Essays On Death Of A Salesman

Death Of A Salesman Essay Questions
Emily Reynolds
November 26, 2017
Moosman
Death of a Salesman
1. In act one, Willy, a salesman, comes home to his wife. She begs him to ask his boss to be
moved to the New York area so he doesn't have to travel so far. He later goes downstairs to the
kitchen and that's when he slips into one of his fits where he's imagining being in the past. Upstairs
his two sons, Happy and Biff, are listening to their father talk to himself and musing over buying
farmland out west. He imagines scenes from earlier in his life with his kids and imagines talking
with his brother Ben about his regrets of not moving with him to Alaska. The present–day Linda
finds Willy outside and Biff along with Happy come down to talk with their mother about their
father's condition....show more content...
Many experts credit its iconic character types, its groundbreaking performance style, its
unfortunately enduring relatability, and it influenced many plays that followed it; with characters
like Billy, the spent salesman; Biff, the high school athlete with a short temper and a feeling of not
belonging into society; Happy, the younger brother who plays everything up; and Linda, the
devoted wife who doesn't blame her husband for the error of his ways. But this play brought up the
very real issues of what goes on in our everyday
Get more content on HelpWriting.net

Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller Essay
Death of A Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, is a play based on the turmoil within an average
American family. Miller wrote Death of A Salesman easily showcasing the elements of drama. I was
easily able to follow the plot, identify with his characters, and picture the setting.
The main theme of the plot seemed to be Willy reaching for the "American Dream". Financial
success, business success, outwardly perfect family, revered by your peers, and in general respected
by all. Early on in the play two things are evident to the reader; Willy's questionable mental status,
and his tumultuous relationship with his sons.
Willy is apparently suffering from some sort of mental or emotional issues. These issues are causing
...show more content...
Happy mislead is family into thinking his job position was higher than is actually was, and Biff
could not settle down and stick with a job.
Willy's fear of change and evolvement is evident in his resentment of the apartments and in his
reaction to the recorder of Mr. Wagner's. He is also unable to come to terms with his own advancing
years as a salesman. He only goes to Mr. Wagner to ask for a job strictly in New York when Linda
insists. What he sees as valuable experience others see as obsolete. Willy longs for the days when
the boys revered him and they were pals.
Scott Foll states the driving point of plot is conflict (1182). This play definitely has the ultimate
conflict. That is simply, family. Conflict with Willy and Biff, Willy with himself, and Linda with
her sons. For me the turning climactic point is when while talking with Ben, Willy believes he can
regain what he lost years ago with Biff by ending his life. He thinks the twenty–thousand from the
insurance money will fix it all. I suppose the resolution in this play was Willy's death. Although I do
not imagine this could truly be resolution for the remaining family.
Characterization seemed to be the most well developed element of the play. The patriarch of the
family, Willy Loman was portrayed as the tragic hero. I believe his character did indeed possess
some character flaws that inevitably led to his death. However, I agree with

Death Of A Salesman (happy) Essay
Happy Loman has grown up to be a well–adjusted man of society. He has developed from a follower
to a potentially successful businessman. Throughout his childhood, Happy always had to settle for
second fiddle. Willy, his father, always seems to focus all his attention on Happy's older brother Biff.
The household conversation would constantly be about how Biff is going to be a phenomenal
football star, how Biff will be attending the University of Virginia and be the big man on campus,
how Biff is so adulated among his friends and peers, and so on. Young Happy wasalways in Biff's
shadow, always competing for his father's attention but failing each time. Happy would resort to
such antics as laying on his back and pedaling his feet backwards...show more content...
You ought to be on a magazine cover." (1840), Happy smoothly said to the woman. To be
able to approach a beautiful woman, especially a model, a person has to be oozing with self
esteem and confidence. Unfortunately the woman was expecting a friend but that did not stop
Happy. He continued to smooth talk the woman with lies and eventually wore her down to the
point where not only was she going to call her boyfriend and cancel their dinner date but she was
going to bring a friend so Biff could also have a date.
Happy is also a proud man. It didn't matter what his father had done in the past he was always
willing to defend Willy's honor. So proud that he was ready to fight his own brother when Biff
began to bad mouth Willy's dreams at his own funeral. With all these traits Happy has the makings
of a successful businessman. He appears hard–working, he is good with people, he sets his goals
high, and he has the determination and soul to make it in the business world. "All right, boy.
I'm gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good
dream. It's the only dream you can have – to come out number–one man. He fought it out here, and
this is where I'm gonna win it for him." (1859). With this one statement Happy reveals most of
his character traits. The quote reveals his determination to succeed in his future business venture, it
reveals his compassionate side and pride he had for his father and for life, and it also

