countries (Russia, Ukraine, Austria, Germany, Estonia, and the UK) and traveled many more, always seeking to expand her horizons and challenge her preconceptions. Her interests range from Greek philosophy to capoeira, posthumanism, and Nietzsche.

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A salesman’s guide to the scourge of misinformation.

A review of Steven Brill’s “The Death of Truth” (Knopf, 2024)

Paul M. Barrett

One would not expect that a book by a businessman hawking his company’s services could illuminate a pressing civic problem, let alone make for good reading. But Steven Brill’s “The Death of Truth” surprises.

Brill is a journalist, bestselling author, and serial entrepreneur whose past ventures include American Lawyer Media, Court TV, and Brill’s Content magazine. The start-up he is promoting with his latest book is called NewsGuard Technologies, a company that provides ratings of online news and information. With characteristic bombast, he describes the civic problem in question in his subtitle: “How social media and the internet gave snake oil salesmen and demagogues the weapons they needed to destroy trust and polarize the world—and what we can do.”

Arguing that truth has “died,” Brill insists, relentlessly, that NewsGuard can bring it back to life. He and co-founder, Gordon Crovitz, a former publisher of the Wall Street Journal, market their firm as a human-scale, journalism-driven antidote to algorithmic amplification of mis- and disinformation. They have sought to sell their services, with mixed results, to Meta and other major social media companies, Google and its smaller competitors in the programmatic advertising market, and, most recently, to companies developing generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The surprising aspect of “The Death of Truth” is that by describing his frustrations as a salesman, Brill sheds valuable light on the inner workings of Silicon Valley and its malign effects on politics, public health policy, and society at large.

Digital “Nutrition Labels”

Brill and Crovitz started NewsGuard in 2018 as a nonpartisan watchdog. Brill is a moderate Democrat; Crovitz, in his partner’s words, a “rabid conservative.” (I know Crovitz dating from my days as a news reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal. My wife worked for Brill at Court TV and Legal Times for several years in the 1990s.)

NewsGuard hired trained journalists to report on and rate the reliability of news and information websites and their associated Twitter (now X) accounts, Facebook feeds, and YouTube channels. The plan was to license the ratings—a point score of 0 to 100—to social media companies, which would attach them to each publisher when their work appeared on the platforms. Readers could then click through to what NewsGuard calls its “nutrition labels,” which explain its ratings in detail.

The company bases its evaluations on nine negative criteria, each of which leads to a point deduction from a starting place of 100. The worst transgression, “repeatedly publishing false news,” as determined by NewsGuard’s journalists, leads to a 22-point penalty. Failing to have a system for receiving complaints about errors and clearly correcting them results in a 12.5-point demerit, and so forth. NewsGuard persuasively claims that its ratings are nonpartisan, as illustrated by the conservative Daily Caller and liberal Guardian both scoring a perfect 100.

By the time Brill and Crovitz began paying sales calls to Silicon Valley headquarters, the major social media companies had been unmasked repeatedly for failing to identify fake accounts created by Kremlin operatives spreading divisive falsehoods about American politics, medical “news” services that amplified health hoaxes ( abortions cause breast cancer! ), and conspiracy theories that school shootings were “false flag” operations staged to promote gun control.

Pitching Silicon Valley

Brill offers a memorable first-person account of visiting airy, open-plan Silicon Valley headquarters buildings, “where we were amused to watch some of the T-shirt and torn jeans crew casually roller blade from meeting to meeting.” He and Crovitz, who present as throwback coat-and-tie executives, had a coherent pitch: “For a fraction of what [the social media companies] were paying their PR firms, lawyers, and lobbyists to deal with this stain on their brands, not to mention head off regulation, why wouldn’t they license our data and show our scores and nutrition labels to their users?”

Initially, they elicited some promising reactions, according to Brill. “Oh, thank God. You can take us out of our misery,” Chris Cox, the chief product officer at Facebook (now Meta), told him. “We’ve been trying to solve this problem with hundreds of engineers, and we know we can’t.”

