In Death of a Sale man, by Authur Miller Willy Loman is 60-year-old man who seems to have a hot temper and is now starting to become very forgetful. At the beginning he starts to forget that he is actually driving and what is going on around him. He tells his wife Linda that “I’m goin’ sixty mile an hour and I don’t remember that last five minutes. I’m- I cant keep my mind to it”(13). Willy seems to becoming very distracted and forgetting what is exactly is going on around him. This forgetfulness also occurs once he demands Linda open up the windows in the house when they are already open. Willy also complains through out about his sons shortcomings and failures. He believes at 34 he hasn’t amounted to anything but a farm hand but maybe later…
Mexico inspired Western cattle ranching. The first cattle in the Americas came from Spain, there were so many cattle that ranching became a very good business for Californios, Tejanos and the Americans who learned from the Mexicans. The cattle from Spain were very thin and their horns were long and broad. Instead of the dairy products produced by Eastern farms, the Western ranches produced things like meat and hides. Rancheros overlooked their herds and fields while vaqueros were hired to take care of the cattle. One of the vaqueros most important jobs was branding, which was when they used a hot iron to burn a mark into the cow’s skin. Branding was necessary to tell people’s cows apart because different owners let their cows out in the same…
In death of a salesman by Arthur Miller, one of the characters works as a salesman who appears to be insecure. Willy the salesman lies to those around him in order to feel emotionally better about his insecurities. Willy looks for anything that will emotionally keep him stable while suppressing his insecurities, which leads him to excessively lie to others. Ultimately he is looking for a means to escape his failures in life. Later towards the middle of the story Willy fails to remember or would rather not remember that he cheated on his wife.…
Willy’s illusion at first just concerned himself, but as the play progresses his illusion begin to include his whole family. Willy now not only has a warped sense of his greatness, but the greatness of his sons as well. Willy replays Biff’s final football game over and over in his mind, leaving a sense of accomplishment in his mind, yet in reality Biff flunked out of math, never went to college and never truly progressed. Biff tries to prove to his father that he is not the man he believes him to be by saying “ I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you”(116) In this single line is a plea concerning all parts of his illusion yet it goes unwarranted and ignored by the father of his pleading son. At his point Biff has realized his mediocracy, but…
It is human nature to have a desire for understanding oneself and what they can identify themselves as. Many times, the struggle to fulfill this desire can have a significant impact on the people immediately surrounding that person, such as close family and friends. In this case of Willy Loman, the main character in the play Death of a Salesman, his search to find himself had more of an effect on his family than it did in helping him find his identity. Although the act of someone seeking out their identity may help them to find their place in society, it may be more detrimental towards the relationships that person shares than be beneficial for that…
In conclusion, “The Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller greatly examined the famous American Dream, theme of betrayal, as well as abandonment. In trying to achieve the American Dream, Willy took his life. The Dream consumed his world until he was no more. However, within the mindset of the American Dream, it did indeed have one positive aspect. Part of the Dream is to wish that your children amount to more in life than yourself and this is what Willy tries to do in the play. Though Willy and Biff have feelings of betrayal towards each other, both intended good will upon each other. The play has proven to be riddled with many human emotions.…
Willy’s dream was to become a successful, well liked salesman. Unfortunately, he never identified himself with that dream. He just wanted to be like a man he once met, and he told Linda about it, “His name was Dave Singleman… and he’d drummed merchandise in thirty-one states. And old Dave, he’d go up to his room… −I’ll never forget−and pick up his phone and call the buyers, and without ever leaving his room, at the age of eighty-four, he made his living” (Miller, 81; act 2). By this, Willy states that meeting Dave gave him the idea that being a successful salesman would be easy and he created his view of success based on this man that he idolized; Willy thought that being a salesman would be a simple task, and that it would bring him nothing but great things such as wealth, social status, recognition and idolization. Willy was blinded by the image of Dave and other wealthy successful men. He wanted others to feel about him the same way he once felt about his father, his brother and Dave. He thought that if all those men could do it, he could do it too. Willy believed that if he became a salesman, by the time he was an older man, he would be just like his brother and Dave; he assumed he would be wealthy, idolized and recognized by his…
Many people go through life without a purpose or doing a job they hate. In Arthur Miller’s, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman thinks this isn’t the case for him. He is working the best job in the world, being a salesman, like his hero Dave Singleman. Dave Singleman still sells from his bed and Willy admirably thinks this is because he loves it. The real reason is because Dave never made enough to retire. However, Willy doesn’t know he is gravely mistaken and has failed to realize who he really is. This has caused him to instill these mistaken qualities in his sons, Biff and Happy. Willy’s lack of a father figure plays into his flaws such as obsession with money and hubris. He has had some virtues as well like putting his family first and working…
