Line Analysis on Death of a Salesman

 "Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground." - Willy.

    After the very intense and moving climax of the play, Willy goes to Stanley because of his sudden fixation on seeds...? While this may seem out of the blue and crazy, just like how I felt when first reading this, there is a clear reason why this makes sense. At this point in Willy's life, he has lost his career, lost sight of Biff's true ambitions, and has fallen down a spring flight of stairs into depression. When he states how there is nothing planted he doesn't literally mean that he hasn't planted anything into the ground but hasn't planted his success in life. The seeds that he tries to grow is his desperate attempt to show everyone his life's work, even though there is no such thing. Willy is so preoccupied with his own profession that he is almost trying to sell himself the idea that life is all about leaving a legacy that others can see. The seeds can also help symbolize all of Willy's failures. He could subconsciously realize that he has failed as a salesman and want ever able to blossom into becoming one of the greatest salesmen ever like Dave Singleman. This play truly is a tragic story, showing us the dark parts of the American Dream and that there isn't always a rainbow at the end of a storm.