The Dysfunctional Family
In Arthur Miller's drama, "Death of a Salesman" the protagonist is a sixty–year–old salesperson by
the name of Willy Loman. Willy suffers from self–delusion and is obsessed with the desire to
succeed. Willy's actions strongly influence his family, which contributes to their self–delusions.
Willy's wife Linda is an enabler and is codependent upon him. Linda encourages and participates in
Willy's delusions. She is unselfish and her life revolves around Willy and their two boysBiff and
Happy. The Lomans are definitely a dysfunctional family due to their lack of communication,
respect, and morals.
The basis for any healthy relationship is communication....show more content...
(Linda simultaneously):...and this woman...Linda: What? Biff: Nothing. Go ahead. Linda: What did
you say? Biff: Nothing. I just said what woman?" (Miller 1339). This is a normal conversation in the
Loman household interrupting each other, not listening to each other, and lack of interest in what
one another are saying.
Lack of respect for each other is another reason why the Lomans are a dysfunctional family. Willy's
lack of respect for his wife is obvious, because he cheats on her during his business trips and thinks
nothing of it. When he is caught cheating on Linda by Biff, Willy explains it is because he gets
lonely, and while putting his arms around tells Biff him "Now look, Biff, when you grow up you'll
understand about these things. You mustn't– you mustn't overemphasize a thing like this" (Miller
1369). Willy does not think there is anything wrong with cheating. He is upset that Biff has found
him out if anything. More evidence of the lack of respect existing in the family occurs when Willy
meets Happy and Biff at the restaurant on the day of Biff's meeting with Bill Oliver. Willy starts
out by having one of his delusional episodes and goes into the bathroom. Biff and Happy get into an
argument about Happy's apparent disregard for Willy. Biff then storms out of the restaurant. Happy
later leaves with two women while Willy is still

Death of a Salesman Analysis Essay
Many works of literature have the theme of a failed American Dream, which is the basic idea that
no matter what social class an individual may be, they still have an equal ability to achieve
prosperity and a good life for their family; however, there has been much debate over whether or not
the American dream is still obtainable in modern society. One piece of American literature that
substantiates the fact that the American Dream can not be gotten is Arthur Miller'sDeath of a
Salesman which describes the tragedy of the average person in America. A number of other writers
also draw the inability to capture the American Dream. John Steinbeck demonstrates in his highly
acclaimed novel The Grapes of Wrath how hard economic times can...show more content...
This idea is also clearly represented in modern times due to the fact that the nation is once more in
a recession and every one wants the shiny new car or the huge lavish house. Miller senses this and
uses Willy as an example of one of the many who fail to reach the American Dream and never will.
Miller also challenges society to reflect upon how it interprets success, as Abbotson points out:
"Miller sees many people's lives being poisoned by their desire to be successful. People like the
Lomans are doomed to try for success but fail, with all the resulting guilt that such failure brings.
Others like Ben and Howard display an ability to make money that deems them successful but at the
cost of their own moral integrity." (Abbotson, 317)
By providing the story with foils such as Ben and Howard being successful, Miller sheds a bit of
hope on America then proceeds to thwart that same hope with the fact that they lose their moral
integrity, which is a key component of the American Dream; therefore Miller clearly displays how
society will continue to deny Americans the coveted dream they aspire to attain. Literary critic
Thomas Porter states:
"Willy's status in society, his family background are typical; even more of a type is Willy's identity
as a salesman. He is a product of a

