...Willy's Loneliness and Alienation in Death of a Salesman Willy Loman’s feelings of alienation and loneliness are direct psychological results of his interaction with society and the conditions that are found within it. Although, he does not necessarily have the ability or allow himself to have the ability to define his feelings as such, they are still very much a part of his everyday existence. This is evident in his constant bragging and attempted compensation. He does not feel that he is truly a part of society. Indeed, he is not. Miller himself seems to be saying that this is not necessarily a bad thing; this society is not that wonderful. Yet Willy still yearns to be like his brother, Ben, and the other men he sees making up the work force. He desperately wants to command respect and be a part of the group. Although usually he just goes about his business as best he can, he does at times admit his feelings: ‘Because I get so lonely—especially when business is bad and there’s nobody to talk to. I get the feeling that I’ll never sell anything again, that I won’t make a living for you, or a business, Business for the boys. There’s so much I want to make for— (Baym 2001) He wants to provide for Linda and for the boys, but he does not know how to go about this within the confines of society and still maintain his individuality. Even the things he dreams of having for himself and for his family are shallow. He will never find relief from his search...
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...Tragic Hero Willy Loman By definition according to Aristotle is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. So by his definition Willy Loman does fit into that category. But according to Arthur Miller a tragic heros is categorized according to social class. To add Miller believed that the common man is a hero based on dealing with aspects of everyday life. Willy Loman however is not of noble birth but he is a common man with the struggles of everyday life. By combining both definitions he does not fit the catagory because he did lead to his self destruction but he could of avoided his death by trying to work his way back to becoming stable again. I believe that killing himself was a way to take the easy way out and it was a cowardly and unjust act....
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...Father/Son Relationships The Nineteen-Forties was a very patriarchal era. The father was the head of the house and his life’s works were passed down to his sons. A strong relationship between a man and his sons was crucial to maintaining a healthy household. Once the relationship began to deteriorate, the entire family unraveled. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman displays how the relationship between Willy and his two sons creates the downfall of the Loman family. The relationship is constantly changing throughout the story. Biff and Happy idolize and have nothing but love for their father when they are children, but when they grow up they realize how their father failed to prepare them for the real world. Willy Loman is portrayed as an un-fit father. Willy never really had a father when he was growing up. He lost his father when he was very young. Because Willy was deprived of affection as a child, he smothers his sons with love and oppresses them with the nakedness of his hopes for their success. (Carson pg. 92) His older brother Ben stepped in and served as a substitute father. (Carson pg. 90) As a result of not having a true father figure in his childhood, Willy struggled with fatherhood because had no example to base his parenting on. When Ben passed away, Willy lost his last connection to his father. (Carson pg. 91) Willy’s lack of a real father has left him as an insecure person. He has been trying his whole life to compensate for his loss. Willy...
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...Death of a Salesman William Loman’s quest for the American dream leads to his defeat. He often becomes depressed and filled with envy and regret due to his self-deluded perspective of becoming successful. Isn’t weird how a prosperous harmless dream can lead a man into turmoil? Willy’s way of over working to show his sons the proper work ethic to becoming rich only hurt them because he was continued telling them that being well liked will get you the farthest in the race to prosperity. Willy, often not home to watch the effects of his advice leads his children to take their own interpretations of his counsel. In the Death of a Salesman Willy’s over exertion in his job takes him far from what he calls fulfillment. In Act 2 Willy argues with Charley, stating that naming his past bosses’ son (Howard), should have value and could persuade Howard toward moving Willy closer to New York. Charley, in contrast, tells him that in sales no one cares about naming children. This shows how sentimental he has made his occupation and how far he has thrown himself into fulfilling the “American Dream”. With so much stress and no one to share the load, Mr. Loman needed support from the family. Sadly on the road that isn’t always possible, “The Woman” was only one he could seem to relieve himself to. Willy’s tried so hard but couldn’t overcome being human, with the feeling of lust. When Biff came to reality with his Willy’s hypocrisy he loses faith in everything his father has said or done, doesn’t...
