Discuss the representation of masculinities in Death of a Salesman.

Introduction Death of a Salesman reveals the story of an American man confronting failure in a success-driven society and shows the tragic path which eventually leads to his suicide. Willy Loman believes in what he considers the promise of the American Dream wholeheartedly, which is based on the Declaration of Independence stated by Thomas Jefferson in 1776: "We believe that all men are born with these inalienable rights - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."(…

…London: Sage Publications, 1987, p.83-97. Malone, Dumas. The Story of the Declaration of Independence; Jefferson the Virginian. New York: Glier Corporation, 1982. Pucci, Pietro. "Socrates and the Tragic Hero." In Language and the Tragic Hero: Essays on Greek Tragedy in Honor of Gordon M. Kirkwood. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988, p.55-83. "Hercules, Greek hero" in The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. Hercules: Greece's Greatest Hero. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/lion.html