But deals were never struck. “We were naive, clueless,” Brill writes. “We didn’t know that they didn’t want to solve the problem we told them we could solve. That problem was their business plan. Misinformation and disinformation were not bugs. They were features.” 

Sensational and false content draws heightened user engagement in the form of screen time, “likes,” anger emojis, comments, and reshares. The advertisers that make social media such a lucrative business rely on engagement as a key metric for determining whether they are securing user attention. Platform algorithms are tuned to promote engagement, and NewsGuard was proposing, in effect, to counteract those algorithms with the human discernment of a crew of journalists. It was a nonstarter.

Microsoft came to NewsGuard’s rescue. The tech giant, which doesn’t own a platform that competes directly with Facebook, X, YouTube, or TikTok, stepped in to license NewsGuard’s data for users of its Edge browser and “to help inform decisions made about aggregating content on its Microsoft Newsroom platform.” NewsGuard survived to fight another day.

Occasional Oversimplification

As eye-opening as Brill’s account often is, he does occasionally oversimplify. For instance, when discussing one of the main consequences of the amplification of misinformation—increased political polarization—he implies that social media is the main, and possibly sole, driver of the divisive grievance mentality that has come to dominate U.S. politics, particularly on the right.

Referring to Donald Trump’s followers, he writes, “They were pissed off at all of the referees [judges, elections officials, scientific experts] because the recommendation engines of the platforms they had come to depend on for their ‘news’ steered them to ‘news’—whether it be Russian disinformation, conspiracy theories, a crazy uncle, or Trump (with his 89 million followers)—that reinforced the ‘our lives are threatened’ fear and gave them villains to blame and overthrow.”

But as Brill surely knows, other information sources—not least talk radio and Fox News— also fuel the fires of polarization and outrage . Social media is part of a larger problematic media ecosystem.

The Problem With Programmatic Advertising

When the giants of social media spurned NewsGuard, Brill and Crovitz turned their attention to the online advertising market, a topic the author dissects with gusto.

To make its task manageable, the firm rates the roughly 2,800 news and information sites in the U.S. that account for 95 percent of online engagement, meaning that these sites were among the 95 percent most shared or commented on in the feeds of the major social media platforms. The 95 percent run the gamut from reputable global news organizations to Russian propaganda outlets. NewsGuard generally ignores the thousands of other sites making up the remaining 5 percent on the theory that it’s better to cover most of the field than to expend vast resources chasing down every last internet outpost.

Further analysis reveals that about 35 percent of the 95 percent are “highly unreliable,” Brill writes. And yet, most are financed with advertising from reputable businesses. He offers as an example a website called the Santa Monica Observer , which is notorious for running fabrications such as an October 2022 dispatch about the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in the couple’s San Francisco home. The deranged intruder apparently planned to take Nancy Pelosi hostage. The Observer falsely claimed that the attack on Mr. Pelosi stemmed from an encounter with a gay prostitute. The hoax went viral after the Observer posted it on social media, and X’s owner, Elon Musk, reshared it with his 111 million followers .

What caught Brill’s eye was that on the page alongside the phony Pelosi article were ads from blue-chip brands such as Hertz, Capital One, Lowe’s, Petco, and Disney. These companies didn’t purposely choose to advertise in the Observer, let alone next to a lurid fabrication. The juxtaposition resulted from programmatic advertising. 

Google and a smaller California-based company called Trade Desk are the big players in programmatic advertising, which, according to Brill, accounts for 60 percent of all ads bought online. Here’s a basic idea of how it works : A company establishes a budget for a campaign targeting consumers according to dozens or possibly hundreds of demographic criteria, buying habits, and other “signals.” A programmatic ad middleman bids tiny fractions of the budget—it could be just a few cents—for each view of the ad to be seen by a member of the target audience over a set period of time. Google and Trade Desk run algorithmically driven marketplaces that identify potential ad spaces available on tens of thousands of websites that fit the bidder’s specifications. In a split second, a virtual “auction” occurs, and the ads are placed, with the advertiser having no idea where its message will appear. It’s like buying shares on a stock exchange that doesn’t tell you which companies you’re investing in. 

