The psychological perspective on social alienation in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Abstract

This study aims to analyze Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman playwright in the framework of Fromm’s perspective of social alienation of the laborer in the communities through the main character of the play, Willy Loman. Besides, it examines the social norms of American society during the Great Depression period and its effects on society. The psychology of the main character and his family is discussed and analyzed with specific instances which are dominantly emphasized by the author. It gives a broad understanding of the psychology of the laborer community in light of Erich Fromm’s alienation theory.

Keywords

• social alienation
• psychology of laborers
• American great depression
• suicide

References

1. Bartlett, F., & Shodell, J. (1963). Fromm, Marx and the Concept of Alienation [Review of Marx’s Concept of Man, by E. Fromm]. Science & Society, 27(3), 321–326.
2. Fromm, E. (1955). The Present Human Condition. The American Scholar, 25(1), 29–35.
3. Jean, S. St. (2016). Lessons From The Late Erich Fromm: Novel Ideas for Social Work Theory and Practice That Were Ahead of Their Time. Canadian Social Work Review / Revue Canadienne de Service Social, 33(2), 255–272.
4. Kaushik, A. (1978). The Neo-Marxist Framework of Erich Fromm. The Indian Journal of Political Science, 39(2), 202–209.
5. Lankshear, C. (2003). On Having And Being: The Humanism of Erich Fromm. Counterpoints, 168, 54–66.
6. Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1988). Economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844. Retrieved on July 2023.
7. Miyamoto, K. (1911). ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Erich Fromm’s theory on alienation. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3617&context=theses