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...be the “American Dream” and the middle class family trying to make that dream a reality, through the play’s protagonist Willy Loman, who is a depressed, overworked, and spiritless working man with delusions of grandeur. Originally written as a short story, Arthur Miller’s uncle (who was a salesman) inspired him to turn the story into a play. When the drama hit Broadway in 1949 it was a total hit and transformed Miller’s career, as well as gained him recognition as a gifted playwright, with the production winning the Pulitzer Prize that year and has remained a classic to this day. Chasing the “American Dream” Willy Loman is the play’s tragic hero and as the story line progresses the audience gets to learn how truly depressed Willy Loman is and how he has an unrealistic view on the world. The play starts with Willy coming home early from work because of a business trip to New England he has cut short. He tells his wife that he kept finding himself daydreaming while he was driving and drifting off the road. He appears tired, worn out and spiritless right from the beginning and his wife is worried and concerned for his well being. The character of Willy Loman symbolizes the plight of the middle class working man living in New York City and early on the protagonist evokes feelings of pity and sadness from the audience. You genuinely feel bad for Willy at the beginning...
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...analysis of Comparison and Contrast between Charley and Willy Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally (David Frost). We often are surrounded by examples and stories about successful people doing good and pitiable ones committing crimes. People usually follow the path of a successful person because they think that they are perfect. We often neglect the truth that everyone is imperfect, and that god is not one of us. We are human beings, and liable to make mistakes. Therefore, being successful is learning from our mistakes and following our passion we desire. We as human beings are all born with a passion and we have to keep trying to achieve it. Of course, some may lack this wisdom because of their inability to understand success is not all about money and good looks. An example of this theme of success is presented in the novel Death of a Salesman. Miller clarifies this philosophical way of life through contrast and comparison between two characters. In the novel Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller demonstrates the idea of success through the Willy and Charley through the theme of foil as fathers, friends, and businessman. In the Arthur Miller’s novel, Death of a Salesman, the interaction between Willy Loman and his sons, Happy and Biff, allows Miller to demonstrate the foil comparison of the father-son relationships with the Charley’s relationship with his son. Willy and Charley’s relationships with their sons contradict...
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...To begin with Willy is not successful yet he embodies his definition of success. For example on page 57 when Linda is telling her boys how irresponsible they are she says, “He (Willy) has to go to Charley and borrow fifty dollars a week and pretend to me that’s his pay for the week.” This quote explains how Willy is not successful and deep down, he know it. Willy believes success is based off of how well you are liked and he is well liked in general terms, but this quote from the book clearly shows that Willy is not successful yet he is “well-liked.” Another example that suggests the thought that being “well-liked” does not get you places is Bernard. He is not well-liked yet he is the more successful one in the book. On page 33 when Willy is talking to his boys outside he asks, “Bernard is not well liked?” His boys tell him that he is not and Willy follows up with, “Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him.” Willy is telling his boys here that since they’re well liked they will succeed because that is the only way one can be successful. This is an incorrect thought because Bernard is not “well-liked” yet he is currently smarter and more achieved. In opposition to these, one could argue that on page 33 Willy is saying how his boys will be more successful than Bernard in the business world. On page 22 when Biff and Happy are reminiscing Biff states his happiness...
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...reflection based off the parents themselves, and there standards. In Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” the relationship between Willy and his sons, Biff and Happy Loman can be considered -- not “typical.” It is a relationship based on success and the persistence to lead a life, that in reality, cannot be lived. Willy and his relationship with his sons is determined by parental pressure, struggles within himself, and the American Dream. During multiple father-son relationships, there are plenty of times where a father thinks he knows best, which may or may not be true. Willy however, strictly imposes his lifestyle on his two sons and will not approve of anything different; he has illustrated his values, as well as pressured them to become what he wants. Despite his desire, Willy believes that, “Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such -- personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker. There’s one thing about Biff -- he’s not lazy” (1215). Willy Loman does not understand that Biff’s potential stopped short because of him; he continues to believe that Biff has not lived his dream, just to indulge himself. The consistent strain Willy put upon his sons deprived them of succeeding by their own, which ultimately was a failure in their father’s eyes. Through out the play, Arthur Miller developed Willy as a crazed and delusional man as he aged. He falsely illustrates himself unlike anyone else, and holds himself to a higher...
