Death of a salesman is a tragedy about the differences between the loman familys dreams and the reality of their lives the play is a scathing critique of the american dream and of the competitive materialistic american society of the late 1940s the storyline features willy loman an average guy who attempts to hide his averageness and failures behind increasingly delusional hallucinations as he strives to be a success. Study guides literature death of a salesman summary study guide death of a salesman summary willy loman an old salesman returns early from a business trip after nearly crashing multiple times willy has a moment of enlightenment and realizes he shouldnt be driving seeing that her husband is no longer able to do his job as a traveling salesman willys wife linda suggests . Well the play is definitely a drama because you know its a play a piece of literature meant to be spoken by actors in front of a live audience this particular drama centers on the trials and tribulations of the loman family making it a family drama death of a salesman is also in many ways a tragedy youve got the basic ingredients here a misguided person sets out to accomplish something that he thinks is the right thing but ironically it is that very thing that causes pain and . Learn about lies and deceit in shmoops free death of a salesman study guide well have you laughing and learning at the same time. Having trouble understanding death of a salesman heres an in depth analysis of the most important parts in an easy to understand format