When the reality of life becomes too harsh, humanity has a natural tendency to choose the most convenient solution to its problem: illusion. They build dreams and fantasies to hide the most difficult truths of their lives. In his work Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller describes the hold of such illusions on individuals and its horrific consequences. Through the overly average and overly typical Loman family, Miller shows how dreams of a better life become, as Choudhuri puts it, "fantasies to the point that the difference between illusion and reality, between the Lomans' dreams and the forces of society, becomes blurred ". (Choudhuri 70). The Loman family created dreams and illusions that were much better than their reality. In Death of a Salesman, these dreams overwhelm the two characters Willy, the father, and Biff, his favorite son, but the harsh reality of life eventually overcomes these illusions and forces them to face the truth. As Willy and Biff are forced to realize that they have been living in a dream world, this disillusionment becomes a prevalent theme of the play, underscoring how illusions can only hide so long before the truth is revealed. Wilson explains that the Loman family has such exaggerated and grotesque fictions about each other that the truth is bitterly weak in reverse (Wilson 80). Their illusions are so grand and so full of fantasy that when the reality is discovered, they are shocked, devastated. In Death of a Salesman, Willy and Biff Loman show the shocks and difficulties one experiences when forced to face reality and become disillusioned. Of these two characters, Willy holds the greatest number of illusions, and therefore is the most devastated by the destruction of these fantasies. Miller uses several i...... middle of paper ....... Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991. 66-78.Dusenbury, Winifred L. “Loneliness in the Death of a Salesman.” The theme of loneliness in modern American drama. (1960): 30-38. Rpt. in Readings on Arthur Miller.…….Ed. Thomas Siebold. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1997. 116-24.Foster, Richard. “Confusion and Tragedy: Miller's Salesman Failure.” Two……Modern American Tragedies: Reviews and Criticisms of the Death of a Salesman and……A Streetcar Named Desire. (1961): 123-130. Rpt. in Readings on Arthur Miller.……Ed. Thomas Siebold. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1997. 102-9.Garrison, Craig M. “The System and the American Dream.” Playwrights. April 17, 2002. ………Hadomi, Leah. “Fantasy and Reality: Dramatic Pace in the Death of a Salesman.” Modern ……….Drama 31, vol. 2. (1988):161-2. Rpt. in Blooms Reviews: The Death of Arthur Miller