Death of A Salesman - The Garden As A Motif

785 Words4 Pages
Since its publication over fifty years ago, critics have carefully traced symbolic elements in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. It is evident that Miller uses a wide variety of motifs in his play, which create the intended mood. Although some of these motifs are fairly obvious, including the music and lighting used throughout the play, there are also many other motifs used in the play that are not generally recognized. The motif that will be thoroughly examined is the garden. Although many writers have noted Willy’s desire to plant the garden as a symbol of him trying to escape or “bury” his temporary feelings about himself, few have explored the complexity of the garden as a symbol in the play. The garden is a dynamic motif that could be considered the most unifying symbolic element in Death of a Salesman. The garden that Willy continuously obsesses over throughout the play can be interpreted as showing the contrast between the two different worlds that Willy lives in – the “green” world and the “grey” world. Miller begins the play with the flute “telling of grass and trees and the horizon” (pg.11, line 2) in his stage directions. These natural images that symbolize Willy’s “green” world are immediately contrasted with the “towering angular shapes” of Willy’s “grey” world. Willy’s failing garden cannot overcome the apartment houses that surround them, which impede the life-giving light. Willy’s desire for the natural “green” world is evident when he complains that “there’s not a breath of fresh air in the neighbourhood. The grass don’t grow anymore, you can’t raise a carrot in the backyard” (page 17, line 12). Miller cleverly develops this green vs. grey contrast throughout the play. The grey world is the ruthless “cut and dried” business world that fires a desperate Willy. The green world is represented by Willy’s memories of “lilac and
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