Arthur Miller incorporated a number of powerful symbols into Death of a Salesman. When searching for potential symbols in a work of literature, consider items that are referred to or shown often and think about what they could represent that would relate to the theme(s) of the work. Here are some symbols from the play and what they stand for:
Trophies: In the stage instructions, Miller writes that Biff's old high school sports trophies are displayed above Willy's bed. This represents the fact that Willy still finds meaning in the past successes of his son rather than in his own achievements.
Tennis shoes: Biff had a pair of tennis shoes with "University of Virginia" printed on them. They symbolized his goal of going to college and becoming successful as an adult. When Biff finds out his father is having an affair, he is so upset that he burns the shoes. This represents the abandonment of his previous goals and his embarking on a course that his father calls "spite."
Silk stockings: These represent Willy's unfaithfulness to Linda and her naive loyalty to him. Willy gave new silk stockings to the woman he had an affair with; Linda is often seen mending her own stockings, to Willy's great distress.
Refrigerator: The refrigerator represents the rat race of the low-income worker. The refrigerator was purchased on credit, and Willy can't even afford to make the small payments. It is finally paid off when he ends his life.
Pen: Biff steals Bill Oliver's ballpoint pen from his office and has an epiphany about who he is and what he wants from life. The pen symbolizes the petty life Biff has led (which included repetitive stealing) and which he decides to give up in favor of one that reflects his new understanding of who he is.
Garden seeds: Ironically, the seeds don't represent new life but rather Willy's plan to kill himself. Not only will they be "proof" to the insurance company that his death was accidental (he wouldn't plant a garden if he planned to kill himself), but the seeds are buried in order to produce fruit, just as Willy thinks that his death and burial will provide "seed money" for his sons, especially Biff, to start a successful business.
These and other symbols give greater depth to the themes Miller explores in the drama.
Two important symbols in Arthur Miller’s play are the sample case and stockings. Although Willy Loman is a professional salesman and that professional is a crucial part of his identity, the audience never learns what he sells. When he enters as the play begins, he is carrying two sample cases, apparently quite heavy. They symbolize his profession as salesman.
Another symbol are stockings. Linda mends her old stockings while she sits in the kitchen. This action and the fact that she must make do with these worn stockings symbolize her attitude toward her marriage and her life. When Willy is with The Woman, he makes her a gift of new stockings. The contrast between the two items symbolizes Willy’s attitude toward his marriage and the extramarital affair.
Death of a Salesman is about the destructive effects of the economic system in the U.S. One can say that the entire play is a kind of symbolic enactment of these effects, but if we are looking for more concrete, individual symbols within the play, I would suggesting the following:
The tape recorder Willy's boss Howard is playing with when Willy comes to see him about his job is a symbol of materialism and of the dehumanizing results of the system in which we're immersed. Howard is more interested in this gadget than in speaking to Willy or in helping Willy solve his problems. Death of a Salesman was premiered in 1949, 70 years ago. It's interesting in this connection to note how much more our lives now are dominated by electronics and gadgetry, but that the process was already in full swing that long ago.
The fountain pen Biff steals when having his unsuccessful interview is another material symbol, but in this case it may represent the things Biff has always wanted to have but has been blocked from by his dysfunctional personality and by the family dynamic.
As to what the characters in the play symbolize, I'll choose only two, though one can find many meanings in the others as well. Willy's brother Ben is a recurring image, standing for some mythical kind of success Willy imagines he could have had. This symbol haunts Willy throughout the play, both serving as a positive, reassuring force but at the same time a reminder of the failure Willy himself is.
In the scene where Biff finds Willy in a hotel room with a woman, The Woman, as she's referred to, represents the rebellious side of Willy. His whole concept of himself is that of a model citizen, carrying out the role of breadwinner for his family and being the mythic success figure the American Dream extols. The Woman is the revelation—to Biff and to the audience—of the falseness of Willy's self-created identity, despite the fact that she herself is also a victim, a cast-off of the same system that has crushed Willy and his family.
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