In Arthur Miller’s play, “Death of a Salesman,” Willy Loman is the protagonist. According to the story Willy Loman may be considered a failure. In this play Willy has show a lot of ignorance throughout the play. As part of his character he is grumpy and a very strict parent. Willy was so happy in his fantasy world. The thesis of “Death of a Salesman” is the common man strives to achieve his rightful position in society while his tragic flaw goes unrecognized but still leads him to his death. On page 130, it states “You saw it. The mice didn't bring it into the cellar! What is this supposed to do, make a hero out of you? This supposed to make me sorry for you?” This quote proves that Willy is in denial that his fantasy is gone. He was so happy to the point where he wanted to keep his fantasy world alive. When Willy continued to live in his fantasy, he was not able to move forward with everyone and everything that surrounded him which led him to his death. This play state that Willy’s tragic flaw was his inability to be satisfied by the reality of his life which affected all of the characters in the play. On page 131 Willy says “Then hang yourself! For spite, hang yourself!” This quote also proves that Willy is a bad father. …show more content…
Willy fought with Biff because he couldn’t find a job or find what he wanted to do in life. On page 28, Willy says “Too young entirely, Biff. You want to watch your schooling first. Then when you’re all set, there’ll be plenty of girls for a boy like you. He smiles broadly at a kitchen chair. That so? The girls pay for you? He laughs. Boy, you must be really be makin’ a hit.” This quote show how Willy tells Biff that he doesn’t have any time for girls. This also shows that Willy is a controlling father which makes him a failure of a father because he wasn’t supportive towards his son
Willy and Biff were so close that no matter what Biff did Willy ignored it. For instance, in one of Willy’s Flashbacks for Act 1 there is a conversation between Willy and his sons about the football that Biff got. Biff tells Willy that he borrowed a football from the locker room and Willy tells him to return it back. However, when Happy
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
It is key here that Willy does not directly face the fact that he
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.
Willy also has very poor parenting skills. He has two children Biff and Happy. Willy excuses Biff for a lot of events when he was younger. If Biff stole something, Willy just brushes it off and says that is was no big deal. He didn’t even care when Biff failed math and did not graduate from high school. He measured success in how many people you knew not what your grades are. In one breath Willy would say that Biff is lazy and then in the next say he’s not.
Throughout the play, Willy can be seen as a failure. When he looks back on all his past decisions, he can only blame himself for his failures as a father, provider, and as a salesman (Abbotson 43). Slowly, Willy unintentionally reveals to us his moral limitations that frustrates him which hold him back from achieving the good father figure and a successful business man, showing us a sense of failure (Moss 46). For instance, even though Willy wants so badly to be successful, he wants to bring back the love and respect that he has lost from his family, showing us that in the process of wanting to be successful he failed to keep his family in mind (Centola On-line). This can be shown when Willy is talking to Ben and he says, “He’ll call you a coward…and a damned fool” (Miller 100-101). Willy responds in a frightful manner because he doesn’t want his family, es...
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Biff recognizes Willy's tendency to exaggerate or reconstruct reality and is no longer a willing participant in Willy's fantasy. By the end of the play, Willy is overwhelmed; he can no longer deny his failures when they become too many to deal with. Instead, he seeks a solution in suicide. Willy reasons he can finally be a success because his life insurance policy will in some way compensate Linda for his affair. Additionally, Biff will consider him a martyr and respect him after witnessing the large funeral and many mourners Willy is sure will attend (cliffnotes).
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).
When Willy causes conflict with his son Biff, he usually is talking about how he is 34 and still lives at home and doesn't have a job. He says “When the hell did I lose my temper? I simply asked him if he was making any money. Is that a criticism?”(Miller, act 1, scene 1, page 7). He previously argued with Linda that Biff and Happy were sleeping because they went on a date the night before. Willy was angry that he is almost about to pay the house off and there's nobody to live in it when he does pay it off. He says “Figure it out. Work a lifetime to pay off a house. You
In addition, Willy has changed his feelings towards his family in different ways throughout the story. His position in the family with his goals and specific ways towards his family has failed them to discover that
Willy is defeated because he feels as if he has failed in his job and let down his family, and not
Willy means that he is, no doubt, faithful to his wife and children but he is bound to commit adultery because of his depressive loneliness. Willy may be logical but the irony is that the discovery of his sin raises a violent storm over his family and antipathy between father and son develops
Willy is so blinded by his own arrogance and corrupted by his pride throughout the entire play that it’s not until he sees Bernard, humble in his success, that he questions his responsibility as a father for the result of his sons’
Willy Loman, the main character in Death of a Salesman is a complex tragic character. He is a man struggling to hold onto the little dignity he has left in a changing society. While society may have caused some of his misfortune, Willy must be held responsible for his poor judgment, disloyalty and foolish pride.