Global spending on programmatic advertising is estimated to have exceeded $300 billion in 2023, Brill reports. This is largely how clickbait websites like the Santa Monica Observer, among other purveyors of mis- and disinformation, fund themselves. For NewsGuard, this troubling situation presents a sales opportunity. Advertisers can license the firm’s data identifying legitimate news and information sites and feed it into the ad-buying process to promote “brand safety” based on human intelligence, rather than relying solely on programmatic advertising’s artificial intelligence. Brill suggests that NewsGuard now enjoys a revenue stream from this product line, but what he calls the “Frankenstein’s monster” that is programmatic advertising continues to incentivize the spread of dubious information.

Yet another engine of falsehood—generative AI—is just revving up. Generative AI chatbots can produce uncannily human-sounding text responses, as well as images and audio, based on simple natural language prompts. But the chatbots have a tendency to “hallucinate ,” or make things up, raising questions about their value in the marketplace. Unlike social media companies, which sell advertising by boosting user engagement, even if that means spreading low-quality content, generative AI companies are licensing their tools to businesses, governments, and other enterprises that demand accuracy; hallucination is an unwelcome bug, not a feature.

NewsGuard, Brill writes, is now marketing its ratings as a source of quality control for generative AI products. His desire to make a buck by improving generative AI underscores the broader need to fine-tune this evolving technology, whether using NewsGuard’s data or that of other firms devoted to boosting accuracy.

Republican Intimidation

NewsGuard’s efforts to curb misinformation have placed it in the crosshairs of Republican politicians like Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio who argue that such efforts are a cover for an elaborate conspiracy involving liberal operatives, academics, and Silicon Valley executives eager to censor the speech of conservatives.

In March 2023, Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, emailed Brill’s company, suggesting that it “may have played a role in this censorship regime by advising on so-called ‘misinformation’ and other types of content.” Jordan demanded copies of every NewsGuard communication with a government agency or technology company “referring or relating to the moderation, deletion, suppression, restriction, demonetization, or reduced circulation of content”—in other words, practically every document or message the company had created since its inception.

Rather than complying, NewsGuard hired a well-connected Republican attorney to make the case to the Judiciary Committee that the company employed a truly nonpartisan ratings process and that its only work for the federal government consisted of a $750,000 contract to help the Defense Department’s Cyber Command monitor disinformation campaigns by foreign adversaries. The pushback worked. NewsGuard never received a subpoena for the massive trove of communications, and the Judiciary Committee moved on to other targets.

Meaningful evidence of a “censorship regime” has not surfaced . A parallel lawsuit filed against the Biden administration by the attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri, along with a group of conservative activists, ended with a thud in June, when the Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue in the first place.

But the Republican probe has notched victories in that it has stifled academic research on misinformation at several major universities, influenced some newly minted PhDs to pivot away from the field, and contributed to the collapse of the Stanford Internet Observatory, a leading misinformation research group. Brill does not delve deeply into these developments, but NewsGuard’s brush with right-wing intimidation provides an ominous warning of more severe tactics that could come from Washington should Republicans gain control of the White House and Congress in November’s elections.

Some Ways Forward?

Following through on the “what we can do” component of his subtitle, Brill offers a long list of recommendations to conclude “The Death of Truth,” some more promising than others. Here are three of them:

Amend Section 230

Brill recommends curtailing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act , which provides social media companies with broad protection against civil liability for content posted on their platforms by third parties. Exposing the companies to more litigation risk would incentivize them to police content more vigorously and presumably reduce the amount of misinformation they host. Specifically, Brill urges Congress to condition Section 230 protection on social media companies dropping all use of algorithms to rank, recommend, or amplify content.

