Bens final mantra of “The jungle is dark, but full of diamonds” in Act II turns Willys suicide into a moral struggle and a matter of commerce. His final act, according to Ben.
Ben :“not like an appointment at all” but like a “diamond … rough and hard to the touch.” Death of a Salesman .p.1362.
As opposed to the fruitless, emotionally ruinous meetings that Willy has had with Howard Wagner and Charley, his death, Ben suggests, will actually yield something
concrete for Willy and his family. Willy latches onto this appealing idea, relieved to be able finally to prove himself a success in business. Additionally, he is certain that with
the 20,000 from his life insurance policy, Biff will at last fulfill the expectations that he, Willy, has long held for him. The diamond stands as a tangible reminder of the material
success that Willys salesman job could not offer him and the missed opportunity of material success with Ben. In selling himself for the metaphorical diamond of 20,000,
Willy bears out his earlier assertion to Charley that “after all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive.”
3.2 Symbol of jungle
The term jungle appears in the play as well. In act 1, when Uncle Ben came to Willy’s house,
Ben :“ Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the
jungle, and when I was twenty one I walked out. And
God I was rich” Death of a Salesman. p. 1324.
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The jungle is symbolic of life. Willy excited that Ben is there to give advice to his sons, forces Biff and Happy to listen to their Uncle Ben , hoping that they will learn his
business technique and strikes it rich themselves. In this way, Willy sees the potential success of his sons as the only remaining hope of being successful himself. The jungle
can be associated with wildness, brutality and human behavior.
This ideal , however, proves to be unattainable by Willy and his sons when Willy’s desperate struggle for success and happiness is never achieved. This realization is
foreshadowed when Ben knocks Biff down with his umbrella, saying ,
Ben : “ Never fight air with a stranger, boy. You’ll
never get out o the jungle that way .” Death of a
Salesman. p. 1323.
The jungle, or woods, represents the chaotic yet rewarding nature of life. Ben tells Willy,
Ben: the jungle is dark but full of diamonds.
Death of a Salesman .p 1362.
So like Ben, Willy hopes to strike it rich in the business world of New England. Yet Willy never finds the diamonds successhappiness, and he leaves life without
fortune or fame. In many ways, the jungle also represents the twentieth century free market economy and the American Dream ideal that Miller often criticized.
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Ben also tells to Willy,
Ben : “ It’s dark there, but full of diamonds”
Death of a Salesman. p.1363,
it means that Ben hopes Willy can to strike in his life, in his business to get his success,
3.3 Symbol of seeds
Seeds represent for Willy the opportunity to prove the worth of his labor, both as a salesman and a father. Act 2 page 1333,
Willy : “There’s no question, no question at all. Gee, on the way home tonight I’d like to buy some seeds”
Death of a Salesman. p. . His desperate, nocturnal attempt to grow vegetables signifies his shame about
barely being able to put food on the table and having nothing to leave his children when he passes. Willy feels that he has worked hard but fears that he will not be able to help his
offspring any more than his own abandoning father helped him. The seeds also symbolize Willys sense of failure with Biff. Despite the American Dreams formula for success,
which Willy considers infallible, Willys efforts to cultivate and nurture Biff went awry. Realizing that his all-American football star has turned into a lazy bum, Willy takes Biffs
failure and lack of ambition as a reflection of his abilities as a father.
Miller uses these motifs throughout his play to symbolize Willys need and desire for success. They also represent the legacy that Willy never leaves with his family.
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Though Willy attempts to plant his garden near the end of the play, this is too little too late. His life has already been a failure and he has left nothing remarkable by which to be
remembered.
The idea of planting a garden is a major symbol in the play. Willy is always discussing the idea of planting a garden, in Act I he says,
The grass dont grow anymore, you cant raise a
carrot in the backyard.Death of a Salesman.p.
At the end of the play, one of his last acts in life is his futile attempt at planting seeds in the backyard of his fenced-in house.
Willy : I’ve got to get some seeds. I’ve got to get
some seeds, right away. Nothing’s planted. I don’t
have a thing in the round.” Death of a Salesman. p. 1357
The garden is symbolic of Willy needing to leave something behind for people to remember him by. Something that people will think about and remember him as a great
man. Willy never achieved success in life, and he also never planted his garden. He does in the end of the play, but it is assumed that will not grow.. The garden functions as a
last-ditch substitute for Willys failed career and Biffs dissipated ambition. Willy realizes, at least metaphorically, that he has no tangible proof of his lifes work. While he
is planting the seeds and conversing with Ben, he worries that “a man cant go out the
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way he came in,” that he has to “add up to something.” His preoccupation with material evidence of success belies his very profession, which necessitates the ability to sell ones
own, intangible image. The seeds symbolize Willys failure in other ways as well. The fact that Willy uses gardening as a metaphor for success and failure indicates that he
subconsciously acknowledges that his chosen profession is a poor choice, given his natural inclinations.
3.4 Symbols of music
