“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” This declaration from 1 Corinthians provides a profound description of what love is, and in many ways, Linda Loman exhibits many of these characteristics. However, there is a time when love crosses a line and becomes blind devotion. From start to finish, Linda stands by and protects Willy out of her vain idea that she is helping him, but in all reality, she is causing him more issues than she is solving. …show more content…
Throughout the whole play Willy shows himself to be a pridefully inconsiderate man who does not deserve Linda in the slightest, and yet she stays out her sense of love for him. Albeit, Linda’s persistent love for Willy, she is missing one of the most important factors about love. When I truly love someone, I want what is best for them, and even if what is best for that person will hurt them I will still do it because I love them. For example, a parent will spank their child not because they want to, but because they know that the temporary pain from the discipline right now will indefinitely help their child in the long run. This is what Linda was missing, she did not realize that to really help Willy and her boys she needed to confront what she feared most, what had been destroying her life for years, and what had cost her Willy’s life. There is no such rule as too much love, but there is a point when love becomes blind devotion. Finally, the answer to the question is no, Linda’s unquestioning support of Willy does most certainly not help Willy, and in fact was one of the major causes of his suicide as well as her family
Long hair, which conforms to the ideal of femininity, perplexes me; hence, my supposedly rebellious bobbed haircut. On any given day, I would choose a formless dress over an overbearing corset. I still cannot understand why my chunky sandals with the Bohemian vibe make people gasp. However, these individuals could also be gasping at the cigarette in my mouth. I am my own person; notice that my maiden name is still my official name because I refuse to take the identity of my husband. To some, I may be perceived as a troublemaker. In actuality, I am a woman who is willing to take action because I am keenly aware of the struggles that women face daily in all aspects of their lives. Furthermore, I am willing to dedicate my life to the feminist movement.
Lisa Hooker Campbell is an active volunteer in the Nashville area. She has served on numerous boards and chaired several of Nashville's most prominent philanthropic events.
Willy Loman is not the only victim of his tragic flaw. The rest of the Loman family is also affected by Willy's problem. Willy's wife, Linda, is the only one who supports and understands Willy's tragic flaw completely. Linda supports every far-fetched claim her husband makes. She is even described as having “infinite patience” whenever she is conversing with Willy (Miller 99). Willy's two sons, Biff and Happy, are also affected by his flaw. Happy, when in the company of two ladies, claims that Willy is not even his father, and “just a guy” (Miller 91). Later in the play, Biff decides that he does not want to be in his father's life anymore. Biff's problems are simply too much for Willy to handle with his current state of being, even though Willy needs Biff in his life. After both internal and external conflict, Biff reveals to Willy that Willy had been lied to for a number of years, and that the life he lives is essentially a lie (Miller 104).
At the beginning of the play it is evident that he cannot determine the realities of life, and so he repeatedly contradicts himself to establish that his conclusion is correct and opinion accepted. These numerous contradictions demonstrate that Willy is perturbed of the possibility that negative judgements may come from others. Willy strongly believes that “personality always wins” and tells his sons that they should “be liked and (they) will never want”. In one of Willy’s flashbacks he recalls the time when his sons and him were outside cleaning their Chevy. Willy informs Biff and Happy the success of his business trips and how everyone residing in Boston adores him. He mentions that due to the admiration of people he does not even have to wait in lines. He ultimately teaches his sons that being liked by others is the way to fulfilling one’s life and removing your worries. These ideals, that one does not need to work for success, demonstrate Willy’s deluded belief of achieving a prosperous life from the admiration and acceptance of others. This ultimately proves to be a false ideology during his funeral, when an insufficient amount of people arrive. Willy constantly attempts to obtain other’s acceptance through his false tales that depict him as a strong, successful man. In the past, he attempts to lie to his wife, Linda, about the amount of wealth he has attained during his
This also show that Linda loved her husband more than anything, she would do anything to protect his pride including not telling Willy that she knows he had been trying to commit suicide. Everything Linda di is to protect Willy pride and face, and not letting any of her son
Linda blames everyone but Willy for his insanity, including their son Biff. Linda is so loyal to Willy at the beginning of the play that she is willing to throw her own son under the bus if it means defending Willy. Linda states that Willy only becomes distraught when Biff is around because Happy has disappointed his father so much. Biff views his mother as very fragile but still respects her as the lady of the house. He comments on how grey her hair has gotten, adding to her frail image. Linda is a pacifist who is unable to defend herself. Linda is never seen anywhere other than the house in the play, adding to the “homemaker” idea of this time period. She is always waiting for Willy when he gets home and dutifully keeps the house in order. She is constantly folding laundry or cooking, stereotypical woman ideals. When she buys a new type of cheese, Willy gets honestly angry with her because he does not like change and this
Linda Loman is the enabler of the Loman family, and also uses self- deception to escape her life mentally. Linda never spoke up to Willy, and did nothing but feed his unrealistic dreams. Linda lived a life of “what ifs” with Willy. They both did the bare minimum in every aspect of their life, which is why
Love never fails” (1 Cor 13:4-8 NIV). Whenever two people truly love each other, they will genuinely show the traits of patience, endurance, selflessness, and forgiveness with each other and their relationship will be fruitful. On the other hand, when people do not possess these qualities, just like the author demonstrated, their relationships will suffer. If people seek a happiness and fickle love based on selfishness, as the narrator did, they will find disappointment because their love is not the unselfish and persistent love described in 1 Corinthians. However, if an enduring love is given freely and selflessly, it can become the foundation to a happy and successful
Most of the time love is our encouragement when we are in trouble, sometimes love can drag us to things we don’t want to happen in our lives. “First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey. They were love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack.” (p.1) The letters from Martha signed, “Love Martha” even though the letters were not love letters, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross understands that he doesn’t receive the type of love he hopes for from Martha.