Death Of A Salesman Identity Essay
The 1940s is often referred to as the most influential decade of mankind. Countless advancements
were made in technology, medicine, and arts. Although this is true, if you were to look up "1940s"
on Google the automatic search results yields suggestions such as fashion, hair, clothes, and
dresses. These results stem from the shallow image oriented society of this decade, both through
materialism and visual appearances. Understanding of his surroundings, Arthur Miller wrote Death
of a Salesman in the final year of 1949. Ingrained within characters of the story are certain
personality traits which define their identities. The identity of the individuals found in the play are
not their own, rather the identity of the individuals found in the play are demonstrative of society
and the culture. The first example of apprehension is apparently appearance. The identities of the
Loman boys are defined by their physical image, as was instilled on them by their father. Directly
after comparing his sons to adonises, an allusion made in order to further display their values, Willy
says "I see great things for you kids "( ). By calling the boys adonises, Miller could also be trying to
demonstrate that the fabrication of attractiveness guaranteeing success, while extremely present in
the current culture, has been an inevitable part of society and culture's influence on the common
man. Willy associates physical appearance with success, creating their identities which mirror current
society. As a result of the this concept in the culture during World War II, this concept became the
standard the belief in...show more content...
Miller skillfully was able to make characters which alone give subtle context to the surrounding
society and culture. The overwhelming importance of image through physical appearance and
materialization can be seen through the actions of his

Death Of A Salesman Essay
Understanding drama can be confusing at times, but it is like an opera. In order to get the full
picture it must be not only heard, but seen and felt. When Arthur Miller wrote the play, "The Death
of a Salesman" it was intended to be seen not read. Portraying the play in any format other than
viewing it takes away from its full intent. There are several issues with reading a play over viewing it
such as: it is harder to follow a play on paper than viewing it, viewing a play gives you the "full
picture" the author intended, and several things were shown in "The Death of a Salesman" that
were better viewed than read. When a play is read on paper, it is harder to follow. Reading the name
of who is reading the line is not as efficient as an actor or actress portraying the character. On...show
more content...
When an author writes a story or book, details have to be added in so that the reader can picture
what the author is trying to portray. There is no visual effects to a book. When an author writes a
play they have to incorporate much more into the play. The lights have to be a certain tone, lights
have to be a certain color, actors and actresses have to be dressed a certain way, props need to be
present, and the walls and stage itself helps set the total picture that the author is trying to
portray. Neither the author of a book or play is better, for both serve their purpose, they are just
written in a different format. When an author writes a book or story the character's emotion can
be explained or compared to something that the reader can relate to. With a play, the emotion can
be seen on the actor or actresses face, it can be heard in the way their words are spoken, and it can
be judged by their body language. It is harder to portray this in a story or book. Because of this
reason the viewing of "The Death of a Salesman" added more to the experience than reading

Death Of A Salesman Memory Analysis
Memories tend to come and go when something in the present, such as sight or sound, triggers us to
recall to the past. In the tragedy, Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller, the protagonist Willy Loman
retreats to memories of both happy and sad times. These flashbacks are related to the present in
which the background knowledge help readers understand the present–day problems of the Loman
family. His interaction with the past interferes with what is happening in the present. Willy mentally
lives in the present with the memories and events of the past. In comparison to Willy, I tend to relate
a significant memory that stands out in my memory with my present situations.
An example of Willy's happy memory is the conversations with his older brother, Ben, who played
a father figure for Willy. Willy idolizes Ben because he was an adventurous, successful young man
who found diamonds in the jungles of Africa and became rich. Despite failing at being a salesman,
he finds his success through his eldest son, Biff. Willy lives vicariously through Biff and his peak
of happiness is Biff's senior year. When Willy found out...show more content...
We were guided through a soybean crop and the plantation owner even allowed us to pick some
of our own. As my parents were picking soybean, I immediately left and went on an adventure of
my own. Wandering around the plantation I found myself walking through a path that led me to
a remote village. Their poorly constructed homes were made on stilts of bamboo and wood. Most
of the kids were covered in a single cloth, had no shoes, and were abnormally skinny. It was a
heartbreaking sight that I will never get over. I knew at that moment, I was lost. Not just in the
village, but in me too. Who was I? Why was I selfish and ungrateful? Had I always been like this?
Questions like these clouded my mind on the flight home and sadness filled my