Unfortunately, the very essence of social media is using computational processes to cull and arrange the bottomless ocean of content available on the internet. The platforms cannot function—cannot perform their more constructive role of connecting people to other people, ideas, business opportunities, and the like—without algorithmic sorting. Brill’s recommendation is equivalent to urging the repeal of Section 230, a course that would probably cause social media companies to cut back drastically on controversial content of many sorts—a change that would have the effect of reducing free expression for billions of users.

As an alternative, Brill recommends conditioning Section 230 protection on platforms’ integrating tools—like NewsGuard!—“so that users could get access to more information about who is feeding them the news online.” Self-interested as this idea sounds, I think it’s a good one, and it would almost certainly spur other start-ups to jump into healthy competition with Brill’s company to provide useful analytical software. The downside would be that social media companies likely would try to pass along the cost of such “middleware” to users who now enjoy platforms without paying a subscription.

Enforce Consumer Protection Law

Brill wants the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to step up enforcement of existing consumer protection law that forbids companies from employing “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.” This authority, which already applies to all industries, empowers the FTC to hold social media companies responsible for enforcing promises they make to users in their terms of service—promises that include restricting certain types of misinformation, among many other categories of harmful content. This proposal makes a great deal of sense, but the already-strapped FTC is unlikely to embrace it without more explicit authorization from Congress, including hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for expert personnel. I’ve outlined such a proposal in some detail in my work for the New York University Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.

End Anonymity

Facebook requires accounts to be attached to real names, but enforcement is spotty. X and other platforms do not even try to verify users’ identities. Anonymity is an invitation to mischief and worse. Brill underscores the state of play by citing data from an Israeli social media-monitoring firm called Cyabra, which found that on a single day shortly after the Israel-Hamas war began, roughly 25 percent of accounts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X posting about the conflict appeared to be fake . Brill reasonably recommends legislation requiring that platforms oblige users to submit meaningful proof of their identity.

Overall, “The Death of Truth,” while quirky in its dual purpose as exposé and marketing literature, and not without the occasional overstatement, is well worth the time of anyone concerned about the deleterious effects of technology on politics and civic discourse.

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American Dream in Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” Essay

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The play Death of a salesman is indeed an anatomy of the American dream especially because the plot of the story revolves around some of the basic material gains that individuals in the American society yearn for. This is evident from the onset of the play when the lead character Willy Loman arrives home after a failed work mission and immediately embarks on blaming some of his woes on his under-achieving son Biff.

From the flashback Willy is disappointed that Biff was a representation of a bright future when he was much younger but turned out completely different on growing up (Miller 1-3). This is definitely what happens to most families in the American society where individuals get into life hoping to have all the best in terms of material wealth as well as have families that would be the envy of most of their neighbors (G.Perkins, B. Perkins and Phelan 1928).

Fathers and mothers have dreams of how their children would be even more successful and they (the parents) tend to bend their children towards growing up in this direction which is sometime informed by the parents’ failure to achieve certain goals in their own childhoods. Unfortunately, in most cases, the children tend to have their own wishes and aims and in the process of trying to fulfill the desires of their hearts they end up disappointing their parents.

The rant by Willy about not taking the opportunity to accompany his brother on his mission to Alaska and Africa, and therefore missing on the chance to become as wealthy as Ben is a complete revelation of how individuals in the American society fail to appreciate the little blessings they have in their wish to have everything. This desire for all the best of things in the world is the guiding principle of the American dream and figuratively speaking it is the primary fuel that keeps the fire burning.

In society most people would not appreciate the fact that they are lucky to have three square meals a day and even the potential to bear children just because they can see other individuals living better than them. If the sons that Willy found a failure were to be taken out of his life by him not being given the ability for procreation, it is definitely predictable that Willy would start complaining about his inadequacy as a man.

It is Willy’s inability to attain most of his heart’s desires that leads him to committing suicide. His son, Biff, also responds to his own inability to achieving the American dream by resorting to theft. He regards his kleptomaniac state as a way of rebelling against the corporate world which he could not penetrate. In the American society, most individuals would resort to inappropriate ways of dealing with their frustrations and Biff’s case is not unusual.

