Society has convinced us that submitting to conformity is the best solution to having a reasonably good social life. Others, however, believe that being yourself is the best way to converse with others. In Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," the Loman family struggles to follow the customs that society imposes on them, while their prosperous neighbors, Charley and his son Bernard, adapt to their surroundings and become successful. Miller uses honesty and stability to illustrate the differences between the Lomans and Charley as well as Bernard, in the attempt to succeed. Honesty is present in both families, but is differentiated by how much they actually use to help them on their path to success. In this case, the Lomans are showing the least sincerity. For example, Willy tells his wife, "I made five hundred dollars gross in Providence and seven hundred dollars gross in Boston," when in reality he exaggerates the truth and his wife calculates that his shares were actually worth sixty dollars. ten dollars instead of the two hundred with which they had started. (1251). Since it is the 1950s and men were still seen as the ones who brought the food to the table, Willy's dishonest actions are triggered by the role of man of the house. This low level of truthfulness persists throughout the play. Another storyline that includes the Lomans' deception is when Biff says to his mother, "Why didn't you ever write to me about this, Mom?...I was on the move." But you know, I thought about you all the time…” because we discover towards the end of the play that he was in prison during his three months of absence (1260). Biff decides to tell this lie for the sake of his parents who cannot find the truth and the feeling of guilt that he will...... middle of paper ...... with his path to a great education, and with it become someone in his life. Each family's priorities impact their future as well as their quest for success. In a country where competition thrives and where communication is the key to success, part of the population does not fully adapt to the customs that society imposes on them. As "Death of a Salesman" perfectly shows, either people are successful or others can't handle the stress of the long journey that is life. We can only conclude that, as long as the resources we need to live are acquired, there is no need to jeopardize what we already have. Works Cited Miller, Arthur. Literature “Death of a Salesman”: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 6th compact edition. New York: Longman, 2010. 1239-1302. Print.