David Lobeck Mr. Howieson Honors American Literature April 16‚ 2011 Willy Loman & the American Dream “...There are two versions of the American Dream‚” according to Harold Clurman(132). The authentic dream from the very beginning of America was of freedom and equal opportunity. Achievement‚ itself‚ is all the dream requires. The awry dream of vocational success came about during the Post-Civil War period. The basis of this dream for successfulness was that of business ingenuity‚ perseverance
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Willy Loman’s moral compass often does not point true North in his life and the series of dishonest statements over many years eventually lead to his demise and detriment of his family. When his boys were young‚ Willy makes many promises of great riches and achievements for them‚ something he lives for‚ but never really has. While Willy continually puts Biff on a pedestal‚ setting him up for failure‚ he barely pays attention to his younger son‚ Happy‚ who simply desires respect and affirmation from
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In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman‚ through his character Linda Loman‚ the author discloses support toward her husband Willy. Linda Loman continues to show support to Willy‚ even after all the heartache he has put her through. Here‚ Miller portrays that in Willy’s old age Linda is still making excuses as to why Willy’s health is the way it is. “Willy: I don’t remember the last five minutes… Linda: Maybe it’s your glasses. You never went for your new glasses. Willy: No‚ I see everything” (pg
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A Character Analysis of Willy Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman was published in 1949‚ and it is a story about a salesman named Willy Loman. The play ends tragically‚ reveals our lives‚ and it gives us a warning about the society that we live in. By reading this play‚ we can think about why we work so hard‚ and what will remain at the end of our existence. Even though this play was written in 1940s‚ the main character Willy Loman shows many examples of modern socialism in our lives. By the
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one opens in Willy Loman’s home in Brooklyn. Willy is 63 years old and is a traveling salesman. He feels that he has yet to reach a level of success that would allow him to stop traveling and afford the bills. As we come to know Willy he is always complaining to his wife Linda about their son Biff who has failed to find a steady serious job. Willy being an argumentative man tries to get his son to see the joys of being a salesman. Referring to many flashback of the memories Willy once had. Compared
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Willy Loman is both a tragic figure and a pathetic figure. In a literary sense‚ he is a tragic figure. By definition a tragic figure is brought to ruin or suffers from extreme consequences of some tragic flaw or weakness of character. Willy suffers from his weaknesses of character and is brought to ruin by theses flaws. Willy made a poor choice-the adultery he fails to remember- that hurt his ability to function from that point on. His reality became intertwined with fantasy‚ and he became one
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Death of a Salesman As a mentally unstable man‚ Willy has a very complex relationship with the people around him‚ which come a great deal from his own guilt and insecurity. His relationship with three of the characters strongly stands out from the others. These characters are his oldest son Biff‚ his only friend and neighbor Charley‚ and Biff’s childhood friend and Charley’s son Bernard. His relationship with Biff is tainted by the fact that Biff could never live up to his father’s expectations
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Willy Loman’s Mental Breakdown In Death of a Salesman Willy Loman was a man made of false dreams. Willy Loman was a man who destroyed himself with his false hopes and dreams. Throughout his whole life he was trying to become a Salesman like his father and he thought he would die a rich and successful man. Willy Loman was a man who tried so hard to achieve the American dream but failed to do so due to the multiple circumstances throughout his life. Environment around Willy Loman has had a huge affect
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Miller defines a tragedy as a work that has a character trying to gain a rightful position in society‚ brings a sense of relief to the audience‚ has a common man as the tragic hero‚ has a character that is willing to lay down their life‚ and includes glimmers of hope for the characters within the work. After reading and analyzing Death of a Salesman‚ Othello‚ and Oedipus as tragedies; Death of a Salesman best exemplifies the definition of a tragedy presented by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller describes
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[the ills] we know not of” in death. Willy Loman seeks death to redeem his life‚ rather than confront his misguided dreams.Again‚ even so self-obsessed a character as Hamlet finds an identification with all suffering men: In the absence of first person references in the “To be or not be” soliloquy‚ we hear counterpoised the common condition of those who “grunt and sweat under a weary life” rather than “fly to [the ills] we know not of” in death. Willy Loman seeks death to redeem his life‚ rather than
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