Existential Nihilism and Self-delusion in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

Abstract

This paper explores the manifestations of nihilism and self-delusion in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. The paper argues that the feelings of hopelessness and despair experienced by the lead character Willy Loman are as a result of the piling pressures of modernity and the emasculating effects of American capitalism engendered by the two World wars. A direct consequence of these nihilistic feelings in the play manifest in the inability of the Loman family to face the harsh realities of everyday affairs, thereby rendering their lives meaningless. The paper concludes that the suicide of Loman at the end of the play is inevitable because it is the natural outcome of existential nihilism, especially the kind induced by industrial capitalism. In this respect, death, as seen at the end of the play, becomes a natural relief to existential suffering.