Death Of A Salesman And Hamlet: Faking Madness And Defining Reality

Dreams are shaped by one’s moral values and idea of happiness. However, being obsessed with another person’s goals rather than focus on their personal goals, one loses their identity in creating false appearances. In both Hamlet by Shakespeare and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the pursuit of another person’s dream indicates that it is unattainable as appearance versus reality corrupts one’s character. The impact of appearance versus reality is demonstrated through: guilt, deception and loss of relationships.

Guilt is a vital part of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As a fundamental part of the human psyche, the repercussions of guilt reveals the extent of corruption within the play. In Hamlet’s situation, loyalty to his father’s order of revenge corrupts his religious ideologies. Thus, Hamlet faces a dilemma of whether to uphold his morality or commit mortal sin. For example, Hamlet confidently agrees to take revenge on Claudius, saying, “I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records… And thy commandment all alone shall live” (1.5.100-104). However, Hamlet’s confidence conceals his guilt, which torments him. As a result, Hamlet contemplates suicide, outlining in his soliloquy his fear of the afterlife, “O that this too too-solid flesh would melt...Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d/ His canon ’gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God!” (1.2.129-130). Thus, Hamlet’s guilt defines his character as a man of thought; not action. For instance, Hamlet puts on an “antic disposition” (1.1.173) to find incontrovertible evidence of Claudius’ guilt before committing murder. To the public, Hamlet portrays madness, whereas in reality, he is aware that one murder does not justify another. Consequently, in an attempt to preserve his morality, Hamlet initially fails to pursue the Ghost’s exhortation; therefore, exacerbating his guilt in his inaction. Hamlet’s guilt spurs himself to pursue action, illustrated in his soliloquy, “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Is it not monstrous that this player here / But in a fiction, in a dream of passion / Could force his soul so to his own conceit” (2.2.510-513). Thus, Hamlet’s betrayal of his thoughtful nature results in a loss of morality as his guilt plays a smaller role in his actions. Ultimately, Hamlet’s illusion of madness becomes a reality, engendering deception, manipulation and his eventual downfall.

The repercussions of guilt both shapes and corrupts Willy’s character in The Death of a Salesman. Willy’s guilt is a result of his obsession with an unattainable ideal of the American Dream in the present, inspired by his brother’s success. As a result, Willy’s skewed version of the American Dream creates impossibly high expectations of himself and the people around him. Thus, Willy realizes that the American Dream is ultimately unattainable, resulting in his affair with The Woman to distract from the reality of his unhappy home life. Thus, in betraying his family, Willy experiences guilt for abandoning his family, which is symbolized by silk stockings. Furthermore, the stockings emphasizes Willy’s inability to care for his family, both as the breadwinner and as a husband. Thus, when Linda repairs her stockings to save money, saying, “Just mending my stockings. They’re so expensive-” (Miller 39), Willy is reminded of his failure to provide his family with the same loyalty and financial luxuries that he provided with the Woman. Willy tries to suppress the reality of his guilt by preventing Linda from sewing the stockings, saying, “I won’t have you mending stockings in this house” (Miller 39). Ultimately, the imagery of Linda’s damaged stockings forces Willy to face the reality. 

Furthermore, due to Willy’s inability in achieving the dream his brother and father achieved, he becomes unable to cope with his failures to provide for his family, which results in feelings of guilt. In addition, Willy’s guilt regarding his financial struggle is exacerbated by his regret in not taking Ben’s offer to go to Alaska, Willy saying, “Why didn’t I go to Alaska with my brother Ben that time!... That man was success incarnate! What a mistake! (Miller ). Thus, Willy feels guilty that he could’ve given his sons a better life if he had followed Ben to Alaska. As a result, Willy pushes his sons to strive for Ben’s level of success, saying, “That’s just the way I’m bringing them up, Ben - rugged, well-liked, all-around” (Miller 49). Thus, Willy says to Biff, “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!” (Miller 16), and encourages Biff to ignore his strengths to pursue a job in business. Willy believes that by preventing his sons from making the same mistakes he made, he could provide himself an emotional catharsis for his feelings of guilt and shame. However, in pushing his expectations of success on to his sons, Willy causes rift in his relationship with his sons, Biff saying to Willy, “Will you let me go, for Christ's sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?” (Miller___). Ultimately, this exacerbates Willy’s guilt…In the end, Willy’s guilt and remorse drives him over the edge, leading to his eventual suicide. Willy’s suicide was his way to finally achieve the success he regrets not having and to atone for his guilt in the past by attempting to give his insurance money to Biff.