Death Of A Salesman Analysis Essay
Death of a salesman is tragdy play written by American modernist Arthur Miller. Miller won a
Pulitzer Prize in drama in 1949 for Death of a Salesman. In his play death of salesman he mixed
realism with inner thoughts of the characters. He is talking about wilily and his family Biff and
happy and his wife Linda. wily struggle with his thoughts and overthinking in the play. He came
home early his wife thoughts he crashed the car again, which I think is like foreshadow for what
will happen later on. Williy here is describing as a nervous and frustrated person. Lemon's family
suffers from doubts and his wife is helping him in count them. The play contains dreams and hope.
Williy wanted his sons to be successful and have job. Happy is the good son. And biff is the
opposite thing of what his father dreamed he would be.
Miller used many interesting technique in this paly. Also his style of writing is genius for me. It is
the reason of me choosing this play. The way he describe the Wily inner thoughts and things going
on in his mind makes it very exciting and enjoyable to read. He uses the theme of American dream
and past verses reality....show more content...
He show us how Willy is suffering from his mind by telling us what he goes through in his head
and that there is many trouble going there tell he started talking to himself out loud. And that he
start imaging people talking to him as his brother Ben .Also he always shows the typically
American family when he bring up about the chees in the play. Furthermore, even the name he
uses in his play indicates something. Happy is the good son and do what his father want unlike
Biff that he is a disappointed to his father. Also the Dave the single man, even if he was loved by
many people he still signal and alone. Even Willy's name which is Willy Loman as if it is a symbol
that Willy is not successful lack moral that he is a low

Essay on Death of a Salesman
"Death of a Salesman" written by Arthur Miller in 1948 attempts to give the audience an unusual
glimpse into the mind of a Willy Loman, a mercurial 60–year–old salesman, who through his
endeavor to be "worth something", finds himself struggling to endure the competitive capitalist
world in which he is engulfed. Arthur Miller uses various theatrical techniques to gradually strip the
protagonist down one layer at a time, each layer revealing another truth about his distorted past. By
doing this, Miller succeeds in finally exposing a reasonable justification for Willy's current state of
mind. These techniques are essential to the play, as it is only through this development that Willy
can realistically be driven to motives of suicide.
The...show more content...
Already here, the audience is aware of Willy's strange ways, as well as the method with which Linda
deals with it. This hints towards Linda's truth–evasive nature at an early stage, and is emphasized by
her tendency to deny Willy's apparent problems: "Maybe it was the steering", "Maybe it's your
glasses." (Miller, 9).
Language plays an imperative role in the formation as well as the development of the characters.
Unlike the majority of plays in the past, Death of a Salesman rarely uses "memorable speech" which
was the most common form of dramatic language. Instead, for the most part, the characters speak in
colloquial English. This automatically labels the family as a typical, middle–class family, therefore
easily identifiable with for the audience. By doing so, Miller also discards of any artificial
idealistic language, thereby adding to the crucial theme of realism in the play. The language
presented by the characters however, is by no means invariant. Different characters use different
language to expose their personalities, as well as varying it themselves depending on their current
inner state of mind. The two most blatant examples of the way characters vary their language are
Willy and Linda.
Willy throughout the play, uses a very simplistic colloquial English. This causes the audience to see
him as the "every man" allowing them to further associate with him. One feature of his language that
often draws attention to itself is

