The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller are two of the most famous works of the twentieth century. The differences and similarities between the two works are hidden in their historical and social contexts. The characters in The Glass Menagerie and Death of a Salesman are trapped in the constraints of their daily lives, unable to communicate with their loved ones and fearing for their future. There are many comparisons, especially between the settings, symbolism and characterization drawn between the two works. The contrast comes from how the characters choose to deal or not deal with harsh life circumstances. The Glass Menagerie is a deeply autobiographical work with the characters lightly disguised as representations of Williams' family. Tom is the playwright, Laura is his sister Rose, and Amanda is his mother, Edwina. His regularly absent father is also present as Tom's father. The play is set during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when jobs were few and family wealth was disappearing very quickly. When the play was first performed in 1944, America was experiencing the many hardships of World War II. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the center of the tragic is the conflict within a dysfunctional family. It is also an indictment of what can be called American national values, especially those that existed in the years after World War II. Miller was highly critical of the widely held myth of capitalist materialism as the only way to prosper. Material possessions were associated with happiness. Success was measured in cars and money. The setting... middle of paper...tery is a betrayal towards the whole family and in the end he is the one who is abandoned. It seems that the Wingfiled family has a stronger bond, and the social and economic difficulties are not great enough to separate the family, while the Loman family is not strong enough to give up under the pressure of difficult economic circumstances. Overall, these two plays and the characters who tell the stories, we see how two playwrights of the same genre in the same period can have such different styles in telling the story of a tragic American family. And although these characters are presented in different ways, neither is wrong. It just means that these two playwrights had different experiences in pursuit of their dreams. The Glass Menagerie and Death of a Salesman are two of the best-known American works of all time.