Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman actually refers to the deaths of two salesmen: protagonist Willy Loman and an admired but never-seen character named Dave Singleman . It can be argued that the most noticeable difference in the deaths of Dave Singleman and Willy Loman can be found in the number of people who attended their respective funerals. While Singleman's funeral was attended by people from all over New England, Willy's was attended by only a small number of friends and family, a fact that shocks his wife Linda ("where are all the people he knew?"). By processing Linda's words in this way, Miller not only creates pathos and catharsis, but generates dramatic irony as the audience sees that Linda has unintentionally highlighted one of Willy's greatest failures. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As a salesman, Singleman had many contacts and was “well-liked” in the industry, something Willy considered vital to a company's success. salesman, due to the people-oriented nature of business in pre-1940s America. It might therefore seem strange that Linda was shocked by the small number of attendees at Willy's funeral, since she already knew that he was not a successful salesman. This links to the play's status as a domestic tragedy, as Willy's exaggerations of his achievements and character have led his family to have a false and distorted perception of him. Furthermore, Miller successfully uses this phrase to reinforce Willy as the tragic hero of the play; he wanted his family to be proud of him, but because of his exaggeration, their view of him deteriorated after his death. Singleman's funeral was extremely different from this one, as the number of people in attendance only served to confirm his success as a salesman, juxtaposing and highlighting Willy's failure. It can also be argued that Singleman and Willy's deaths are different in nature. While Willy commits suicide, it is implied that Singleman died of old age, at the age of eighty-four. Likewise, their deaths are contrasted by the level of wealth held by the two men, as highlighted by Willy when he says that Singleman died "in his green velvet slippers". These images are strongly linked to the "green" color of dollars and present a wealthy image, further serving to highlight Willy's desire for material wealth and his admiration for those who possess it. By characterizing Willy in this way, Miller ties Willy to the materialistic nature of the mid-20th century, which may be the only part of Willy's life where he is "with the times." Dramatic irony is found in Willy's description of the "green velvet" slippers. We're told he only met Singleman once, so it's unlikely he knew the intimate details of the man's death enough to know what he was wearing. Therefore, the audience can clearly see Willy's idolization of Singleman and can infer that Willy is projecting his own dreams and desires onto the image of a man he believes to be truly successful. By building this ideal of opulence, Miller lays the foundation for the great amount of pathos at the end of the play, when the audience sees that, unlike Singleman, Willy died a pauper and did not realize his dream. Despite all this, it is plausible that the deaths of the two men were similar in that they both died without having fully achieved the American dream. Since most of the play is seen through Willy's eyes, Miller places more emphasis on the materialistic side of the dream.