Death of a Salesman Essay
Andrew FishmanAmerican Prison
Willy Loman, the main character in Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, wants to live the
American dream. He is consumed with his own misguided beliefs regarding success, which causes
his life to be similar what Wyoming Senator Craig L. Thomas said about the American Dream: "You
stuff Someone into the American dream, and it becomes a prison." Willy's obsession with the
American Dream, believing that being well liked equates with success, keeps both he and his sons in
a state of emotional immaturity. These beliefs causes the American Dream to be a prison. The
Loman family's American Dream becomes their prison, constructed of deception and false pride.
They cannot escape their immature behavior of...show more content...
Charley realized that working with his hands made him happy. Even though this was the clear
choice for Willy's occupation he was too locked up in the prison that he couldn't come to terms
with himself about his true occupation.Willy wants to be a handyman but he frowns upon it as a
occupation.Willy refuses to realize his true dream of being a handyman, and he refuses to think
so because he thinks that his family is above that. This is evident when Willy says " Even your
grandfather was better than a Carpenter". Willy is too caught up with the American Dream that he
fails to consider a carpenter or any physically demanding job as an occupation. Willy is in the
prison because he doesn't do the job that he likes so he is stuck in the jail but he is the only one that
could let him out of the prison. This is how Willy is stuck in the American Dream prison.
Unlike Willy Biff realizes his dreams. Even though it took the whole play for Biff to realize what he
wants he still eventually came to terms with it. Biff fails to find a steady, high–paying job even
though he's 30, and he hates the business world, preferring instead to live on a farm in California.
For a while Biff was "Finding himself"(16). During this time Biff goes from place to place
searching for what he wants. Biff neglects the fact for a while that he just wants to work on a farm
with

Death of a Salesman: Tragic but Not a Tragedy
Though a more modern version of tragedy in its' classical sense, Death of a Salesman in many ways
is very much like an ancient Greek play. In his 'Poetics' Aristotle tries to set out the common ideas
throughout tragedy, attempting to demystify the necessary elements for such plays. One of his main
ideas was that of the 'Three Unities' – that of Space, that of Time and that of Action. He stated that
all the action of a tragedy must occur in the place, which was often the front of a palace, which
allowed the poet to have many characters coming and going, and allowed random meetings to occur
easily, rather than having to 'explain' the reason why any meeting should occur. It was,...show more
content...
While these other scenes might seem like they are set elsewhere they are much like the speeches
from messengers – which take the audience to another place, while still watching the action played
out in the same place as the rest of the play – just that these scenes are played out rather than just
discussed by the characters in a way that classical play would not have been able to, without the use
of lighting and sound effects to create a change of scene.
Again with Time, the action does all, in fact, take place in real time, with the flashbacks occurring
in tandem with the immediate events leading up to Willy's death, with the exception of the interval
between the two acts, during which the nights passes. On the most part, the flashbacks do not
cause any loss of tension or immediacy within the play so it can be seen as being a closely focused
view of Willy Loman's last hours, including a view of what he is thinking and how past events have
shaped the present for him.
The play looks only at Willy's plight and does not have distracting subplots alongside the main
story–line – as Aristotle had set out – causing, again, the play to be held taut and allowing for a full
view of Willy and who he is.
Why then might this play not evoke tragic emotion for Willy? It does follow the general practise of
classical tragedy. Willy, like most tragic heroes seems to be essentially a good

In Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman", the protagonist Willy Loman sets out to pursue the
American Dream only to find complete failure. With hard work and devotion, Willy believes that
he will one day be a success in a booming economy. As one critic states, Willy's character is of a
common man. He is not anything special, nor ever was. He chose to follow the American dream
and he chose to lead the life it gave him (Death of a Salesman: The Culture Of Willy Loman).
Willy dies an unsuccessful person, with the realization that everything he had worked for was not
achieved. There are many angles that Willy Loman can be examined from to sort out what type of
man he really was. He was a man who lacked vision,...show more content...
In the 1920s when the country was prospering, Arthur Miller based his ideas on that perspective
partly because that is the time period he grew up in. It was an age of distorted values caused by
the pressure of the moment, material richness, making money, and then showing it off to
everyone (Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman). Clearly reflected in the character of Willy is a
theme that made him many promises, and he felt like society owed him for all his efforts. A
valuable lesson can be learned about researching promises society can make and taking a look
beneath the surface. Without adjustment, creativity, and a flexible but focused drive, Willy
could have never succeeded in his occupation. For some reason he only heard what he wanted to
which would later lead him down an unsuccessful road, with no rewards for the years of hard
work. In the end, himself and his false expectations destroyed him because his dreams were so
limited and narrow (Death of a Salesman Essays). Willy had two sons that were unlike their farther
because they had desires for happiness and an American Dream that was far to complex and
complicated for Willy to comprehend. He wanted his sons to have the same career that he had
chosen, but they were to strong minded and ambitious, unlike Willy, too limit their lives to a dead end