In this particular story, the protagonist - Willy Loman - is on the surface elevated no higher than a psychotic liar who often manipulates even those he loves the most. However, when looked upon through a harsher lens, the only thing that truly becomes obvious is that Willy himself is the archetype of a tragic hero. Lying to his family in friends, while in part cowardly, also questions the way in which a family could be defined as successful. Willy’s affair with another woman, while gross and unforgivable, allow others in the story to demonstrate the perseverance of love. In fact, it is throughout the entirety of Death of a Salesman that Arthur Miller uses his characters to question society, and then demonstrate their unwillingness to fall to adversity. Willy Loman, while indeed a pathetic man, falls through no weakness of his own…
Heros come in variously different shapes and sizes. Some are tall and muscular, others are brave knights and fearless princes, and some are even tragic. Tragic heroes are the protagonists of plays the fall under the genre of a tragedy. What defines a tragic hero is their error in judgement or character flaw that leads them to their own downfall. In previous times, a tragic hero had to be of noble blood yet in Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller shows the role of a tragic hero is also attainable by an everyday, average Joe. The play is about a Willy Loman, a mentally unstable sixty three year old salesman who is having trouble fulfilling the expectations of the set out for himself. Arthur Miller, the playwright of Death of a Salesman redefines the criteria of a tragic hero, successfully allowing a common man to play the role. Throughout the play, it is evident that Willy’s major character flaw is a lack of self-satisfaction. Willy never seems to be pleased with himself, always seeking approval of others causing his desperation to be “well liked” causing the major short comings that lead to his death. His lack of self-satisfaction causing his hopeless desire to be admired by those around him is to blame as the reason why Willy chose the life of a salesman. Judging Dave Singleman as popular individual who was liked by others based on the numerous attendees of his funeral led Willy to believe that being a salesman was the only way to achieve that level of admiration, even though he is not able to keep up with the field during his old age. The same character flaw can be viewed as one of the reasons he cheated on his wife, Linda by having an affair with a secretary of a buyer, putting a large strain on his…
‘Death of a Salesman’, a play written by Arthur Miller in 1948, is one in which the protagonist, Willy Loman is seen to be struggling against the cliché of the American dream and is undoubtedly heroic yet vulnerable throughout. From scene to scene, Miller uses a plethora of theatrical techniques to reveal the flaws in Willy’s character which are ultimately responsible for his breakdown.…
In the play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman suffers a death of an average man. This story comprises of a whole family of unsuccessful men who use backdoors to accomplish a triumph. As the main focus of the play,Willy’s personality traits are gained through involvement with other characters.…
Willy Loman, a character in the play, Death of a Salesman, is a man who desperately wants to be successful, but has to deal with many setbacks in his life. He, like most others, has both positive and negative personality traits. The way Willy sees himself, as well as the way others see him changes between the beginning and the end of the play. At the beginning of the play, Willy sees himself as being successful and well-liked. This is partly because he is trying to maintain a successful image for the sake of his friends and family. Willy puts great emphasis on his theory that one is more successful if they are attractive and well-liked. According to him, he is well known throughout New England and can sell things to many people there, even going as far as to stay that he is vital there. Willy is also very proud of the fact that he averages one hundred and seventy dollars in sales in 1928. When he looks at these accomplishments, he feels successful and well-liked.…
Too often people’s values are based on superficial Ideas, as well as unreal goals that our consumer driven society showcases as the ultimate show of success. In the play The Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller illustrates a society where ethics are based solely around becoming wealthy and obtaining the American dream, through the use of looks and popularity. The main character Willy Loman spends his entire life in fallacy starving for this success. The Death of a Salesman portrays a specific view of the values, dreams, and goals in a consumer driven society. Much like the play our society is driven by ideals of wealth, popularity, and attractiveness and we are faced with falseness of these ideal daily. Plenty of individuals in society search for this similar success in life and career. They may spend their whole lives trying to fall into the category of being a Success. This may lead them to never knowing what true happiness really feels like, because they are searching for something that was never intended to be and it leads to inevitable unhappiness.…
“Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak” (Thomas Carlyle). A good wife is aware, strong, persevering and caring. Linda Loman is an oblivious, weak, enabler and cannot be characterized as a good wife. In many instances throughout Arthur Miller’s play The Death of a Salesman, the audience sees Linda acting poorly as a significant other. Through the duration of the play her pathetic attempts to show her love for Willy are outweighed by the actions used in benefitting herself and her well-being.…