Preview

Death of a salesman

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
879 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Death of a salesman
Intro: Morning…
The death of salesman comes to an end when Willy loman commits suicide, who is to blame for Willy’s destruction?
Willy is to blame for his destruction by the way he lives his life in denial and with arrogance, the arrogance and jealousy inside Willly brings him down in the play. The American dream that Willy chases is also to blame but its Willy who decides to follow this lifestyle, which only leads him to guilt and depression.
The play teaches us about an individual that leads himself to self-destruction by being arrogant and living in denial. Willy is seen as egotistical in the play especially after Charley his neighbour offers him a job; Willy being offended by this declines the offer not only once but twice. Willy speaks “I can’t work for you, that’s all, don’t ask me why.” This is Willy admitting he will never work for Charley. Charley loans Willy money whilst he doesn’t have a job, Willy is happy to take Charleys money but doesn’t want to work under Charley. Although he takes the money Wily is jealous of the life Charley lives. Just as charley gives Willy the money, he is quoted saying “You been jealous of me all your life, you damned fool. Here, pay your insurance.” This shows Willy who is trying to obtain a high standard of living while doing nothing constructive. This is how he is envious of people who are higher than him but will never work for or under them to start of with. The reason for this is because Willy see’s the only ideal life is living the great American dream. Willy see’s the American dream within his neighbour Charley and his brother Ben who also tells Willy to enter the “jungle”.

This idea of the jungle represents a interesting and exciting life, by stepping out into the jungle Willy is obtaining a dangerous challenge that when overcome he can become rich and wealthy, like Ben his brother. This is how Willy arrogance keeps him out of work and leaves him to feel he has failed as a man.
Willy lives his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Willy’s extreme arrogance disguises his true faults, such as his anxiety. In excerpt A, Willy quotes by saying, “how can he find himself on a farm? A farmhand?” Willy describes the disappointment he…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    During the span of the book, Willy attempts to take his life. Whatever motive was behind his actions, one presumes it is almost definitely related to Willy’s. But why? The audience must wonder what horrible thing pushes a man over the edge like that? For willy, his idea of success is unlike many others. He himself believed that he was an above average salesman. Yet, he never exactly “made it big”, much like an amateur actor in Hollywood. Willy never got his hollywood premier no matter how far he traveled or how hard he seemed to work for it.…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Deaths of a Salesman, Willy Loman is a salesmen who is trying to achieve the American Dream just like everyone else in the world. In his head he believes to be this well liked and huge successful salesmen. In reality he is more of a self-conscious man who tries to live his fantasy he has in his head while being deceitful to not only himself but his own family as well. Throughout Death of a Salesman, Willy has several slogans that he attempts to live his life by.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Willy Loman is the main character in Miller’s, Death of Salesman. Throughout the play, he struggles with his work ethic and well-being. In the story, Willy Loman is a sales man that is unable to accept him and society. In his older years gets fired from his job. His son is unable to receive a loan from the bank to start his own business. Willy affected by guilt kills himself, that way his son Biff is then able to collect his insurance money and become an entrepreneur. Willy does have flaws in his character that make him partially responsible for his own misfortune. Willy’s ultimate down fall is a result of social pressure, family and friend influences, and his psychological and emotional state of mind.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As seen in this dialogue, Willy believes that he has to work harder than other men in order to stay in business. Willy is struggling with feeling worthless. His whole life has been built around his job and building a financially stable household. Now he struggles to keep a…