Death Of A Salesman Thesis
Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller and his siblings were raised by a successful business man until the Great
Depression, which caused their father to lose his status (Rollyson 8). Miller did odd jobs as a
way to help his father pay bills. He struggled through school but was able to attend the University
of Michigan (Rollyson 8). It was there in which he began to write plays, receiving the Hopwood
Award several times (Rollyson 8). He was known to be a socialist pushing for a movement of
America to make things fair for those who were greatly affected by the Depression. Some of his
earlier work reflected this.
Miller got married in 1940 to a woman named Mary Grace Slattery (Rollyson 9). The two had a
daughter, Jane, in 1944, but divorced in...show more content...
I also see irony in that Willy seems the type of person to do anything for wealth and success, but
when he is offered a job by Charley, he turns it down because he feels offended by the offer. The plot
of the play itself is a bit ironic as well. Willy's life goal was to be successful and wealthy but yet he
commits suicide to try to compensate for the money he could not make to give to his family.
As stated above, Death of a Salesman takes place in the 1940's between the end of The Great
Depression and World War II, and the surge of the 1950's. During this time, the American Dream
was highly sought after and Americans were desperate to achieve it. The demand for laborers was
on the rise as well, making the Dream seem all the more tangible. With these events taking place
during the setting of play, it is easy for me to see why Willy was so adamant on having the
American Dream; it was something to be proud

Literature has a way of creating great plays that may seem to be similar but at the end are totally
different. For example we have two plays that were written in different times periods and different
places and they are similar in the sense that they are booth considered tragedies. "Death of a
Salesman" by Arthur Miller was written in America and is considered an AmericanTragedy. Were as
"Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" by William Shakespeare is also a tragedy but was written in England.
They may both be considered a tragedy they are completely different because of the time period.
"Death of a Salesman" is a play that follows the life of Willy and his Family. Through the play we
get to see how Willy's wife Linda and his two sons Biff and Happy...show more content...
According to the Twentieth–Century Literary Criticism "the concept of the American Dream can be
defined as the belief that individuals have the freedom and opportunity to achieve their goals
through hard work."(The American 2). Also according to The Psychological politics of American
dream: 'Death of a Salesman' and the case for an existential dialectics "the myth of the American
dream, the belief that, because one's socioeconomic success in America is limited only by one's
ability and ambition, socioeconomic success is the measure of one's value as a person. During
the 1950's everyone wanted the "American dream" and people were willing to risk their life in
order to come to the Unites States and achieve their dream. Even people in the US wanted this
dream. Instead of seeing the "American Dream" as something that can be achieved, In "Death of a
salesman" Miller shows the reader that the "American Dream" is not what everyone makes it out to
be for example in The American Dream In Literature "depicted the American Dream as a nightmare
in which a hypocritical and repressed society vacuously pursued material wealth and social security
at the expense of spiritual and intellectual well–being and individual self–expression."(The American
Dream

