Willy Loman

“Death of a Salesman”, by Arthur Miller, is the perfect play for you to revitalize your career, as it contains an outstanding and memorable character that is understandable and somewhat realistic the audience. There are also several themes thoughout the play that the audience can connect to. The play is also heavy in symbolism that relates these themes with the characters. By bringing all these elements into a masterful performance, you should have newspapers and critics alike marveling at your performance and swaying the public image of yourself from negitive to positive. Mr. Sheen, you will be playing Willy Loman. Willy is a salesman who, at one time in his life, used to be well liked and well known, but is now a troubled and misguided
man, as seen in the following text: WILLY. “… And then all of a sudden I’m goin’ off the road! I’m telling ya, I absolutely forgot I was driving. If I’d’ve gone the other way over the white line I might’ve killed somebody. So I went on again – and five minutes later I’m dreamin again, and I nearly – (He presses two fingers against his eyes.) I have such thoughts, I have such strange thoughts. (1774) The “strange thoughts” that Willy continues to have thoughout the play are glimpses into his psychological thought process.
To combat his unhappiness in himself and his family, Willy frequently reminiscences the past using soliloquies and illusions, imagining times where he felt content, appreciated, and successful. This will help the audience understand the trials you are undergoing as the play continues to unfold before the audience’s eyes. While it is normal to recall good times in our lives, it is not healthy to focus on them for too long. Willy basically lives in the past, which unables him not to be able to function in the present. The past has already occured, and you need to help the audience realize that there is nothing that you can do to change it. He even goes as far as to having conversations with imaginary people, showing his deteriorating mental health. Willy’s admiration of Dave Singleman’s (asuccess shows his obsession with being well
liked: WILLY. And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ’Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? (1807) Willy wants people remember and love him to substitute his neediness to be loved in a way his family love does not.
Willy chooses to ignore the fact that Dave is still working at the age of eighty-four, and is probably experiencing the same frustrations and financial worries Willy does himself. Willy is frustrated with himself and his two sons whom he sees nothing but failure in, and tries to commit suicide several times. His wife, Linda, works to cheer him up, but is unsuccessful in doing so. Willy's two sons, Biff and Happy, also try to improve Willy's morale by attempting to win their father’s affection by getting better jobs with better pay. They, too, are unsuccessful, and Willy kills himself at the end of the
play. To Willy Loman, the falsity of the American Dream is the dominant theme of Arthur Miller's “Death of a Salesman”. In early memories, you possesses a solid family that is happy and secure. However, no matter how much you wants to remember his families past as all-American and blissful, he is unable to rewrite his past. Willy represents the primary victim of this dream. As with most men working in the middle class, Willy struggles to provide financial security for his family and dreams about making himself a huge financial success. The failure of the American dream is present, and makes the audience question his/her commitment to their own false dreams. Another major theme of the play is the lost opportunities that each of the characters face and regret. Willy also regrets the opportunities that have passed by Biff, whom he believes to have the capability to be a great man. This is helped understood by the symbolism throughout the play. Symbolism in this play is very important, as it helps relate the themes to the characters. The seed Willy buys to plant his garden help to symbolize Willy’s desire for a fresh start in life. Willy’s desperate actions to attempt to grow the seeds relates to the unhappiness he goes through realizing his family has not “grown” into the thriving, nourished family he always dreamed of. Willy states:
WILLY. Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground. (1827) Suggesting he is talking about his own sons and their future, his failure in being well known and well liked, and preoccupation with material success. The planting of the seeds can also show Willy’s desire to leave something that is tangible for his family and others to show the worth of his labor. Maybe you could reflect on the legacy you would like to leave as you dive into the role. All these elements help create this play into just what your career need in order to help improve your currently low image where it belongs. Many critics believe your cocaine and hooker addiction is the suicide of your career, so you would be able to relate to Willy’s situation. You can relate to his unhappiness and character flaws as you have some yourself. Seeing as how you just recently divorced your wife, you could easily mold the tone and emotion needed to play this character. A moderate amount of people can relate to the struggles that Willy has undergone and can relate it to their lives

1. Miller, Arthur. "Death Of A Salesman." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction,Poetry,Drama, And Writing. 11th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 1773-835. Print.