    • 1718 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In most of his flashbacks, Willy describes them both as “liked, but not well liked”, inferring to his sons that they will not make it far due to the lack of popularity. Present day, Willy relies on Charley for his money every week. This samples Willy’s pride. During a game of cards, Willy is offered a job working for Charley. He is immediately offended, with a sense of jealousy for his success. Changing the subject, Willy gloats about putting up his own ceiling, which he claims every man should know how to do, even though he knows Charley does not. He tries to gain his lost pride back by finding a weakness of his friend. Like his father, Bernard’s success makes Willy’s dignity falter. When Bernard is asked for advice and the reasoning to why Biff never attended summer school, it shows how desperate he is for guidance. However, when he asks Bernard if it was him who caused this dismay, Willy is irritated at Bernard putting blame on him. He sees it as though his pride is deteriorating by the…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    You can see that the great outdoors is where Willy wants to be, it’s a place that is desired, but they don’t think they can make a living there to meet Willy’s requirements;…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This idea clouds his mind and is the catalyst to other mistakes Willy makes in his life. Willy is unable to provide for his family as a salesman because he is paid a very low wage, but he continues to pretend that he is very successful in his firm. Willy’s brother Ben told me he that Willy told him, “Business is bad, it’s murderous. But not for me, of course” (Act 1) Willy’s former boss has also told me that Willy tried to convince him that Willy “averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in commissions” (Act 2). Willy is convinced his sales are so remarkable that he fails to realize he is obviously not doing well enough in his job to support his family. Willy also tries to force his ideas of success on his children which causes conflict within his household. Biff, Willy’s son, does not want to be a salesman, but instead, wants to work on a farm. Willy does not believe that a man can be successful on a farm when in reality he would be able to provide for his family better than he is now if he did a more physically demanding job. Willy’s idea of success also gives him a false sense of pride. Willy is too prideful to take a job from his friend Charlie even though he constantly asks to borrow money to pay…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Willy Flawless

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Willy has been a salesman all his life; promoting and deals are all he knows, and it has extended from his business into his own life. For quite a long time he has attempted to shape and shape his life into one that is the most engaging; from his children, Biff and Happy, being upbeat, effective representatives like him, to his marriage to his wife Linda, and particularly his vocation. Willy is an extremely defective man who has committed numerous errors, however over the long run he has decided to overlook the parts of his life where he was at flaw and turn them to make himself the exploited person. He has done this for so long, and lied so well to himself and everybody, that he really starts to accept his own particular lies and declines to assume liability for anything he has done. Albeit extremely clashed and now and again the antagonist he could call his own life, Willy is substantially more relatable in his blemishes than he would be on the off chance that he were a completely flawless character.…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    These three scenes from Death of a Salesman demonstrate Willy’s inability to face the reality that he is not successful like his brother, well-liked like his father, and able to make his sons successful. If Willy achieved any of the prior, he could have lived his American Dream. Many people are unable to attain their own American Dream due to greed, materialism, and carelessness in the world. Willy, being one of the victims of this world, was unable to rise above the circumstances he was given as…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The idea of Willy believing that any man who is a hard worker and deserves success is shown in act one. Willy says to Linda, “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…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Tragic Hero Essay

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Willy Loman was an average citizen trying to make a successful living. Willy’s ego of his son Biff caused him to develop a mental problem. I view Willy as the superior tragic hero due to his mental problem that many people can relate to today. Almost anyone knows somebody fighting for their life due to a mental illness. Willy Loman is in the same position as his family watches and tries to help all they can. “The man is exhausted” (Linda, Pg. 59). Linda knows what is happening to Willy, and the audience sees that from her which makes things tragic. Willy also never even realizes that he is losing everything because of his stubbornness to accept the truth. Many times Biff has tried to tell him that he is living in dream, but his mental state won’t let him accept it. Towards the end of the play Willy loses his job and everything falls apart in the family which causes his tragic downfall. Willy took his own life over the same thing people take their life over today, mental illness. I view Willy Loman as the superior tragic hero because today’s society can relate to his struggles and the result of him taking his own…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death of a Salesman

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages

    10. Willy is conqueror of the New England territories which allows him to have dreams and goals of going to these places and becoming successful. Willy’s brother, Ben, moved to Alaska and found a diamond mine and became rich. Willy wishes for the same success and wealth as his brother but cannot reach that goal. The” faraway places” represent his dreams and goal for financial success.…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Early in his life, his parental figure is nowhere to be found, leading Willy to pursue life aimlessly. Without the male figure in his life, “Willy found other means of support: a career, a wife, a family, and a home” which all deteriorated in a matter of time (Williams). As such, Willy becomes an incompetent father on the behalf of Biff and Happy. Moreover, Willy’s affair shields him from his failures and vehemently dismisses any wrongdoing on his behalf. The affair not only disconnects himself from Linda and his children, but Willy loses sight of his true ambitions. Most importantly, Howard’s dismissal of Willy causes a rift in Willy’s self-assurance, and willy is forced to discard his dreams of being a successful salesman. For a character so pitiful and neglected, Willy Loman is shrouded in an idealistic institution that is only enforced by those close to…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays