What writing techniques does Arthur Miller use in Death of a Salesman?What themes and techniques does he use and how does he incorporate flashbacks?

In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller
provides powerful themes which are supported by the use of
flashbacks.

Willy Loman is a man who lives in the past. His
sense of success is based upon achievements he had when he first started out as a
salesman. However, he has failed to change with the times, and is stuck within the
confines of a world that no longer exists outside of his own
mind.

Four major themes are appearance vs.
reality, the individual vs. society, the
individual vs. himself, and the perception of the
American Dream.

Loman's insistence upon living
in the past is directly related to all of the major themes. In terms of
appearance vs. reality, Willy believes that his son Biff can do
anything he wants. He does not see who Biff has become, but is tied to his vision of the
son who was a football star (flashback), who was to receive a football scholarship—but
loses by failing math in his senior year. Willy doesn't even recall the fact that Biff
never graduated high school. Willy finds fault with the choices Biff makes in trying to
get by, torn because as in the past, he believes every door is open
to Biff if he will only try.

Another of Willy's struggles
deals with the theme of the individual vs. society. Willy's
connection to the past keeps him from seeing that he is a dinosaur, that sales have
fallen into the hands of the younger generation who do things differently, and so get
the business his company wants...in this, he finally loses his job because his boss can
not carry Willie's "dead weight."

Individual vs.
self is seen in Willy's inability to understand what is going on around him.
Through flashbacks, he hears the voice of his brother (who is dead--appearance vs.
reality) and struggles with what he believes should be true of his
life, and what has not happened in his desire to be the best salesman ever. Now he
struggles financially, has been involved with another woman, has alienated Biff in the
process, and then gets fired. He struggles with how to make things right, and has often
contemplated suicide when things have gotten really
bad.

The American Dream is what
started Willy on his journey to being a great salesman: he believes that in the US, all
things are possible. He is drawn into the past when he met a successful salesman whose
lifestyle motivated Willy to go into sales. However, as is the case today, making
more money was desired rather than just making some money. And
while the dream was attainable when Willy was young, he is now in his sixties, and he
cannot compete with younger salesmen: the American Dream is no longer
his.

The flashbacks include reliving the time when his
brother Ben encouraged him to go to Africa with him to make enormous amounts of money,
which he never does, and regrets (individual vs. self). Flashbacks show Willy's son Biff
with his cousin Bernie who is always pushing Biff to study for school and issuing dire
warnings of failure if he doesn't do his work.

As the story
progresses, Willy finds his reality getting mixed up with the past through the
intermingling of the present day and flashbacks. As this continues, Willie begins to
fail, losing his grip on reality, facing life's disappointments, and the missed
opportunities that have shaped his life and that of his family. The flashbacks serve to
show him how he has failed in life.

Ultimately, Willie
takes his own life.