The American dream leads individuals to always want appreciation from other people in society. Almost everybody would do anything to become popular and when they fail to do so, they enter into a realm of self-pity. This is evident by Linda’s disappointment at the small attendance of Willy’s funeral. Ideally Linda should be saddened by the loss of a life partner to notice such a small thing as they number of people at the funeral.

It should actually not matter whether it is only the direct family members who show up at the burial but as a person wishing to achieve significance in society, Linda’s hope is that her social network is big enough for people to appreciate her pain.

Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. Death of a salesman: A play in two acts. New York City: Dramatists Play Service, 1952. Print.

Perkins, George, Barbara Perkins & James Phelan. The American Tradition in Literature, Volume II. 2 nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.

• Shakespeare's "The Tempest" Play Scene by Scene
• Ghosts and Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
• Arthur Miller: Relationships in the "Death of a Salesman"
• Willy Loman and the American Dream
• Willy Loman as a Tragic Hero: Character Analysis Essay
• Characters in "Faust" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Rules in Moliere’s “Tartuffe” and Racine’s “Phaedra”
• Dramatic Elements and Innovations in Theater History
• “Henry V” by Shakespeare and American Society
• Social Recognition in "Holiday" Play by Philip Barry
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, January 29). American Dream in Miller's "Death of a Salesman". https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-dream-in-millers-death-of-a-salesman/

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IvyPanda . 2021. "American Dream in Miller's "Death of a Salesman"." January 29, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-dream-in-millers-death-of-a-salesman/.

1. IvyPanda . "American Dream in Miller's "Death of a Salesman"." January 29, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-dream-in-millers-death-of-a-salesman/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "American Dream in Miller's "Death of a Salesman"." January 29, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-dream-in-millers-death-of-a-salesman/.

The Intriguing Traits of Ares: a Deeper Look into the God of War

This essay about Ares, the Greek god of war, explores his complex characteristics and the dualities within his persona. It examines his physical depiction as a powerful warrior and his impulsive nature, contrasting his chaotic spirit with the strategic wisdom of other deities like Athena. The essay highlights Ares’ tumultuous relationships, particularly with Aphrodite, symbolizing the interplay between love and conflict. It also addresses his contentious standing among the Olympians, reflecting on his desire for recognition amidst disdain. Ultimately, Ares serves as a powerful symbol of the primal forces that drive human behavior and the ongoing struggles between peace and aggression.

How it works

Ares, the ancient Greek god of war, stands out in the pantheon of deities for his fierce and complex nature. Unlike many gods who embody harmony and balance, Ares personifies the tumultuous aspects of conflict and battle. His characteristics paint a vivid portrait of a deity whose essence resonates with both admiration and fear. From his physical appearance to his relationships with other gods and mortals, Ares embodies a raw intensity that encapsulates the spirit of warfare.

Physically, Ares is often depicted as a robust and imposing figure, clad in armor and ready for battle.

His presence radiates power, reflecting the ferocity with which he approaches conflict. Artists in ancient Greece frequently portrayed him with a muscular physique, symbolizing his martial prowess. Accompanied by his signature attributes, such as a helmet and spear, he becomes the embodiment of the warrior archetype. This visual representation not only highlights his role as a god of war but also emphasizes the stark reality of violence and bloodshed that accompanies warfare.

However, Ares’ character extends beyond mere brute strength. At the heart of his persona lies a tumultuous blend of passion and chaos. His fervor for combat is matched by an impulsive nature, often leading him into reckless situations. Unlike Athena, the goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, Ares thrives on the chaos of the battlefield, relishing in the disorder that comes with conflict. This chaotic spirit often results in tumultuous relationships, both among gods and humans alike. Ares is known to have incited rivalries and fueled disputes, further complicating his standing among the Olympians.

