Abandonment In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

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In Death of a Salesman, Willy and Biff both suffer from the feeling of abandonment. Abandonment is a feeling of being left alone or being deserted. There are multiple reasons why Willy feels abandoned. Willy and Biff both had issues with abandonment throughout the entire play, in both physical and mental ways. When feeling abandoned, it is also a feeling of hopelessness, loneliness, confusion, and depression. Neither Willy nor Biff realized how abandoned each other felt.
Willy intermittently places blame on his own childhood for his feelings of abandonment, and not knowing how to appropriately raise his own children. Willy had multiple different experiences with abandonment throughout the entire play; each one worse than the previous one. Willy and Ben were both abandoned by their father as children. Ben abandoned Willy when he moved to Alaska, and this left Willy confused and attempting to live the American Dream alone. Willy became a salesman so that he could “leave a legacy”, and was unsuccessful. He also felt abandoned by his career. Willy was abandoned by his boss, Howard, after being fired. Willy was then abandoned by his own sons at dinner one night. Willy felt that his only way out of the abandonment, and to actually be able to leave a legacy, was to commit suicide. This means that ultimately Willy abandoned his own family. …show more content…

No matter how hard Willy tried, he would never be the successful salesman that he has dreamed of being. He was never going to live the American Dream, as he wanted to. He felt that committing suicide would leave a legacy for his family, but he failed to realize that this is not what his family wanted. Willy was so consumed in his own fantasy world, that he abandoned his family to attempt to make those dreams and fantasies become reality. The abandonment in the family got worse throughout the play. Willy truly was scared of abandonment, but was unable to avoid it throughout the

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