Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
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“Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller and “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe
Al though written by two different authors and set on different grounds, the two texts, “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller and “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe compare to a great extent. In both Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, there is a clear outline of the notion of success, despite the different settings of the literary works. Things fall apart presents the notion of success in an African point of view during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. On the other hand, the Death of a Salesman highlights the idea of success in America and the epitome of the American dream. Despite their varied settings, these two books highlight how the idea of being successful can affects the whole society.
In Things Fall apart, the author begins by exposing his main character, Okonkwo, who has risen to the halls of fame by his achievements (Things Fall Apart p.3). As a young man of eighteen years, he brought glory to his village when he defeated Amalinze the Cat, a famous warrior with an unbeaten record standing of seven years. Okonkwo wanted to be famous; he requested the elders to arrange a match between the two of them. Although the elders were a bit petrified, they went ahead to organize the fiercest battles the village had ever witnessed. It was the desire to rebuild his father’s lost glory that drives Okonkwo to the realm of personal achievement. This is evident when he beats the Amanzi, the most feared warrior.
Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, was viewed by his clansmen as a failure. The writer informs us that Unoka was lazy and improvident during his days. He was a man who could not foresee the future and exploit his present position to help him evade the future calamities. Furthermore, the author says that whenever Unoka got money (which he rarely did), he would call his folks and make merry. He was always in debt; he owed every clansman some bit of cash. As a result, he died in debt. Okonkwo seeks to reverse his father’s failures to his own success. In Okonkwo’s world, his father’s calamities tormented him simultaneously and drove him towards attaining his highest ambitions in life (Bloom p.8).
In chapter two, Achebe outlines Okonkwo’s successful war stories. He was a warrior with thirst for blood; unlike his father, a coward, who feared the sight of war. When sent for any mission, he hardly returns without a human head. When a daughter of Umuofia is murdered, Okonkwo is appointed to wage war to the offending clan. The unchallengeable Okonkwo enters into the enemy territory and captures a girl and a lad named Ikemefuna. The elders increased their honor for Okonkwo, and his fame spread like lightning.
The elders direct Ikemefuna to live with Okonkwo. The lad considers Okonkwo as his own biological father. However, things go wrong for Ikemefuna when the Oracle of Umuofia decrees his death for the appeasement of the land. Ezeudu informs Okonkwo to detach himself from the boy’s murder, but the adamant Okonkwo, driven by the lust for success, throws the final blow that murders Ikemefuna. This part proves that Okonkwo would do anything to achieve fame and success; even if it meant killing a kinsman.
After seeing the White man’s establishments, the desire to conserve the traditional heritage of Umuofia possessed Okonkwo. Together with a few elders, they try to reclaim their lost glory by burning a local Christian Church. They are later captured and imprisoned by the colonial government. The people of Umuofia mounted a strong a great uprising when they saw the strange turn of events. The government gets wind of the happenings and sends messengers to Umuofia. Okonkwo, out of rage, kills one of the messengers. He later hangs himself when the colonial leaders come to take him to court.
The notion of success in the Death of a Salesman mirrors that in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. The characters in Arthur’s play base their concept of success in the American dream, which hypothesizes that anyone can be become successful irrespective of where they started. According to this hypothesis, an individual had to work hard; persevere and have a charming personality to be successful. The same is reflected in the character of Willy Lowman, who views success as a product of hard work and popularity (p. 9).
As a salesman, Willey developed a charming personality which made him popular with his buyers. He tries to instill the same in his two boys, Happy and Biff. While bringing them up, he tells them success is all about hard work and popularity. For instance, when Biff confesses to making fun of a teacher, Willey is more concerned with the reaction of Biff’s classmates. When he realizes that Biff’s colleagues liked the joke, Willy knows that his son will become popular, hence successful in the course of his life. He forgets to teach him morality.
Willy struggles to provide for his family and does not seem to make ends meet. This is evident from his sales in Providence and Boston (p. 35). His desire is to give his household what they desire champions his daily routine schedule of hard work. He wants to be successful; being honored by his colleagues and neighborhood alike. Despite this dream, he is always in debt and has to grapple with his little salary to fend for his household. The events complicated their lives, and at the age of 60 years, Willy was still struggling to meet his American dream.
Willy’s brother, Ben, is his source of inspiration to achieve the American dream of success. Ben’s adventurous nature shows some of the elements of Willy’s pursuit of success; seeking greater chances in order to become wealthy (48). His brother’s memory sparks his continued search for material excesses. Willy wished that he had exploited his youthfulness to gain material wealth.
Happy, in his pursuit of riches, wishes the death of the merchandise manager so that he can replace him (Act one p.17). He views the manager as a successful fellow; He constructed a beautiful estate in Long Island where he stayed for a couple of months before selling the estate. Later on, the manager begins constructing another estate that is yet to be finished. Happy feels that, in the absence of the manager, he would be able to enjoy such privileges as well; a furnished apartment, a car and plenty of women surrounding him. Therefore, we are left to wonder the degree to which somebody can seek for material wealth.
Biff is not left out either. After finishing his high school, he goes out job-hunting. His driving principle is success. In his dialogue with Happy after returning home, he narrates how he has tried close to thirty jobs in a row, without getting personal satisfaction. He had herded cattle in Dakota, Arizona, and numerous other places (p.16). With his meager earnings, he realized he realizes he could not sustain himself and decides to go back home. His unsuccessful stories greatly disappoint his father.
From these two books, the notion of success is rather similar. Different characters develop a zeal that propels them to realize success. However, there is a slight difference in the nature of success. In Achebe’s book, the main protagonist, Okonkwo, seeks for leadership success. He wants to rise to the level which no clansman has reached. Through his hard work and courage, he was able to rise to a number of ranks in Umuofia. In the Death of a Salesman, different characters strive to achieve material success. Willy, with his hypothesis of hard work and popularity as the pillars to success, strives hard to achieve recognition through his riches.
Despite their different settings, these characters sacrifice their own happiness with the oblivion of success. Okonkwo, for example, kills ikemefuna, a boy he raises up in a bid to achieve social standing. Willy sacrifices his happiness and that of his entire family in a bid to achieve the American dream of success. Towards the end of these two books, the main protagonists suffer humiliation and isolation and eventually meet their untimely death. The authors, Chinua Achebe and Arthur Miller, therefore, warn their audiences against obsession with success.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 2010. Internet resource.
Miller, Arthur, and Enoch Brater. Death of a Salesman. London: Methuen Drama, 2010. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. New York, NY: Bloom’s Literary Criticism,
2010. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers,
2004. Internet resource.