Marie never hated Lulu, despite the fact that she had an affair with her husband, which resulted in a child who was named Lyman Lamartine. As Lulu got older, she started to lose her eyesight, and eventually went blind. So she had surgery, but she had no way to put the eye drops in that she needed. She applied for someone at the senior’s home that she lived at, and Marie volunteered. Through this Marie and Lulu became great friends. To me, this shows the great love they both had for the same man, that despite what they went through, they were able to look beyond all past troubles and have a friendly
To her husband, Linda is the perfect wife, she loves him despite knowing he is only "a small man." She is always worried about Willy's health, and tries to protect him. She knows that many times Willy is wrong, but she is unable to face him just in case she hurts his feelings. She supports all his mad ideas knowing this will probably take him to his death. She is loyal and loving, and is always on the background defending him from their sons Biff and Happy. She expresses all this feelings in Act 1, when she says, "I don't say he's a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog." On the other hand Nora doesn't love her husband, but she doesn't become conscious of this until the end of the play when she discovers she has been living a lie all her life. As Linda, she is worried about her husband's health, but instead of just watching she confronts him, acting behind his back, knowing that she ma...
He seems to believe that the best way to be the “man” in the relationship is to be the dominant one and to put her down all the time. “I won’t have you mending stockings in the house! Now throw them out!” Willy feels guilty about Linda mending stockings when he bought the woman he’s having an affair with a new pair. He transfers this guilt into being horrible to her, which isn’t very fair. He seems to believe that this is a way to assert his masculinity, and it could possibly resonate from the way that his father treated women before he left. This is similar to Othello; when Othello believes that Desdemona is having an affair he slaps her in front of everyone, thinking that it is a way to assert his masculinity to the public. Willy also refers to Linda as “kid” a lot, which could be a playful nickname but it also could be a way of him putting her down and making her seem immature. It is an excuse to dismiss her. It also suggests that he thinks he is more mature than Linda, whereas the audience know this not to be the case as Willy is losing it a little and can act incredibly childishly. In treating Linda like this, it also drives Willy and Biff further apart than ever. He doesn’t approve of the way Linda is treated, especially since he knows how much she puts up with from her husband. In being so uncertain of his masculinity Willy can be horrible, which makes him unlikeable and drives him apart from
Foremost, Willy has a problem with his inability to grasp reality. As he grows older his mind is starting to slip. For example, when he talks to the woman and his brother Ben. Throughout the story, Willy dreams of talking to the woman, because the woman is a person that he was dating in when he went to Boston. He was cheating behind his wife’s back. Willy basically uses her as a scapegoat when he’s hallucinating about her. He blames all of his problems on the woman. For instance Willy says, “ Cause you do… There’s so much I want to make for.” (38) This is the evidence right here. Also he dreams about his brother Ben. Willy wishes could be more like his brother who has just passed away a couple of months previously to the story. He also wishes he didn’t have to work and could be rich like Ben. He respects Ben for not really working and making a lot of money. Another example of Willy’s hallucinations are when he says,“ How are you all?” (45) This occurs when Willy is talking with Charley and he starts thinking about Ben. Willy’s inability to grasp reality never changed throughout the story.
A major part of the reader's animosity towards Willy stems from his responsibility for the ruin of his sons. Willy's affair ends up being the reason that Biff ends up a high-school failure and a football has-been. This blunder both disheartens and destroys his eldest son. It becomes the reason Biff refuses to go to summer school; it becomes the reason that Biff leaves home. Yet, this is all a result of Willy's need to be likeable. He cheats on his doting wife simply because it makes him feel special, because it gives him proof that women other that Linda are interested in him, because it makes him feel well liked. A woman "picked [him]"; a woman laughs when he makes jokes about keeping pores open; a woman pays him some attention (38).
The most opposite, but seemingly the strongest relationship in the play seems to be that between Willy and his wife Linda. His wife seems to accept him for who he is despite all his flaws. She seems to want more than anything for everyone to be happy, and she does what she can to make that possible. She is the voice of reason in Willy's life, putting forward a strong effort to keep her husband happy and guide him in the right direction. She loves selflessly, but despite all her efforts Willy's disillusioned beliefs are far beyond repair. Contrasting her selfless love is Willy's love for himself and his dreams. He most likely does not have any idea how much his wife sacrifices for him. He even purchases new stockings for his mistress while his wife mends hers, and not even realizing the wrongdoing until his own son points it out.