Miller has professed himself fascinated by the "agony of someone who has some driving, implacable wish in him" (Paris Review Interview). what are Willy Loman's obsessions.

Willy Loman is obsessed with the "American Dream." . He wants money, success, respect and the "perfect family". The American dream of course is largely an illusion. Willy longs for the trappings of external validation (things, money, nice house...) to validate his own existence. Willy lacks a sense of real purpose and identity. His dreams of domestic bliss are largely an illusion because they are based on materialistic concepts of power and money.