“You cannot eat the orange and throw the peel away; a man is not a piece of fruit!” In the play Death of a Salesman, Willy says this quote to Howard. Regarding this quote, there are some factors and people who are ultimately responsible for the ‘death of the salesman’. The first one is the society, which it is full of competition for jobs. The second one is Willy who was very proud and made some poor decisions. The third one is the education of his family. Death of a Salesman not only refers to Willy in the play, but also represents individuals in society.

Society is the first factor leading to the Death of a Salesman. Competition is everywhere in society, meaning only the best survive. Willy already lost the ability to sell more products, which is why Howard chose not to hire him. Willy believes making a lot of money is considered as successful. He desires to work as a businessman and earning a high salary becomes his dream. However, society doesn’t consist of individuals; it is a whole group of people. Some people who may be better than you. But Willy chose not to face this truth and be jealous. Therefore, society led to the Death of a Salesman.

Moreover, Willy is responsible for the ‘Death of a Salesman’. He has lots of hopes, but he also makes poor decisions. “God! Why didn’t I go to Alaska with my brother Ben that time!” (Miller 28). This quote shows Willy feels regret about his decision. He believes if he went to Alaska with Ben, he would be rich; if he went to Alaska, he would not die like the poor salesman, because he would then have the chance to live in a better place. Another example is when Charley wants to offer him a job, but Willy refuses Charley. Willy was too proud of himself. He does not want to be successful from the help of others, and he wants to get a job alone. He always hopes one day he will be wealthy and have a company, but he never adds actions to his hopes. He believes he is the best one and deserves success. The truth is the opposite. Hard work is way more significant than being well-liked or using tricks. Willy doesn’t like to be hard-working. Willy did not choose the right job. As Arthur Miller describes in the story, we know Willy is very good at making things with his hands, not being a businessman. This is also a wrong choice because he stereotyped success. Therefore, Willy himself is responsible for the death of the salesman.

Lastly, we look at the education of his family members. Biff does not treat school as a serious place and is only interested in playing football. “Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets in the business world, you are going to be five times ahead of him.” (Miller 21). The truth is Bernard was very successful in the business world. The problem with Willy’s education is that he never analyzes the shortcomings of himself and his son. Whenever Biff did something wrong, he will always try to find an excuse and self-justified. These influences Biff greatly because Biff also thinks he should be successful for no reason. Willy taught Biff he should be a great businessman, but Biff does not have the interest, so he cannot be successful. If Willy encourages Biff to do whatever his own dream is, Biff will achieve success in that area with his persistence. However, in this book, reality is always opposite to dream. Biff does not have a job even though when he is 34 years old. In this case, he is also considered the death of the salesman due to the poor education from Willy.

To summarize, the Death of a Salesman is not only caused by one factor. It is caused by the society, the desire of money, and the jealousy toward various successful people. The inner conflicts arise in the character themselves because Willy did not face the truth directly. He made some poor decisions, is over-arrogant, and lacks a work ethic. Instead, he just learns to be well-liked and uses tricks. For example, he tries to use the close relationships with Howard’s dad to get a job. Poor education in his family is also a crucial factor. If Willy taught Biff in another way, things would work out differently, and Biff would be successful in his area. People can have lots of hope, but they should also have the quality of persistence. They should learn to persevere while working hard. They also need to know themselves and analyze their mistakes to improve one another.