The line between reality and illusion is often blurred in Arthur Miller's work, Death of a Salesman. Whether embedded in actual content or structure, this struggle between the recognition of reality and illusion turns into a strong theme; it ultimately leads to the downfall of Willy and his family. Willy fails to recognize who he is and fails to realize that he, as well as his children, are incapable of succeeding in the business world. Happy and Biff both go through a battle between reality and illusion that causes a collapse in some part of their lives. The boundary between Willy's flashbacks and the present time also sends him into turmoil when he can't distinguish between the two. Willy believes he is much more successful than he actually is. The first sign of Willy's delusion about his life appears quite early in the play. He has the illusion that “[he is] the New England man. [It is] vital in New England” (14). In reality, anyone could have taken Willy's place at work. This illusion leads to his downfall because as his life begins to fall apart, he lives in the illusion of having enough money to support his family, so he doesn't recognize that he has to put the pieces of his reality back together. Nearer the end of the play, in a burst of anger Willy refuses to be called "a dime a dozen" and states "I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman" (132), as if the Loman family were a family special. figure in society. His unclear view of his place in society leads to its destruction; with only one vision for his life, Willy believes he is living his life to the fullest. Willy not only believes he is successful, but he believes he is "worth more dead than alive" (98). This is the f... middle of the paper... but as Willy slowly slips further and further into his illusions, the captions signal “You can hear the woman's laughter” (40). Willy is completely immersed in this slight flashback of The Woman, but then he is confused and yells at everyone around him. This chaos stems directly from Willy's confusion between what is reality and what is his imagination. During the intense discussion at the restaurant between Biff and Willy, the director directs “The woman laughs, on the left” (113). This laughter not only symbolizes the turmoil and bad times in Willy's life, but also triggers Willy's downfall in another of his many flashbacks. Without this theme of illusion and reality, the atmosphere of these flashbacks would not have such a lasting effect on the show.WorkscitedAndersen, Richard. Arthur Miller. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2006. Print.