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Death of a salesman character analysis essay
Death of a salesman character analysis
Bernard death of a salesman character analysis
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In the play, "Death of a Salesman" the main character, Willy Loman, meets a terrible fate from the pressures of reality that he was not ready to face. The other members in his family are to blame for this because not one of them tried to help and save Willy from his pending suicide. They watch as Willy eventually becomes face-to-face with reality and is beaten and falls into despair and eventually a false image of hope in committing suicide. His wife Linda who cares so much for him, did absolutely nothing to help him, she watches as he slowly breaks down. Happy only cares about himself during the entire play and even after realizing what Willy was going through and still refuses to help. Biff completely destroys the relationship between himself and Willy, which is what Willy is most proud and happy for. Society as a …show more content…
It causes Willy stress and giving him pressures leading Willy to believe suicide is the right choice. All these things contributed in assisting Willy in his suicide. They forced his hand and ultimately Willy claimed his own life. Firstly, Linda is Willy's caring wife, who cherishes everything about Willy and what he does for his family. She is the perfect thing for Willy, someone to cheer him up and make him feel loved. But when Willy is in need of someone to help him, Linda tries her best to ignore the problem completely. "Every day I go down and take away that little rubber pipe. But when he comes home, I put it back where it was. How can I insult him that way?" (Linda Loman ,Act 1. p.60). In this quote you can see the love that Linda has for Willy, she does not want to hurt him anymore
According to Frye's definition, tragic heroes bring suffering upon themselves. Willy Loman is delusional and has a skewed view on the world he lives in. Willy asserts that he is young, popular, and respected among his family and workmates. Flashbacks of past memories, which interrupt the present day flow of time, prove that Willy is not everything he used to be in his younger years. This constant misconception of time is Willy Loman's main flaw, and he is the main victim in this suffering. Willy's misunderstanding of the world around him is shown in key scenes, such as his conversation with his brother Ben in the garden near the end of the play (Miller 99). The death of Willy Loman is also a consequence of his flaw: Willy's disorganized state of mind causes him to jump into a car and crash.
Found within the storyline, Willy implements features of a tragic hero as he shows the reversal of events in his life due to his own actions. Willy, through the downfall with his son, Biff, shows that his actions have caused a bridge between him and his son in which his son chooses to grow apart from his family. As seen at the beginning of the play, Willy represents a tragic hero as he is distressed and troubled as he comes home from another failed sales trip. Although Willy represents a tragic hero in many cases, there are also others found within Death of a Salesman that help implement the role of a profound hero. Willy’s wife, Linda, implements the heroine as she presents herself with many wise and understanding words for Willy has he faces his hardships. Throughout the story, it is seen that Linda represents herself as a put together woman for her husband but is often found distraught by her husband’s actions in which readers and audiences can empathize with
Willy’s lack of self-worth translates into the deep state of depression that eventually causes him to attempt to take his own life. His wife, Linda has become aware of this, even warning her own children. She discusses with her sons about Willy’s attempted suicide, showing them a rubber hose she found behind the fuse box in the basement; she believes it was used by Mr. Loman in an effort to try and asphyxiate himself. Also, there is evidence that Willy’s car accidents are inevitably not “accidents” at
Although the characters are not of noble birth nor possess a heroic nature nor experience a reversal of fortune, many of the elements in "Death of A Salesman" fulfill the criteria of a classic tragedy. The downfall and crisis points in the play are directly linked to the Loman family's combined harmartias, or personal flaws. The Loman's have unrealistic ideas regarding the meaning of success. To Willy, the foundation of success is not education or hard work, but rather "who you know and the smile on your face." Moreover, Willy ridicules the education Bernard has earned, declaring that his sons, Biff and Hap, will get further ahead in the business world 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." Willy idolizes two men: his brother, Ben, who walked out of an African jungle a rich man, and an 84-year-old salesman who could "pick a phone in twenty or thirty cities and be remembered and loved, and finally honored by hundred of mourners at his funeral." To Linda, success is paying off a 25...
