Opening the Windshield: Death of a Salesman and Theatrical Liberalism

Abstract

“Opening the Windshield” argues that Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is best understood as a work of American popular culture, with a close relationship not only to realism but also to vaudeville and musical theatre. The essay identifies a core tension between the character of Willy Loman and the psychological realist style for which the play is famous. Through his indomitable theatricality, Willy resists the pressure to conform to a realist model and ends up winning the audience even as he loses his life. Reading the play in this way sheds light on the long-standing popularity of the play, its avowed Jewishness, and its place in the American literary canon.

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