Strive not to be of success, but rather to be of value. Albert Einstein Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it. Ralph Marston Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Thornton Wilder’s Our Town both explore the fulfillment of life. Emily and Willy Loman fail to take advantage of their lives because they have the wrong priorities and do not take the time appreciate what they already have. Willy focuses solely on achieving his dreams of success as a salesman and helping Biff become a great man, resulting in him ignoring his family, declining status in society, and reality, leading to his demise. He never realizes what he has lost by chasing after inconceivable dreams; however, Wilder’s Emily reflects on her life after she dies and begins to understand that her lack of appreciation for the little moments took away from the fullness of her life. Even though Wilder and Miller tell two unique stories, they use similar methods to show their thoughts on living and essentially convey the same message about how dreams can ruin people and how not appreciating the little things takes away from the quality of life. After seeing both his father and brother find success, Willy attempts to prove himself to his family by chasing after his own version of the American dream. Willy grows up in the “wild prosperity of the 1920’s” when rags-to-riches tales inspire everybody, making them believe that “achieving material success [is] God’s intention for humankind (Abbotson, Criticism by Bloom). Willy’s father, a “very great” and “wildhearted man,” made a living traveling and selling flutes, making “more in a week than a man like [Willy] could make in a lifetime” (Miller 34). Even though Willy barely knew his dad, he built him u... ... middle of paper ... ...and Bernard exemplify how hard work creates success and show the extent of Willy’s hubris through his stubborn refusals to job offers, and Simon Stimson’s negative outlook on life proves to be the most realistic of the town. Now you know! That’s what it was like to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance,; to go up and down trampling on the feelings of those…of those about you. TO spend and waste time as though you had a million years. To be always at the mercy of one self-centered passion, or another. Now you know-that’s the happy existence you wanted to go back to. Ignorance and blindness (Wilder 101 Stimson) Willy lives out his entire life chasing a reality that will never come to pass, and he dies delusional without ever realizing that he ruined his life; however, Emily has the chance to reflect on her life after death, and she learns the truth. Closing
... American Dream that was sold in society at the time after World War II can overshadow the actual meaning in real life. The “American Dream” is, in the end, defined as a comfortable living in a happy house. Instead, the materialistic society back then attempted to sell it in terms of appliances and products that were not needed, and unaffordable. They marketed it to the middle-class by attracting them to the aspect of credit, buying it with money that they don’t have. As Willy’s neighbor claimed at his funeral, Willy was merely a victim of his profession, leaving him with an unhealthy obsession with an image that was unrealistic, especially for them. This dissatisfaction with his life, and his misinterpretation of the “American Dream”, led to his downfall as a tragic hero, and a death that went in vain, as his son failed to follow the plan he had laid out for him.
In the road of life, the right path may not always be where the road signs lead. The road to self-discovery is found by following one’s heart and mind and to wherever they may lead them. Within the plays Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, and Our Town by Thornton Wilder, parallel pathways and contrary connections can be established between the characters coinciding in both. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is the portrait of a sixty year old man reflecting upon his past, one of lies and hopelessness. Upon coming about his past, he finally and fatally, discovers himself at the end of his life. Mr. Webb from Our Town plays the figure of an editor of Grover’s Corner Sentinel and loving father of Emily. Early in the play, he displays knowledge over his own self-discovery, which he hopes to tell others. The self-discovered Mr. Webb raised Emily coherently as a woman who in the end recognized the value of life. Married to George Gibbs, her life was very much comparable to Linda Loman, married to Willy Loman. Linda Loman was a woman dedicated to the needs of her spouse, but also therefore blind to the real needs that Willy desired. In the end, she still was left wondering why or what had gone wrong. Interlocked by protruding parallel traits of progressive self-awareness, these characters promoted the two plays to a higher level of understanding.
Miller’s use of personification and symbolism in the book shows the situational irony that surrounds Willy. This highlights the overall message of blind faith towards the American Dream. The major case of irony in the book is Willy’s blind faith in the American Dream. This belief is that if one is well-liked, they will become successful. The truth is actually completely opposite. The real belief is that if one works hard, with no regard to how well liked they are, they will be successful. This relationship is shown between Willy and his neighbor Charley. While Willy believes likability is the only way to success, Charley works hard and does not care how people think of him. Through his hard work, Charley started his own business, and is now very successful. Willy, however, ends up getti...
The play "Death of a Salesman", by Arthur Miller, follows the life of Willy Loman, a self-deluded salesman who lives in utter denial, always seeking the "American Dream," and constantly falling grossly short of his mark. The member’s of his immediate family, Linda, his wife, and his two sons, Biff and Happy, support his role. Of these supportive figures, Biff’s character holds the most importance, as Biff lies at the center of Willy’s internal conflicts and dreams, and Biff is the only one in the play who seems to achieve any growth.
Willy Loman equates success as a human being with success in the business world. When Willy was a young man, he heard of a salesman who could "pick up his phone and call the buyers, and without ever leaving his room, at the age of eighty-four, make his living." (81) This salesman is Willy's inspiration; someday to be so respected and so well known that he can still provide for his family, even at an old age. Of course, Willy is no good at being a salesman because his heart isn't in it. The only time Willy puts his heart into anything is when he works with his hands, and his son, Biff, comes to realize this. "There's more of him in that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made." (138) Willy never comes to the realization that it is not being a salesman that he cares about, but rather being well known and, perhaps more importan...