Ares’ relationships with other deities reveal another layer of his character. His affair with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, serves as a striking contrast to his warlike demeanor. This union symbolizes the duality of human existence, where love and war coexist in tension. While Ares embodies aggression and violence, Aphrodite represents tenderness and beauty, creating a fascinating dynamic that illustrates the complexities of both love and conflict. Their relationship, however, is not without complications, often reflecting the tumult that Ares himself embodies.

In the context of mythology, Ares often finds himself at odds with other gods. He is frequently portrayed as a figure of scorn among the Olympians, with many viewing him as a disruptive force. This animosity stems from his propensity for violence and the chaos he brings to both mortal and divine realms. Unlike the more noble figures like Zeus or Apollo, who often strive for order and balance, Ares is unapologetically devoted to the darker aspects of existence. This dissonance with his fellow gods solidifies his reputation as a contentious figure within the Greek pantheon.

Despite his fierce nature, Ares is not devoid of vulnerability. His character encompasses a profound longing for recognition and respect, often overshadowed by the disdain of others. This desire manifests in moments of intense passion and sorrow, revealing the multifaceted layers of his personality. Ares embodies the struggle between his inherent nature and the need for acceptance, mirroring the conflicts that exist within humanity itself. This complexity adds depth to his character, inviting contemplation on the nature of violence and its implications.

The legacy of Ares transcends ancient mythology, resonating in contemporary discussions about war and conflict. His embodiment of raw aggression prompts reflection on the nature of humanity’s relationship with warfare. The duality of his character challenges us to confront the darker sides of human existence while recognizing the intricate connections between love, chaos, and power. Ares serves as a powerful symbol of the primal forces that drive human behavior, reminding us that beneath the surface of civilization lies a complex interplay of passion and turmoil.

In a world that often seeks to distance itself from the chaos of conflict, Ares remains a potent reminder of our inherent struggles. His characteristics, steeped in contradiction, reflect the ongoing battle within us all—a battle between the desire for peace and the primal instincts that often lead us toward war. As we reflect on the traits of Ares, we are called to confront the complexities of our own nature and the world around us, fostering a deeper understanding of what it means to be human.

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Nursing aide turned sniper: Thomas Crooks' mysterious plot to kill Trump

BUTLER, Pa. – Donald Trump and would-be assassin Thomas Crooks started on their violent collision course long before the former president's political rally ended in gunshots and death.

Crooks, 20, was a one-time registered Republican, a nursing home worker with no criminal record, shy in school, and living in a decent middle-class neighborhood in suburban Pennsylvania with his parents. Trump, 78, was eyeing Crooks' state as a key battleground – but not in the way that anyone envisioned on Saturday.

Riding high on polls showing that he's got a strong chance of toppling President Joe Biden, the former president had been campaigning for reelection in swing states, and Pennsylvania is a key prize. Trump won the state in 2016 but lost it four years later.

And on July 3, Trump's campaign announced he would hold a rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

"Pennsylvania has been ravaged by monumental surges in violent crime as a direct result of Biden’s and Democrats’ pro-criminal policies," Trump's campaign said in announcing the event, noting that when he's elected, he'll "re-establish law and order in Pennsylvania!"

The Saturday attack on Trump turned the heated rhetoric of the 2024 presidential campaign freshly violent. Authorities said bullets fired from Crooks' AR-15 style rifle about 150 yards away grazed Trump's ear, killed a rally attendee as he dove to protect his family, and critically wounded two others. Secret Service agents killed Crooks moments later.

Attack planned well in advance

Investigators are still seeking Crooks' motive – despite his Republican leanings, he had donated recently to a progressive voter-turnout campaign in 2021 – but indicated he'd planned the attack well in advance.

The shooting marks the first assassination attempt against a former or current U.S. president since President Ronald Reagan was injured in a March 1981 shooting at a Washington, D.C., hotel. 

There are many questions about why Crooks turned into a would-be presidential assassin, firing indiscriminately into hordes of political supporters.

