The Eternal Legacy of the American Salesman

Arthur Miller’s play “The Death of A Salesman” and David Mamet’s play “Glengarry Glen Ross” are both set decades apart and the American political and historical situation is very different in both the plays yet they share the same underlying factor -an individualistic capitalistic economy which had become more brutal over the years leaving no scope for the weak and vulnerable. These plays clearly showcase the vulnerabilities, stress, anxiety and depression of the salesmen and the disillusionment that affects them and those around them which has remained unchanged over the decades. By using the salesmen and their lives the writers reflect the lives of most modern day Americans.