Holding onto false dreams can lead an individual to live in an illusory world, where their perception of reality is greatly hindered. In fact, these false dreams can also hurt and negatively influence the beliefs of other individuals. In Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, the character of Willy Loman holds onto the wrong values of the American Dream, consequently causing his inevitable failure and in most cases negatively affecting those close to him.
Willy Loman was a salesman whose deluded thinking led him into believing that he was “well-liked” by everyone and was a successful salesman. His false dreams and skewed sense of reality led him to believe that following his true passion, carpentry, was not a conventional way of life. Willy’s true passion for carpentry and not sales can be evidenced in the quote, “There’s more Willy in that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made” (Miller, 22). Willy mainly constructed his fantasy as a means of coping with his personal failures, for he had the “wrong dreams. All, all wrong” (Miller ?). In Willy’s deluded state, he lied to his family, regularly lying to them of his success at work. Willy was unable to let go of his false dreams, resulting in him carrying them to his grave. Ultimately, in Willy living to satisfy a dream, which was not his own, led to, unhappiness to both, him and his family, and in time eventually, his death.
Willy’s false dreams and illusions tormented the whole Loma family, especially his two sons, Biff and Happy, who suffered greatly because of them. Willy was a deluded idealist who at a very early age taught his two sons to believe that, “…the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who...
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...of her very persona and individuality. Linda was forced to live a lie, which caused her great pressure, because she knew if Willy were to leave his false dreams, he would commit suicide. Linda was willing to go great lengths in order to prevent Willy from committing suicide, even if it meant emotionally hurting herself along the way. Finally, Willy’s delusions robbed her of her husband and left her to take care of her two sons as a widow.
Willy’s fabricated dreams affected both him and his family negatively. The lives of both, Biff and Happy, were ruined and once he realized the fallacy of his dreams, he too was left ruined. While, Linda suffered great emotional pain. To prosper in life, In Miller’s view in the play, and become an ideal person, an individual must let go of all false dreams and see through the façade; for only hard work will result in success.
Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, Americans have idealized the journey towards economic success. One thing people do not realize, however, is that the journey is not the same for every individual. Media often leads its viewers toward a “one size fits all” version of success that may help themselves, but will rarely help the viewers. This is seen in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Miller includes multiple instances of symbolism and personification to reveal to the reader the situational irony in Willy’s life, underlining the theme of self-deception in regard to the American Dream.
Willy Loman will bring his downfall upon himself as he entices his own disillusions and the bedrock of his values pertaining to success and how one can achieve it. His failure to recognize the fruitless outcome of his own idealism will seal his fated suicide and have a determining effect on the failures of his two sons that when adolescent, idolized their father as a guid...
Willy’s death was ironic due to all the of consequences that he faced each point of his life; however, he wanted to leave money behind by his $20,000 insurance policy for his family to prove he finally made success in life. After Willy death, Biff realized his true beliefs and changes his life’s path to the right direction. Happy on other hand, followed his father’s footsteps and aimed to become successful as a businessman. I believed that Willy’s character lead himself to his failures and miseries with his wife, his two sons, and his career. What Willy pictured in his mind of himself was not completed by his wrong ambition of being successful. “We’re free and clear. We’re free…. We’re free” (Death of the Salesman, Requiem. lines 66-67). Willy’s wife and sons were not a bit disappointed or saddened by the news of their father. Willy’s death defined a symbol of a new beginning for his family. Throughout my research I discovered all Willy wanted to be was a devoted husband, a father that his sons can be proud of, and a successful salesman; however Willy was unsuccessful in not completely to fulfill his dreams so his death brought him and his family a break from the
Willy grew up believing that being “well-liked” was important to becoming a success. He envisioned Biff, the once great high school athlete, becoming a success for the wrong reasons. In contrast, we see Willy’s friend Charley who lived the real American Dream as a successful man in the business world. Through Charley we see the rewards to chasing this dream, such as the access to more money, and being able to have a flexible enough job to offer Willy a spot. On the other hand, the Loman family was not lucky enough to have any type of reward from the hunt for this success. Through this play, we see how the American Dream drove Willy Lohman and the family crazy and obsessed with a false fantasy. Arthur Miller shows us that the American Dream is valid, but those who hope to substitute popularity and lucky breaks for hard work are likely to
the battle in business. Willy's character is full of pride he doesn't really care about. anything else. If he has his pride, he is happy. He has pride in his sons and pride in being independent.