Death of a Salesman Short Essay
Arthur Miller's famous theatrical work, Death of a Salesman first came out in 1949 after the great
depression. People were struggling with society and poverty around the world at this time. Miller's
characters in Death of a Salesman also have struggles with society, making the play relatable to
ordinary people and connecting emotionally to a big audience. Miller uses several universal themes
that can relate to mankind from that time period to present day. The play has a deeper meaning than
what appears on the surface, when the play is acted out we see the thoughts and emotion of all the
characters. Arthur Miller uses characters, symbolism, and text to illustrate the theme of lacking
awareness of reality in Death of a Salesman.
The character of Willy shows the theme of lacking awareness of reality in Death of a Salesman.
Willy's character is constantly in and out of reality. In act one, line 22 Willy's character says "so I
went on again and five minutes later I'm dreamin' again, and I nearly... I have such thoughts, I have
such strange thoughts" (1. 22)....show more content...
I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman! (2. 885–886). Biff finally
accepts his reality, but Willy is still defending his delusional vision of the Lomans. In Foster's
criticism he says Biff's role in the play is a mirror image of Willy's glitches, Biff has been cultivated
on Willy's daydreams too (Foster). Miller uses Bernard's tennis racket to symbolize his success and
Biffs failure. Bernard appears to be a foil character for Biff meaning he is aware of reality and knows
his place in society. In act two, line 321 Willy says to Bernard "what are you trying to do, blame it
on me?" (2. 321). While Bernard is well aware, Willy does not accept his influence on Biff's life
choices. Bliquez believes it validates just how distress of responsibilities or consciousness may end
up in destruction (Bliquez). Biffs ruin is due to Willy's lack of awareness of

Essay On Death Of A Salesman
The story 'Death of a Salesman' written by Miller focuses on a man doing all he can to allow him
and his family to live the American dream. Throughout the story it is shown how the Loman's
struggle with finding happiness and also with becoming successful. Throughout their entire lives
many problems come their way resulting in a devastating death caused by foolishness and the
drive to be successful. Ever since he and his wife, Linda, met she has been living a sad and
miserable life, because she has been trying support his unachievable goals. Also by him being naГЇve
put his children's lives in jeopardy and also made them lose sight of who they really were. Miller
uses the Loman family to show how feeling the need to appear a certain way to the public and trying
to live a life that is not really yours can turn into an American nightmare.
Willy's self– image that he portrayed to others of being successful was a lie that he had lived with
for so long...show more content...
Willy's biggest issue with his son is that he let him down by not being any more successful than
him. He feels like Biff is failing on purpose just to make him look bad. Although, he has no decent
job and is single; Biff has become disoriented about life. Earlier in the play Biff tells Happy, "I tell
ya Hap, I don't know what the future is. I don't know – what I'm supposed to want" (Miller266). Biff
once looked up to his father as a role model, but lost all faith in him once finding out that he was
having an affair. Ever since he has rejected Willy's commitment of being a husband and also a
father. To add to his ruins are Willy's ideas of how Biff should get ahead in life. Willy taught Biff
that popularity was the right way to get to the top, rather than hard–work and dedication. Trying to
live by his dad's standards caused Biff to fail high school and become unable to put forth the effort
to become

Essay on Death Of A Salesman
Death Of A Salesman
In Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman', Miller uses several techniques to show attitudes to success
held by the characters. There are many indicators of success in this play which are, the ideas of
being wealthy, the performance on their job, to have power and status.
Some of the techniques he uses to show this are the use of motifs, the
American Dream, language, stage directions and also through sequence in the past.
One of the motifs Miller uses to show the attitude of success is the idea of being 'well–liked'. This is
mainly shown through the character of Will Loman. Willy seems to think that if a person is
'well–liked', it will excuse anything and everyone opens up for him. Willy got this...show more
content...
Willy cannot see who he and his sons are because he believes they are great men who have what it
takes to be successful in the business world. Unfortunately, he is mistaken as Willy and his sons
are not, and cannot, be successful. As a result, Biff, a star football player in high school, feels like
he can get by in life on his looks and personality. He finds out, however, that these qualities do not
bring success to him as he flunks math and cannot go to college, and amounts to nothing in life.
Happy is also mislead – he encourages Biff in his illusions, telling him he should be able to borrow
any amount of money from Bill Oliver because
Biff is so 'well liked.' Additionally, Happy tries to make himself well liked, especially by
surrounding himself with women, but he finds himself to be very empty and lonely. Later on in the
play, as Willy completes his plans for his suicide he hopes that the insurance money payable on his
death will give Biff the start he needs, and also proving to his sons how 'well–liked' he was by
picturing customers and salesmen all over New England coming to his funeral. This pleases
Willy seeing that it will result in his sons respecting him. We soon, however, find out that no–one
attended the funeral. "Why didn't anyone come?" Linda's cry has a deep effect on the audience.
Miller shows us that Willy had lived by his dreams – but the wrong dreams.

