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Analysis of death of a salesman by arthur miller
Analysis of death of a salesman by arthur miller
Analysis of death of a salesman by arthur miller
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Death of a Salesman Character Analysis 2017 is an era of independence amongst women. More and more modern women are content without husbands. This, however, was not the case in the 1950’s. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman centers on a family of dreamers. The father and two sons want nothing more than to be successful. The sons desperately seek the approval of their father but, he too is seeking approval from his deceased brother. The only rational member of the Loman family is Linda. Miller’s Character, Linda Loman, may seem like a typical 50’s housewife but, in reality she is the rock of the Loman family. Linda Loman’s ever-optimistic outlook serves as a necessary juxtaposition to the pessimism of her dear husband Willy. While …show more content…
When it came down to it, she would rather have no relationship with her sons than have them disrespect Willy. Linda Loman did her best to keep Willy as content as she possibly could no matter the circumstance. She knew her husband was losing his mind and had tried and failed numerous times to kill himself. Linda was very quick to overlook the issue as to not upset him any further. He was not able to emotionally handle the situation and instead chose to ignore all the red flags. She feared confronting him would only make matters worse. Not only did she pretend to not see Willy’s harmful behavior, she also vehemently denied his condition when confronted by others. Linda claimed her husband’s condition was merely a symptom of …show more content…
His aggressive personality hinders Linda and makes it difficult for her to stand up for herself. In some sense, it is almost as if she is begging for his approval and affection. Linda is eternally indebted to her husband and feels as though she must protect him from his own feelings, especially the vendettas he holds against Biff. Often times, Linda’s nurturing spirit can cross the line into enabling. She finds it very important to support her husbands dream but, sometimes she encourages his delusions too much, thus worsening his
Linda’s enabling is obvious when she helps Willy with suicidal thoughts. Willy tries to suck carbon monoxide through a tube, and instead of telling him to stop, Linda just lets him do it. She enables him because although she is not outright letting him do it, she is allowing him to continue to hurt himself and his family. For example, Linda states, “’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?’” (Miller 60). Linda is scared of insulting Willy rather than protecting him, which clearly shows that she enables him to be this terrible, sad person. Critic Gavin Cologne-Brooks adds to the proof of Linda’s enabling by saying, “Family and
Many articles explain that Linda Loman is the cause of dysfunction in the Loman House. One article read, “Linda believes that if her sons become successful then Willy’s fragile psyche will heal itself” ("Linda Loman: The Wife in "Death of a Salesman"). She thinks that Willy ...
Willy Loman is not the only victim of his tragic flaw. The rest of the Loman family is also affected by Willy's problem. Willy's wife, Linda, is the only one who supports and understands Willy's tragic flaw completely. Linda supports every far-fetched claim her husband makes. She is even described as having “infinite patience” whenever she is conversing with Willy (Miller 99). Willy's two sons, Biff and Happy, are also affected by his flaw. Happy, when in the company of two ladies, claims that Willy is not even his father, and “just a guy” (Miller 91). Later in the play, Biff decides that he does not want to be in his father's life anymore. Biff's problems are simply too much for Willy to handle with his current state of being, even though Willy needs Biff in his life. After both internal and external conflict, Biff reveals to Willy that Willy had been lied to for a number of years, and that the life he lives is essentially a lie (Miller 104).
This also show that Linda loved her husband more than anything, she would do anything to protect his pride including not telling Willy that she knows he had been trying to commit suicide. Everything Linda di is to protect Willy pride and face, and not letting any of her son
Every member of the Loman family is living in denial about their reality or continue a cycle of denial for others. Willy is incapable of accepting the fact
One negative influence in Willy's life is the inability of his friends to confront him about his problems. It is Willy's wife that causes him the most harm. In her vain attempt to protect Willy, she actually allows his eventual death. The first sign of her negligence comes in one of Willy's flashbacks. Willy brags, "I did five hundred gross in Providence and seven hundred gross in Boston"(35). But as Linda begins calculating his commission, the value rapidly diminishes to "roughly two hundred gross on the whole trip"(35). Linda sees what is going on but does not confront him. A very similar situation occurs later in their life when she finds out that Willy is no longer on salary, but borrows money every week from Charley. Again she will not confront him. By not confronting Willy in either of these instances, Linda allows him to sink further into his false reality. But Linda makes an even worse mistake that allows for Willy's suicide. She acknowledges his suicidal tendencies when she says, "He's been trying to kill himself"(58). She tells the boys that she has found the rubber hose in the basement, but she still will not confront Willy. Another character who is unable to be straight with Willy is Willy's boss Howard Wagner. Howard allows Willy to keep his job, but does not pay him. If he had just fired him right out it would of forced Willy to find a new job. By stringing him along, Howard allows Willy to maintain his fantasy world unchallenged. These are examples of the most negative influences in Willy's life simply because they have the ability to help but choose not to.
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.
(35)." Linda says this to Willy after she found out that his pay wasn't as
To begin with, Willy Loman's dishonesty strained his relationships with his family members. Willy's affair with a Boston woman and his lack of honesty in confronting Linda about it have a major negative effect on their relationship, as Willy's guilt continuously haunts him. To relieve himself of his lies and remorse, Willy justifies himself by saying, “She’s nothing to me, Biff. I was lonely; I was terribly lonely" (Miller 87). The revelation of Willy's struggles to reconcile his actions with his love for Linda and confront her with the truth cast a shadow over their relationship, creating a sense of betrayal and mistrust.
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
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
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is a tragic play about an aging and struggling salesman, Willy Loman, and his family’s misguided perception of success. In Willy’s mind, being well-liked is more important than anything else, and is the means to achieving success. He teaches this flawed idea to his sons, Biff and Happy, and is faithfully supported by his wife Linda. Linda sympathizes with Willy’s situation, knowing that his time as an important salesman has passed. Biff and Happy hold their father to impossibly high standards, and he tries his best to live up to them.
Neuroticism is the “tendency toward unstable emotions,” and Linda is very unstable. She curses at the pharmacists when she picks up Earl’s prescriptions. She is also very anxious when she begs Earl’s attorney to write her out of Earl’s will because she feels guilty about cheating on Earl. Interestingly, high neuroticism has been shown to be associated with infidelity in heterosexual couples (Mark et al., 2011). After Linda leaves the attorney’s office, she continues to exhibit neurotic behavior.
Linda lives in denial, from the moment she decided to marry Willy. She struggles emotionally, for the rest of the play until the very end, so much so that she cannot even cry when her husband commits suicide. The pain and agony drains her from everything including her ability to produce tears. “Willy, dear, I can't cry. Why did you do it?
In Death of a Salesman Miller explores and exposes modern American society in a brutal and scathing manner. His analysis and critique is conveyed clearly to the audience concluding that society is based on a corrupt and immoral capitalist dream. Miller implies this through the Loman family and their struggle to survive and compete. Techniques Miller employs to illustrate this are symbolism, characters and structure.