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
Linda Loman, the wife of Willy Loman and basis her life of the single to always protect Willy and be there for him at all times. Willy is rude, short tempered and an often lash out at Linda even when what he is saying is irrational. Linda unfortunately, loves Willy so much that she is literally blinded by love, to a point where she is oblivious of the fact that he has a mistress, his poor financial means and that he lost his job. Her lack of knowledge is one the reason why continuously supports Willy through thick and thin. Fear is another reason that drives Linda to act the way she does. Willy’s aggressive behavior and suicidal attempts have scarred Linda to a so she baby’s him. Linda even kicked out her son’s Biff and Happy because they stood up to him and called him out when he was out of line which upset and frustrated Willy. Biff and Happy had the tendency to upset Willy and Linda could not let that happen. Linda Loman is willing to be yelled at, stepped out and cheated on just so she and Willy can continue being together. She
In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the conflicts that formulate between Biff and Willy Loman build up to the death of Willy. Biff’s delusional perception of being liked in the world leads to a successful life which was an idea brought onto him by his father, Biff’s discovery of his father's affair, and Biff’s lack of business success all accumulate to the heavy conflicting relationship between Biff and his father, Willy. These contribute immensely to the idea that personal dreams and desire to reach success in life can negatively impact life with personal relationships, which causes people to lose sight of what is important. This ultimately leads to the Willy committing suicide from the build up of problems with his son.
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
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
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.
In the play, The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller,Willy Loman, an unsuccessful businessman struggling to support his family is completely out of touch with reality throughout the plot line. Many characters throughout this play and their interactions with Willy have shown the audience his true colors and what he thinks is important in life. His constant lying and overwhelming ego certainly does not portray his life in factual terms, but rather in the false reality that he has convinced himself he lives in. Being raised by Willy, Biff and Happy are becoming failures and have no motivation to work hard to achieve anything in life. Throughout this novel, Biff has a few recurrences with stealing.
The Characters of Biff and Happy in Death of a Salesman No one has a perfect life; everyone has conflicts that they must face sooner or later. The ways in which people deal with these personal conflicts can differ as much as the people themselves. Some insist on ignoring the problem for as long as possible, while others face up to the problem immediately to get it out of the way. Biff and Happy Loman are good examples of this, although both start from the same point, they end up going in different directions with Happy still living in his world of lies and Biff, being set free by the truth. Happy Loman is Willy's youngest son and is often over shadowed by his older brother Biff and ignored
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller concerns itself with the fall of a simple man perpetually in a steadfast state regarding his own failure in a success-driven society. The protagonist of the play, Willy Loman, will follow a tragic trajectory that will eventually lead to his suicide. Arthur Miller's tragic play is an accurate portrayal of the typical American myth that sustains an extreme craving for success and a belief in the illusion of the American dream, a dream attainable only by a handful of people. Having chosen a career in sales Willy Loman constantly aspires to become 'great'. Nevertheless, Willy is a poor aging salesman that considers himself to be a failure when comparing himself to his successful father and brother, but he is incapable of consciously admitting it. Consequently, Willy will measure his level of success with the level of success attained by his offspring, particularly his eldest son Biff. Their difficult relationship contribute to the play's main plot. Willy unfolds his deluded perception and recollection of the events as the audience gradually witnesses the tragic downfall of a man shadowed by a mental illness that has already began to take it's toll on his mind and personality.
The second complication that destroys Willy is his aging. By getting older he can't do the things he used to do. His aging affects his work because he is not the salesman he once was. He is not making enough money to support his wife, Linda, and himself. Being 60, Willy is getting too old for the traveling he does for his work. Willy asks his boss, Howard, for a raise and Howard fires him. Willy is really worn out and Howard knows this. This situation in end destroys Willy's pride and he could never ask his sons for money.
Willy’s hubris makes him feel extremely proud of what he has, when in reality he has no satisfaction with anything in his life. Willy Loman’s sons did not reach his expectations, as a father, but he still continued to brag about Biff and Happy in front of Bernard. Willy Loman caused the reader to empathize with him because before his tragic death he did everything he could for his family. Empathy, Hubris, and Willy Loman’s tragic flow all lead him to his death that distends from the beginning. He is unable to face reality and realize that he’s not successful in life or at his job; he remains living in a world where he thinks he’s greater than everybody else because he’s a salesman.