Willy’s character alone has many flaws which bring about his tragic ending, most of which can be attributed to society. Here, society has created and nurtured Willy’s character, passing its values, morals and dreams onto him. Miller has described society as ‘the condition which suppresses man, perverts the flowing out of his love and creative instinct’, although it is a crucial factor in this tragedy. It is because of this society and environment Willy has been surrounded by that he embodies the ideals of the American Dream. The false ideas of success and happiness that Willy has adopted have been readily handed to him by the materialistic and superficial environment he lives in, works in and fails in. Another perception that Willy had acquired from society is its shallowness, which leads to his infidelity and also losing the trust of his older son, Biff.
Bernard’s success as an attorney is a clear demonstration of the cold fact that the American Dream is universally cruel and impartial, due to its lack of tolerance of emotions. Bernard summarizes the Dream for Willy that “it’s better for a man just to walk away.” (page 68) Yet Willy’s mere inability to “walk away” from his role as a father strips him of the freedom that he would otherwise have for himself. The American Dream only offers Willy two choices—maintenance of his personal moral values such as parental duties or ruthless punishment for incapacity, and he chooses the latter. A successful American Dream in this case is depicted as an improbable result that requires not only dedications, but also courage to relinquish moral duties. Further, Biff’s revelations about the failures of the American Dream further expose the deceptive appearance of capitalism. In stealing a fountain pen, Biff realizes that “all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am.” The pen is a metaphor for the senseless jobs for people at the bottom of the social hierarchy such as Willy. It represents the incompatibility between people’s work and
To begin, Willy’s methods of searching for likeability are erroneous. He believes that the superficiality of attractiveness goes hand in hand with being well liked. Willy’s downfall started with his impression of Dave Singleman, an 84 year old salesman. According to Willy, he had “…the greatest career a man could want.” Sure this man was liked in cities around the world, but Willy’s altered perception of the American dream masked the realities of his life. Willy failed to see that instead of being retired at 84, Dave Singleman was unwed, still working, and in the end “dies the death of a salesman”; alone and without love. Believing in this dream, ultimately leads Willy to his hubris; too proud to be anything but a salesman. Throughout the play, Charlie often asks Willy, “You want a job?” Instead of escaping his reality of unpaid bills and unhappiness, Willy’s shallow values lead him to refuse the switch from him attractive job, to that of a carpent...
... that Willy dreams the dream and goes to pursue his own passions. Thus, the illusion of Willy’s life that resulted from him dreaming the wrong dream, ends up in his tragic suicide and the destruction of his family.
The American dream described in the play can be achievable, but Willy’s ways of achieving that American dream leads him to a failure. According to an article published by the South Atlantic Modern Language Association, the play builds the idea of American dream that it is harmful and immoral as long as it is based on selfishness and greediness. However, the dream us described realistic when it is achieved on values that ar...
Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman”, primarily focuses on the flaws and failures of Willy Loman, Millers’ main character in this story. Willy’s distorted and backward views of the American Dream, paired with his inability to let go of the past lead him down a road of regret and in the end his biggest failure which was his wasted life.
Willy couldn’t accept the realities that the life he lives has presented to him. He thinks the utmost that he can provide for his family now is his life insurance policy, and imagines that he can be successful once again by freeing his family from debt, but leaves them without a friend, husband, and father. Willy chooses to run away from reality altogether by selfishly committing suicide, which is a permanent end to a temporary problem.
The first component of the American dream, in Willy’s eyes, is a successful career. Always the dreamer, he attempts to make his mark as a salesman because “selling [is] the greatest career a man [can] want” (1492; Act 2). But when he falls short of his goals, he blames the superficiality of the business world, as evidenced in his thoughts about Bernard. Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you’re going to be five times ahead of him. That’s a good idea.
Willy has worked hard his entire life and ought to be retiring by now, living a life of luxury and closing deals with contractors on the phoneespecially since increasing episodes of depersonalization and flashback are impairing his ability to drive. Instead, all of Willy's aspirations seem to have failed: he is fired from his jobwhich barely paid enough anywayby a man young enough to be his son and who, in fact, Willy himself named. Willy is now forced to rely on loans from his only real friend (and the word is used loosely at that), Charley, to make ends meet. None of Willy's old friends or previous customers remember him. Biff, his 34-year-old son, has been unable to 'find himself' as a result of his inability to settle down (caused by Willy drumming into him the need to 'make it big within two weeks'), and Happy, the younger son, lies shamelessly to make it look like he is a perfect Loman scion. In contrast, Charley (who, Willy tells his boys conspiratorially, is not well-liked), is now a successful businessman, and his son, Bernard, a former bespectacled bookworm, is now a brilliant lawyer. We are told how Willy had at least one affair while out on business trips, one particularly that was witnessed by Biff (which broke his faith in Willy). Finally, Willy is haunted by memories of his now-dead older brother,
Willy's goal throughout life was to climb out of his social class. As a salesman, Willy was a failure and he tried desperately to make his sons never end up like him. As a result, he loses his mind and his grasp on reality. Throughout the story, Willy often has flashbacks of the conversations that he and his brother Ben once had and the author intertwines them in past and present very nicely.