For the characters of Hamlet, the act of deception conceals their corrupt motives. In Hamlet’s situation, the state of Denmark is deceived in his “antic disposition” (1.1.173) to conceal his plan to avenge his father’s murder. In reality, Hamlet is in control of his feigned madness, admitting that he is, “essentially not in madness, /But mad in craft” (3.4.187-188). Thus, Hamlet is aware that faking madness will allow him to investigate the suspicious nature of his father's death without Claudius suspecting that he knows the truth. However, this is situational irony, as Hamlet seeks to learn the truth of his father’s murder by resorting to a path of deception; ultimately, leading to his downfall. As a result, dramatic irony occurs as the characters of Hamlet are unable to determine the cause of Hamlet’s bizarre behaviour. Ultimately, Hamlet becomes the victim of his deception, as it forces him to refrain from expressing his love for Ophelia and accidently murder Polonius. As Hamlet’s deceptive role spawns more crimes to conceal, Hamlet becomes ensnared in a cycle of deception and madness. Furthermore, like Hamlet, Claudius deceives the state of Denmark by killing King Hamlet, for, “[his] crown, [his] own ambition, and [his] queen' (3.3.54-56). Claudius expertly conceals the truth of his unethical deeds through his charisma and confident leadership. Thus, Claudius attempts to smooth over the awkwardness of King Hamlet’s sudden death and his and Gertrude’s swift marriage through a show of national strength. Thus, as Denmark prepares for war against Norway, Claudius addresses Denmark’s national affairs, writing to Fortinbras’ uncle to restrain his nephew’s temper. Moreover, Claudius addresses the royal court using oxymorons, saying, “Here we, as ‘twere with a defeated joy, / With one auspicious and a dropping eye, / With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage” (1.2.10-13). This conveys Claudius’ quick mind to win over his audience, as they can relate to whatever emotion they are feeling, whether it be “defeated joy” in grieving for King Hamlet, or “joy” in Claudius’ marriage. Furthermore, Claudius encourages both Hamlet and the royal court to move on from his father’s death and focus on their levity of Claudius’ marriage, asking Hamlet, “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?” (1.2.66). Ultimately, Claudius realizes the difficulty in concealing his crimes as Hamlet seeks the truth behind King Hamlet’s murder. Therefore, what begins as a simple murder leads to schemes, manipulations and attempted murders. Ultimately, Claudius’ deception leads to his demise; unable to truly benefit from his lies and deceit.