Death Of A Salesman Individualism
American Individualism is a powerful thing; it can lead many to marvelous successes in life, but
for some, it becomes a path straight towards destruction. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller,
the character Willy Loman finds himself on that latter path, pushed towards disaster and failure
by his skewed view of American Individualism. This blame can also be seen in Willy's family life,
the lying and tall tales to further his reputation, and the way that Happy represents Willy. Willy
Loman's family life is a clear indication of how the need to achieve his view of Individualism
ultimately led him to fail. Willy chooses himself over his family in almost every aspect of his life,
never taking into account the effect that his actions will...show more content...
The lies he tells demonstrate how he only cares about the appearance of success and building up
his individual achievements. For instance, he has a habit of building up his achievements to make
himself more important. "They Don't need me in New York. I'm the New England man. I'm vital
in New England." (Miller, Act 1) In this scene, Willy is forced to lie to himself about his job, and
his importance, because he wasn't where he felt he should be. Willy also lies to build himself to
people he feels he needs to prove something to–his sons being the most important. This is seen yet
again when he says to his sons, "Well, I got on the road, and I went north to Providence. Met the
Mayor" (Miller, 30). This, if not a flat lie, is definitely an exaggeration of the trip in order to make
himself seem more important than he really is. Willy wants his sons to feel that he is successful,
and be someone that they can look up to. However, Willy only manages to achieve a loose facade
of individual success through a network of lies and tall tales. All of this is in pursuit of Willy's
idea of the American Dream: the dream that Ben Loman, his aloof older brother, and Dave
Singleman, a lifelong solitary worker who sold Willy on salesmanship, have instilled in him. This
version of the American Dream is one that involves playing dirty, lying, luck, and working until you
die –– where

By: Raleigh Mullin
In the play, Death of a Salesman, the main character, Willy Loman's tragedy is due to both his own
flawed character and society's flaws. Advancements in science throughout this century have led to
tremendous advancements in industry. In this case however, advancements in industry have not
always led to advancements in living conditions. For some, society has created mass wealth. For
Willy Loman, however, mass society has created only tremendous grief and hardship, based on
endless promise. For these reasons, his tragedy is due both to societies flaws and to the flaws in his
own character. It was society who stripped him of his dignity, piece by piece. It was society who
stripped him of his lifestyle, and his own sons...show more content...
It would identify people who are a danger to themselves or to others and treat them. If such a net
had existed, Willy Loman might now have met his premature end. Instead, he could have received
psychiatric help and recovered from his condition. It was the direct result of the flaws on society,
which led to Will Loman's death. It was the greed that was so predominant around him that led to his
unhappiness. It was the lack of compassion from society, which allowed his unhappiness to flourish,
and which eventually consumed him. In the end, it was the lack of a social safety net, which failed to
save him from himself. Everyone has conflicts that they must face sooner or later. The way in
which people deal with these personal conflicts can differ as much as problem to get it out of the
way. Willy Lowman's technique in Arthur Miller's playDeath of a Salesman, leads to very severe
consequences. Willy never really does anything to help the situation, he just escapes into the past,
whether intentionally or not, to happier times were problems were scarce. The use of this escape
throughout the play can be compared to the use of a drug, because he uses his escapes as if they
were narcotics. As the play progressed, the reader learns that it can be a dangerous drug, because it
is addictive and deadly. The first time that Willy is seen lapsing off into the past is when he
encounters Biff after arriving home. The conversation between Willy and Linda reflects Willy's

Essays On Death Of A Salesman

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

Más de Paper Writing Services

Más de Paper Writing Services (20)

Último

Último (20)

Essays On Death Of A Salesman