What Is Willy Loman's Way Of Mind

In his play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller skillfully presents the nomadic mind of the bewildered salesman, Willy Loman. Miller says, “I wished to create a form which, in itself as a form, would literally be the process of Willy Loman’s way of mind.” He accomplishes this through the blending of past memories with present reality, stage descriptions, and the obsession of his career. Since Willy plants all his faith into the “greatest country in the world” that promises itself to be the land of success, he is only left to look within himself to find the reason for his failure. Miller captures Willy’s journey to find when everything went wrong through the structure of the play, enabling readers to keep up with the flow of Willy Loman’s restless
In the greatest country in the world a young man with such - personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker” (Miller 6). He finds it merely impossible that his son could ever fail. Instantaneously, Willy’s mind travels to a different time period, bringing readers to when Willy had the respect of his sons sustained by the promise of success; Miller blends notions of time. In a flashback, Bernard warns Willy that Biff will fail math. Willy tells Biff that although Bernard may receive better grades, Biff will achieve more success, “Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want” (Miller 21). Willy clings to the idea that Biff’s amiableness will lead him to a far better future and implants this philosophy into Willy’s brain. This damages Willy later in life; it is Willy’s However, it is unclear whether these flashbacks are distorted memories or fantasies of what he wanted to actually happen - his idyllic past. Later in the play, during an encounter with Bernard, the subject of Biff failing math is discussed. Bernard says, “He never trained himself for anything” (Miller 71). This suggests that Willy maintains a glamorized view of Biff, which is proof that readers
As Willy rambles, trying to keep up with the speed of his mind, Miller writes, “The apartment houses are fading out, and the entire house and surroundings become covered with leaves. Music insinuates itself as the leaves appear” (Miller 16). The readers are guided by Willy’s train of thought into a different time zone when Willy and his sons believed in themselves and each other; all of their spirits are high. Willy’s romanticized past is apparent. To transition out of this memory, Miller writes, “The leaves are gone. It is night again, and the apartment houses look down from behind” (Miller 27). Happy begins speaking to him and Willy and the readers are back to Willy’s troubled reality. Miller creatively showcases Willy’s mind by making reality and disillusionment coexist