Death of a Salesman - Miller

The family one meets in DOAS makes Ordinary People look like the paragon of a function family. Willy Loman has a tenuous grip on reality, delusions of grandure while lost in a past that never was. His wife Linda displays the loyalty of a golden retriever, constantly trying to soothe him while he swings between abrasive outbursts and self-deprecation. His sons visit, with hopes to start a business together. Both appear impressive, but neither have managed to be successful. Willy is delighted in what believes to be the long awaited triumph of his sons, particularly in Biff, his long favored son. Biff has returned from "out west" and a stint in jail. Willy is fired from his job by a man he has watched grow from a baby. He cannot bring himself to accept charity from Charley. The boys take Willy out to dinner where he gets lost in delusional ramblings and flashbacks to the event that has shadowed their lives: Biff's discovery of Willy's affair. Ashamed, the sons abandon their father at the restaurant. At home, Linda berates her sons for their treatment of Willy and their inability to mature. She reveals that Willy has been attempting suicide. Willy returns and has one last confrontation with Biff. Biff declares that Willy had filled him with  unrealistic expectations, and that he is just an ordinary man not destined for greatness. He decides to move out west and not attempt to win the rat race. Willy misunderstands him completely believes Biff to turn a corner into success. He commits suicide so that Biff can use his insurance money to start his business.
Analysis:
Through the Willy's tragic life and Biff's rejection of him, Miller shows the American Dream to be an unobtainable and fruitless goal.  The presence of the flute lends a Pide Piper atmosphere to Willy's dreams, they lure him away from a satisfying life and to his death. Both Biff and Happy live with the burden of Willy's teachings. Biff can't settle to a job that matches his ordinary talents and Happy is kept in a state of emotional insecurity. Despite catching his father with The Woman being his downfall from college and scholarship, it ends up saving him from his father's fate. By realizing that his father's image is false, Biff can reject him and his way of life, choosing to go west and make a new life there. (Wow, what a very traditional, pioneery thing to do) Happy lacks this moment with Willy and, still desperate for his approval, continues with a life Willy would have approved of.
"You can't eat the orange and throw the peel away - man is not a piece of fruit!" - Willy recognizes his insignificance in society after his conversation with Howard.
"Isn't that - isn't that remarkable! Biff- he likes me!" - Perhaps the most heartbreaking line in the play, Willy completely misunderstands Biff after he tells Willy that he is leaving and can't bear to see him anymore. Represents the complete disconnect between them and Willy's failure to accept reality.