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In Arthur Miller's Play Death of a Salesman, the dreams of the major characters are the central focus of the plot. The Lomans, particularly Willy, struggle to realize their dreams while fearing that these goals are unreachable. Yet this fear is necessary to the hope; Willy would much rather dream than succeed. It is the destruction of his dream that destroys him, not merely its failure. Willy Loman, the central character of the play, dreams …

…appears in the play, nor is Biff's future ever resolved. Willy is dead, and this comes as a surprise neither to the audience, who know the play's title before ever walking into the theater, nor to the major characters, who have all known about Willy's designs since at least halfway through the play. Once Willy and his dreams, which controlled the entire play, are dead, the powerful reality of their deaths is all that remains.