The Role of Defense Mechanisms in Willy Loman's Character : A Freudian and Marxist Analysis of Death of a Salesman

Abstract: The field of psychoanalysis makes it possible to make an in-depth study of the protagonist in the play Death of a Salesman. After performing such an analysis, this paper suggests that Willy suffers from mental illness and that he is obsessed with living the American Dream. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of defense mechanisms such as repression, projection and frustration reveals that the protagonist views human dignity as standing in direct relation to an individual’s socioeconomic status. This paper concludes that Willy Loman measures human value in terms of material objects which eventually become the underlying cause of his death. The Marxist concept of ideology is used as a tool to investigate the influence of the American Dream on the protagonist’s mind and the play may express a Marxist criticism against society. This paper reveals that many of Willy’s illusions may be depicted as a critique against the American Dream and the play may give a direct example of how ideology can function according to the theory of false consciousness.