FBI special agent Kevin Rojek said on a call with media that law enforcement located "a suspicious device" when they searched Crooks' vehicle and that it's being analyzed at the FBI crime lab.

"As far as the actions of the shooter immediately prior to the event and any interaction that he may have had with law enforcement, we're still trying to flesh out those details now," Rojek said.

None of Crooks' shocked neighbors or high school classmates described him as violent or that he in any way signaled he was intent on harming Trump. Sunday morning, reporters and curious locals swarmed the leafy streets of the home where Crooks lived with his parents in Bethel Park, about 50 miles from the shooting scene.

Those who knew him described a quiet young man who often walked to work at a nearby nursing home. One classmate said he was bullied and often ate alone in high school.

Sunday morning, neighbor Cathy Caplan, 45, extended her morning walk about a quarter mile to glimpse what was happening outside Crooks’ home.“It came on the morning news and I was like ‘I know that street,’” said Caplan, who works for the local school district. "It feels like something out of a movie.”

Dietary aide turned deadly killer

Authorities say they are examining Crooks' phone, social media and online activity for motivation. They said he carried no identification and his body had to be identified via DNA and biometric confirmation.

Although no possible motive has yet been released, Crooks nevertheless embodies the achingly familiar profile of an American mass shooter: a young white man, isolated from peers and armed with a high-powered rifle. His attack was one of at least 59 shootings in the United States on Saturday, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

According to records and online posts of the ceremony, Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School, about 42 miles from Butler County, on June 3, 2022. That same day, Trump met briefly with investigators at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida as they examined whether he improperly took classified documents with him when he left the White House.

A classmate remembered Crooks as a frequent target of bullies. Kids picked on him for wearing camouflage to class and his quiet demeanor, Jason Kohler, 21, said. Crooks usually ate lunch alone, Kohler said.

Crooks worked as a dietary aide at the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, less than a mile from his home. In a statement provided to USA TODAY on Sunday, Marcie Grimm, the facility's administrator, said she was "shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement."

Neighbor Dean Sierka, 52, has known Crooks and his parents for years. The families live a few doors apart on a winding suburban street, and Sierka’s daughter, who attended elementary, middle and high school with Crooks, remembers him as quiet and shy. Sierka said they saw Crooks at least once a week, often when he was walking to the nursing home from his parents' three-bedroom brick house.

"You wouldn’t have expected this," Sierka said. "The parents and the family are all really nice people."

"It's crazy," he added.

Secret Service role: Did they do enough?

Founded in 1865, the Secret Service is supposed to stop this kind of attack, and dozens of agents were present Saturday. As the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump's public appearances are managed by the Secret Service, which works with local law enforcement to develop security plans and crowd-management protocols.

In the days before the event, the agency's experts would have scouted the location, identified security vulnerabilities, and designed a perimeter to keep Trump and rally attendees safe. Congress and the Secret Service are now investigating how Crooks was able to get so close to the former president, and several witnesses reported seeing him in the area with the gun before Trump took the stage.

As the event doors opened at 1 p.m., the temperature was already pushing close to 90, and ticketed attendees oozed through metal detectors run by members of the Secret Service's uniformed division. Similar to airport security screenings, rallygoers emptied their pockets to prove they weren't carrying guns or other weapons.

Media reports indicate the Secret Service had in place, as usual, a counter-sniper team scanning the surrounding area for threats.

In an exclusive interview, former Secret Service Director Julia Pierson told USA TODAY that maintaining such a sniper security perimeter is part of the agency's responsibility for safeguarding protectees like Trump from harm. She said agents typically consider 1,000 yards to be the minimum safe distance for sniper attacks.

The Secret Service has confirmed that it is investigating how Crooks got so close to Trump, who took the stage shortly after 6 p.m. Officials say Crooks' rifle was legally obtained but have not yet released specifics.

Outside the venue at that time, Greg Smith says he tried desperately to get the attention of police. He told the BBC that he and his friends saw a man crawling along a roof overlooking the rally. Other witnesses said they also saw a man atop the American Glass Research building outside the official event security perimeter, well within the range of a 5.56 rifle bullet.