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...make up the last 24 hours of Willy Loman’s life. The play concludes with Willy’s suicide and subsequent funeral. Miller uses the Loman family—Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy—to construct a self-perpetuating cycle of denial, contradiction, and order versus disorder. Willy had an affair over 15 years earlier than the real time within the play, and Miller focuses on the affair and its aftermath to reveal how individuals can be defined by a single event and their subsequent attempts to disguise or eradicate the event. For example,...
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...A Father and Son Relationship Life in the 1940s was a very male-dominant time. The father was the head of the house and his work was passed on to his sons. A solid relationship between a father and his sons was essential to sustaining a strong household. If the relationship began to decline, the whole family collapsed. Death of a Salesman is a play by Arthur Miller in 1949. It tells a story of how the relationship between Willy, the patriarch, and his sons, Biff and Happy, initiates the demise of the Loman family. Biff and Happy adore their father and have nothing but love for him when they are young, but as they get older they realize that Willy did not prepare them for life as adults. Due to not having his father in his life and no examples to base his parenting off of, Willy finds fatherhood to be extremely difficult. When Willy was growing up, he lost his father at a young age. His father left when he was a baby and he “never had a chance to talk to him” and even after all the time that has passed, Willy feels “kind of temporary” about himself (36, Act 1). He turns to his older brother, Ben for advice. Willy repeatedly asks Ben if he is raising his boys the right way (36. Act 1). Willy can be heard asking Ben how he should teach his boys (36. Act 1). Willy’s lack of confidence in parenting ultimately affects how his sons grow up. He knows that he has not raised them to be the best they could be,...
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...October 19, 2015 Reaction Paper to "The Death of a Salesman" In Arthur Miller’s Play Death of a Salesman, the play recollects the last 24 hours of the Loman’s family life and the events leading up to the death of Willy Loman. The title of the play is symbolic to the unraveling of the picture perfect family imagine that Willy created to everyone around him. The title is also symbolic to Willy losing his career as a salesman. Arthur Miller was very clever with his themes by using flashbacks throughout the play. He used four major themes according to SparkNotes Editors. (2002). Appearance vs. reality, the individual vs. society, the individual vs. himself, and the perception of the American Dream. Willy has been a salesman all his life. He has brought his sales experience into his personal life. He was selling the idea that his marriage and family life are perfect. His sons Biff and Happy are not what Willy had imagined or made them out to be. He wanted them to be successful business men just like him; however they are not. Willy has sold his lies for so long about his happy family that he can’t even remember what the truth is or doesn’t choose to remember. Willy is a man of many mistakes and doesn’t take accountability for the mistakes that he has made and often twists the truth to make himself the victim. I think Willy is a very relatable character. He by all means is not perfect and only wants the American Dream for his family. We can connect with his hopes for his...
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...Dream). This was to have a house in the suburbs, a steady job, being married, having a few kids, and keeping up with the Jones’. Death of a Salesman is a harsh criticism of the American Dream. The American Dream in Miller’s play is depicted as the ability to become prosperous by being well liked, the ability to start from nothing to something, and pursuing others dream. It also depends on which character is asked: Willy Loman, Ben, and Biff’s American Dream. Willy Loman’s American Dream is the ability to become prosperous by popularity. Willy believes that personality, not hard work and innovation, is the key to success. Time and again, he wants to make sure his boys are well-liked and popular. For example, when his son Biff confesses to making fun of his math teacher’s lisp, Willy is more concerned with how Biff’s classmates react. Biff says he crossed his eyes and talked with a lisp (Miller 1770). Willy giggles and asked him did the kids like it and Biff responds with “They nearly died laughing!”(Miller). They all make fun of Bernard at the beginning of the movie. Willy marks Mr. Bernard for getting his stuff together and says “Oh well he won’t ever amount to anything like you Biff” (Miller). Once, his wife asked him about the money he made and he lies to her about how he sold thousands. Even though Biff was the king of popularity in high school, Biff grew up to be a thief and a ranch-hand. Willy’s own career falters as his sales ability drop off the face of the Earth. He tries...