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 Loman’s tragic flow leads him to purse the idea that reputation in society has more relevancies in life than knowledge and education to survive in the business. His grand error of wanting recognition drove him crazy and insane and lead to his tragic death. 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 distend for him the beginning.
In brief, it is apparent that Willy’s own actions led to not only his own demise, but his children’s as well. The salesman tragically misinterpreted the American Dream for only the superficial qualities of beauty, likeability and prosperity. Perhaps if Willy had been more focused on the truth of a person’s character, rather than purely physical aspects, his family’s struggles and his own suicide could have been avoided. On the whole, Arthur Miller’s play is evidence that the search for any dream or goal is not as easy and the end result may seem. The only way to realize the objective without any despair is the opposite of Willy Loman’s methods: genuineness, perseverance and humility.
The life of Mr. Loman is one of loneliness, and lies. An online source emphasizes about Willy, “Willy convinces himself that he is successful, well- liked, and that his sons are destined for greatness.” Willy’s mind is consumed with being popular, and having material wealth. The results of Willy’s internal problems resulted with his children that could not be stable in any aspect of their lives, his failing marriage, and him struggling throughout all of his adulthood. Edward states (an online source), “Willy spent his life pursuing the wrong dreams for him. The wrong dream slowly possessed his life.” And also states, “Willy appears to have been obsessed with his goal of being known as a great salesman rather than with actually being a great salesman.” Willy is constantly under attack with thoughts of his past, to the point he has such vivid flashbacks that he will openly be talking to him, but thinking is he talking to people of the past. An online source states, “Unable to cope with reality, he entirely abandons it through his vivid fantasies and ultimately through suicide.” Willy is aware of his mistakes, but spends his time looking forward to the ‘perfect’ future he has planned, but never changes his ways to achieve his goals. Mr. and Mrs. Loman realize how different and happy Willy is when he is working outside with his hands. Both characters recognize
In the play, The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller,Willy Loman, an unsuccessful business man 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 showed 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.
Willy, the father of his two sons, Biff and Happy, happens to be caught in a state where he has no sense of direction. The entire family does not seem to have a clear understanding as to what is going on in Willy’s mind. Miller uses characters, language, and text to show the theme of pride in Death of a Salesman. Miller uses the characters to show the theme of pride. The only character who does not show any sense of pride is Linda, Willy’s wife.
An American dream is a dream that can only be achieved by passion and hard work towards your goals. People are chasing their dreams of better future for themselves and their children. The author Arthur Miller in Death of a Salesman has displayed a struggle of a common man to achieve the American dream. Willy Loman the protagonist of the play has spent his whole life in chasing the American dream. He was a successful salesman who has got old and unable to travel for his work, and no one at work gives him importance anymore. He is unhappy with his sons Happy and Biff because both of them are not successful in their lives. Moreover, Biff and Happy are also not happy with their father Willy because they don’t want to live a life that Willy wants them to live. The heated discussions of Willy and his older son Biff affect the family and the family starts to fall apart. However, Willy is unable to achieve the American dream and does not want to face the reality that his decisions for himself and his family have lead him to be a failure in the society. In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the protagonist Willy Loman spends his whole life to achieve the American Dream by his own perception and denies facing the reality, just like nowadays people are selling themselves and attempting to find success in life.
Willy Loman is a 60 year old senile salesman who desperately wants to be a successful salesman; however, his ideas about the ways in which one goes about achieving this are very much misguided, just as his morals are. He believes that popularity and good looks are the key to achieving the American dream, rather than hard work and dedication. He not only lives his entire life by this code, but instills his delusional beliefs in his two sons Biff and Happy. As a result, his sons experience similar failures in their adult lives. Willy led a life of illusion, lies and regret which not only ruined his life, but gad a negative impact on the lives of family as well.
In spite of the fact that he only shows up for a few key conversations, his philosophy and ideas drive Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy in many aspects of their lives. Willy continues to search for fame and fortune, Biff and Happy still to try to impress him, and Linda supports Willy’s and Ben’s ideals, even when her husband becomes delusional and her children become stuck in an endless cycle of disappointment. By the end they escape these issues, but it’s important to acknowledge where they went wrong in the process of getting to that point. Often times, the most important thing to remember is that one person shouldn’t govern what someone does with their life, and that the search for one’s own individuality is the most important goal of all. Sometimes the best way to escape the jungle is to not enter it at
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman criticizes the American Dream and the means some (i.e. Willy Loman) use to achieve the Dream through many different symbol and motifs; however, the title Miller selected for his play is an overlooked aspect of his criticism towards the Dream. He uses the title to build layers of understanding for his denunciation of the American Dream.