Under the pressure of guilt, the characters of Death of a Salesman resort to deception as a means to escape reality. For example, Willy creates delusions of success as inability to reach the standards of his obsession with the American Dream. Thus, Willy deceives himself into believing that the American Dream is his only purpose in life, viewing materialism and being “well-liked” as more important than moral values. Thus, he criticizes Bernard for being “Liked but not well-liked” (Miller 33). This results in Willy’s fatal flaw of hubris, as he refuses to admit his lack of success to his family members. Consequently, he refuses to quit his unsuccessful job and take Charley’s offer of employment saying, “What the hell are you offering me a job for? (Miller 43). However, in reality, Willy cannot deny his broken reality, saying, “the woods are burning” (Miller 41). This symbolizes Willy’s current situation, as his dreams are being “burned” by his failures to provide for his family and succeed in his American dream. Ultimately, Willy refuses to have his pride diminished by reality, which in turn, damages his relationship with his family members. To keep up appearances, Willy sells his success to his sons to gain their respect, saying, “Be liked and you will never want. You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. 'Willy Loman is here!' That’s all they have to know and I go right through” (Miller 33). However, when facing reality, Willy’s delusions of success are contradicted. Thus, Willy admits to Linda, “I know it when I walk in. They seem to laugh at me.” (Miller 36). Moreover, he fails to reprimand Biff for stealing due to his popularity, saying, “That’s because he likes you. If somebody else took that ball there’d be an uproar.” (Miller 30). As Willy fails to earn money, his failure to reach his dreams leads in self-delusion as Willy contradicts himself over his level of success, saying, “Oh, I’ll knock ‘em dead next week. I’ll go to Hartford. I’m very well liked in Hartford. You know, the trouble is, Linda, people don’t seem to take to me.” (Miller 36). Furthermore, he brags and exaggerates his sales to Linda. However, Linda feeds into Willy’s self-deception by reassuring him, even after recalculating his numbers. However, Willy’s delusions cannot escape his reality and he becomes dissatisfied due to his unattainable expectations, saying, “You work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there's nobody to live in it.” (Miller 15). Furthermore, despite Willy belief of his success, Willy’s home represents the contrast in his self-deception and the reality of the reduction of American Dream he’s been striving for. Willy lives in a small home boxed in by apartment buildings, described with, “An air of the dream [that] clings to the place, a dream rising out of reality” (Miller 1). Furthermore, Willy deceives himself into believing a false standards of a perfect family; ultimately, destroying his relationships with his sons. He creates high standards for his kids as he raises them to be, “rugged, well-liked, all-around” (Miller 49). However, his sons foil Willy’s expectations of the American Dream, as they fantasize leaving the business world and opening a ranch. Thus, when they fail to meet Willy’s expectations, he refuses to give his approval unless they want to pursue business, driving a wedge in their relationships. Furthermore, Ben’s success in achieving the American Dream foils Willy’s lack of success, which drives Willy to become obsessive in aspiring to achieve Ben’s success. As a result, Willy’s American Dream inflicts more pain than self-fulfillment, resulting in Willy creating impossibly high expectations of himself and the people around him…. he becomes unable to distinguish his reality and delusions of success. Thus, he pushes his expectations of success on to his sons, which causes a rift in their relationship, saying, “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!” (Miller 16). Therefore, Biff pursues Willy’s dream of success, which…..

As the characters of Hamlet value deception and revenge over love, this ultimately results in the breakdown of relationships. This is exemplified in the loss of relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia, as it succumbs to the betrayal of their mutual love. Hamlet and Ophelia experience parallels in their mutual rejection of each other. Particularly, Ophelia’s loyalty to Polonius prevents her from expressing her love for Hamlet; whereas, Hamlet’s loyalty to King Hamlet results in him isolating himself from Ophelia due to his “antic disposition” (1.1.173). The dramatic irony in Hamlet’s seemingly bizarre behavior frightens Ophelia away; as she describes him with,“His doublet all unbraced....And with a look so piteous in purport / As if he had been loosed out of hell” (2.1.79-84). Furthermore, Hamlet exacerbates his failing relationship with Ophelia in his cruel verbal harassment towards her, saying, “Be thou chaste as ice, as pure as snow/ thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go” (3.1.136-137). Likewise, Ophelia (worsens the situation) with Hamlet by returning his gifts, saying, “Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove /unkind” (3.1.102-103), indicating that Hamlet’s sudden cruelty conceals his once kind nature. However, Ophelia and Hamlet’s appearance of rejection and cruelty hides the reality of their mutual love. Hamlet’s love for Ophelia is evident in his despondency in response to her suicide, saying, “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum...Be buried quick with her, and so will I” (5.1.263-273); therefore, contrasting his former malice towards Ophelia. Similarly, Ophelia’s expresses her love for Hamlet in fondly describing his love letters as, 'words of so sweet breath composed' (3.1.98). Ultimately, Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship becomes destructive as each of these characters succumb to madness; their love ultimately ending in tragedy.

Essentially, the pursuit of a dream engenders a sense of meaning and purpose, and drives one into their chosen future. However, in pursuing another person’s dream, one betrays their self-interest through false appearances. Hamlet and Death of Salesman observe the impact of appearance versus reality as it corrupts its characters. Thus, both novels observe the impact of guilt, as it consumes a character’s self-worth and morality. Furthermore, Shakespeare and Miller comments on the use of deception as a tool to escape a tormented reality. Lastly, they illustrate the loss of relationships that comes in false appearances. Ultimately, Shakespeare and Miller enforce teaches that when following dreams following your own will make most successful. In the end, the protagonist realizes that dreams, like all dreams, is part truth and part lie, and that the best path lies in embracing reality; not false appearances.

Works Cited

1. Miller, A. (1996). Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin Books.
2. Shakespeare, W., Eisenstat, M. and Roy, K. (2003). Hamlet. Toronto: Harcourt Canada.