by Bertie Radcliffe

Created on: May 09, 2009   Last Updated: May 11, 2009

Illusion and reality are constantly juxtaposed in Act 1 of Death of a Salesman, and provide a crucial insight into the workings of both Willy's and other peoples' minds. There are two clear types of illusion in the play, illusion in the present, and illusion and dreams of the past. In the first act of the play, Miller brings out the relationship between illusion and realty in two key ways: the transgression from reality to illusion and the subsequent return to reality; and by the contrast of the situation in the idealistic utopia that is the setting for Willy's dreams and the reality of the situation.

Firstly, there are many dramatically effective ways in which Arthur Miller introduces illusion of the past to the audience, both visual and aural. The clearest of these is the reference to characters stepping through a wall in scenes from the past when boundaries can be broken (stage directions, P1). The clearest example of this is that the walls are two dimensional. That is to say that they are painted onto the back of the stage. This enables the actors to break the physical that we are constrained by in the present. This is perhaps symbolic of the mental boundaries that we are constrained by in the present. Similarly, Willy is not able to alter the situation in the present, but can dream of a wonderful past thanks to his selective memory. However, this utopia is later interspersed with darker memories.

Similarly, there are many instances where the transgression from reality to illusion, from present to, perhaps rose-tinted, past, is portrayed by a range of offstage sounds such as the flute music or the woman's laughter. In each case, they are representative of an event from Willy's past. The flute, we later find out is reminiscent of Willy's early childhood when his father used to make flutes. The woman's laugh is also reminiscent of an indiscretion that Willy had in the past. These sounds, in a Freudian way, remind the audience that the past is inescapable and that every action has a consequence, whether immediate or delayed, and that the smallest things can have a great impression on someone's character. This is displayed by Willy's anger that Linda, his foundation, has to mend stockings even though he has given a new pair to the laughing woman.

There are similar instances of dreams, fantasies and illusions that are not necessarily part of the past, but vain hopes for the future or false pride; and it is the content of these dreams that highlights their

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