"We noticed the guy bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50 feet away from us," Smith told the BBC. "He had a rifle, we could clearly see him with a rifle."

Smith told the BBC that the Secret Service eventually saw him and his friends pointing at the man on the roof.

"I'm thinking to myself, why is Trump still speaking, why have they not pulled him off the stage?" Smith said. "Next thing you know, five shots rang out."

From his nearby deck, Trump supporter Pat English watched as the former president took the stage to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A.," and attendees raised their cell phones to record.

English had taken his grandson to see the rally earlier but left when it got too hot. From his deck, they listened as Trump began speaking at 6:05 p.m., backed by a crown of red-hatted MAGA supporters waving "fire Joe Biden" signs.

And then gunfire began.

Boom, boom, boom

"I heard a 'boom, boom, boom' and then screams,” English said Sunday. "I could see people running and the police run in."

Trump was saying the word "happened" as the first pop rang out. He reached up to grab his ear as two more shots echoed, and the crowd behind him – and Trump himself – ducked. Plainclothes Secret Service agents piled atop the president as a fusillade of shots rang out, apparently the Secret Service killing Crooks.

The crowd screamed, and the venue's sound system picked up the agents atop Trump planning to move the former president to safety. One yelled, "shooter's down. Let's move, let's move."

The agents then helped Trump back to his feet as they shielded him on all sides.

The sound system then picked up Trump's voice: "Wait, wait," he said, before turning to the audience and triumphantly raising his fist to yell "fight, fight" as the crowd cheered, blood streaming down his face.

By 6:14 p.m. Trump's motorcade was racing from the scene, and in a later statement, Trump's campaign said he was checked out at a local medical facility.

"I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear," Trump said in a statement. "I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening."

Firefighter 'hero' gunned down

Outside of the Butler Township Administration Office Sunday afternoon, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro identified the rally attendee killed by Crooks as Corey Comperatore, a firefighter, father of two and longtime Trump supporter.

“Corey died a hero,” Shapiro said. “Corey dove on his family to protect them last night at this rally. Corey was the very best of us. May his memory be a blessing.”

Two other Pennsylvanians are still undergoing treatment for their injuries, Shapiro said.

Pennsylvania State Police identified two wounded attendees David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township. Both are hospitalized and listed in stable condition. Shapiro said he spoke with the family of one victim and received a message from the other.

Biden spoke briefly with Trump on Saturday night, and the president condemned the assassination attempt as “sick.” He said there’s no place for political violence in the U.S. and called on Americans to unite together to condemn it.

But earlier in the week, Biden told campaign donors in a private phone call it was time to stop talking about his own disastrous presidential debate performance and start targeting Trump instead.

"I have one job and that's to beat Donald Trump," Biden said. "We're done talking about the (June 27) debate. It's time to put Trump in the bullseye."

Republicans across the country have used similar language to attack their opponents over the years, and political scientists say violent rhetoric used worldwide almost invariably leads to physical violence.

On Sunday, someone parked a truck-mounted electronic billboard at the gates to the Butler Farm Show grounds reading "Democrats attempted assassination," along with a picture of Trump clutching an American flag, his face overlaid with a bullseye crosshairs.

Authorities say they have not yet determined a motive for Crooks' attack. But in a statement, Trump declared the shooting an act of evil and thanked God for preventing the unthinkable.

"We will fear not, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness," Trump said.

And he said he'd be back on the campaign trail for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which starts Monday.

"Based on yesterday’s terrible events, I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin, and the Republican National Convention, by two days," Trump said on his Truth Social account Sunday, "but have just decided that I cannot allow a 'shooter,' or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else."

Contributing: David Jackson, Aysha Bagchi, Christopher Cann, Bryce Buyakie, Emily Le Coz, Josh Meyer, USA TODAY Network

How the assassination attempt unfolded : Graphics, maps, audio analysis show what happened