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...of a father negatively affect Willy’s character? (Bradford,1) Willy Loman’s father left his family and was out of his childhood when Wily was only 3 years eleven months old. As a result Willy was a failure of a father to his sons. By not having his father in his life, Willy did not know or learn how to be a good father to Biff and Happy. In the play, Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, the main character Willy is a husband, father, friend, business partner and salesman. Willy is not very good at any aspects of his life, particularly parenthood. The factors in which Willy fails at parenting are numerous including, not making his family number one priority, not disciplining his sons, encouraging bad behaviours, not admitting his faults and lying. Firstly, with Willy not making his family his number one priority, he does this by constantly putting work before them. Willy has never been there for his sons, as he is travelling every week to visit customers, and he never really had the chance to get to know, and show his love for his sons. Willy does not have the father-son relationship with his children that most fathers desire to have. Willy’s love for his eldest son Biff, is based solely on Biffs achievements as a football player. Biff has been offered '...scholarships to three universities...' (Miller 20), and when he fails math, and because of poor grades does not qualify for the university scholarship, Willy is devastated for his son. Willy states...
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...Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman has been accepted worldwide as one of the greatest American dramas to premier in theatre. The story behind the play is based on Miller’s interactions with his Uncle, a salesman whose efforts to obtain the “American Dream” and pass his success on to his two sons becomes his main focus. Miller’s life during the preparation of Death of a Salesman provides the spark and inspiration needed to pen a literary classic. Almost five decades later, Death of a Salesman’s themes is still relevant in today’s society. Arthur Asher Miller was born October 17, 1915 in Harlem, New York City. Miller was the son of Isadora and Augustus Miller, Polish Jewish immigrants who settled in Harlem in the early 1900’s. Arthur’s father owned a successful women’s clothing manufacturing company that employed hundreds of people. Although he was a figure of wealth and prominence in the community the Wall Street Crash of 1929 left the successful family in a financial struggle. They relocated to a section in Brooklyn known as Gravesend. There Miller delivered bread to help the family maintain. In 1932 he graduated Abraham Lincoln High School. After high school miller enrolled at the University of Michigan. He worked several small jobs to pay for his college tuition. He first majored in journalism, taking up freelance writing for the Michigan Daily. While he served as a reporter and night editor he penned his first play, No Villain. After receiving the Avery Hopwood Award for...
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...1949 by Arthur Millar attempts to explain to the readers the unfamiliar glimpse into the thoughts of Willy Loman. The play focuses on Mr. Loman, who was a salesman in his early sixties who is starting to have a forgetful mindset and wants get a grasp on reality and his family as well. The play is based on memory play where we see the memories switching from current to previous and vice versa whenever Willy has a moment of insanity and switches his mind. These memories show us how things unfolded and how the golden times were. It might not have been a care welcoming time after all. Along with the memory, the play brings out the characters of the family and topics such as power and money, reality and illusion and the American dream. This easy will look at how different traits of the characters are and how each of them relates to the themes portrayed. In the beginning, the author brings out Willy Loman as a misguided and troubled man (DiYanni, 2004). At heart, he is a dreamer and a salesman. Willy worked hard all his life and should already have retired at to enjoy life with his family. He recently entered in a self-loss situation to the point of impairing his eyesight. He is clinging to his beliefs and ideals of having the American dream and he is still travelling as a salesman in a job that does not even pay enough. Willy is shown as being an unlucky man. Willy Loman’s character brings him as full of resentment and his actions assume a magnificent history than was the...
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