Blinded by Resentment The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller examines the hardships that arise in the life of Willy Loman, a salesman who is unable to come to terms with the actuality of his current financial position. The author tries to stress the cost of blind faith in the national values correlating to the American Dream. Mr. Loman’s incorrect understanding of American values gave rise to insincere relationships among his family, friends, and colleagues. In like manner, The Painted Door by Sinclair Ross tracks the conflicting emotions of a farmer’s wife named Ann, who finds herself yearning for a deeper connection with her husband John. The loneliness and isolation cause Ann to be in a delusional state which impairs her ability to make …show more content…
rational decisions and consider the implications of her already made decisions. Both protagonists are unable to move forward from the states they are in because of all the anger and resentment being repressed within them caused by their past and present actions. Both Arthur Miller and Sinclair Ross aimed to tell stories of people navigating through life blinded by their resentment associated with their decisions as seen in their insincere relationships with themselves and those around them as well as their position within society. Just after her husband John leaves to face the storm, a blanket of loneliness envelops Ann. The heightened loneliness reinforces all of the emotions trapped within her and therefore leads to her centering all of her anger and negativity on the irritating mannerisms of her husband John. In the midst of all of those thoughts spiraling through her head, Steven arrives. His presence clearly increases her lack of judgement and moral certainty. This is seen while she is trying to assure herself that all the negative things about John provide her with reasons to allow herself to pursue relations with Steven. She establishes that “It was just an effort to convince herself that she did have a grievance, to justify her rebellious thoughts, to prove John responsible for her unhappiness” (Ross 6). Ann holds resentment about her decision in marrying John and she is convinced that John’s lack of effort put into their relationship is the thing allowing her to have the right to have rebellious thoughts. By putting the blame on him, she places herself in a position of not needing to bear any guilt. Once Ann slept with Steven she was able to shake off her delusional state. She is now faced with the implications that go along with the decision she made. She attributes the energy and alluring personality and physique that Steven possesses to why she made her injudicious decision that night. Ann still is unable to process what she had done to betray her husband. She conveys that it is hard for her “to understand how she could have so deceived herself—how a moment of passion could have quieted within her not only conscience but reason and discretion too” (Ross 7). Ann clearly regrets her actions and is disappointed in her ability to maintain a sense of reason in a heightened moment. The resentment she bears about her decision will last for a very long time as she will never be able to bring her husband back. It may also affect her ability to form a sincere relationship with another person as the outcome of her decision, her husband’s death, will have left a lasting mark on her conscious. The insincere relationships due to resentment are seen in the relationships in The Death of a Salesman as well. Biff has always had a huge respect for his father and he held his father’s advice and opinion in high regard. When Biff needed help regarding the possibility of not graduating high school because of his grade in math, his father was the one he looked to first. Sadly at that same time, Biff found his father having an affair with a woman that was not his mother and immediately that respect he had for his father disintegrated. Willy did not help the situation when he said, “Now look, Biff, when you grow up you’ll understand about these things. You mustn’t-- you mustn’t overemphasize a thing like this” (Miller 120). For Biff, his father’s actions made him feel like his world was crashing down around him, someone who he held so dear had deceived him. The bond between them was broken because of one thoughtless decision made. Throughout the rest of the play, you can clearly tell that both Biff and Willy carry resentment from that day and it weighed on both of them until the day Willy died. Willy had always treated Bernard as if he was not as important as his sons, he disregarded everything Bernard said that may have contradicted what he was teaching his sons or decreased his son’s self-esteem. He even said in the beginning of the play that Bernard was not going to go far in life because he was not as well liked as Biff. Years later when Willy and Bernard meet, Willy tells Bernard that he is “overjoyed to see how you made the grade, Bernard. It’s an encouraging thing to see a young man really …” (Miller 92). Willy says it in a sarcastic and an embarrassed tone which helps to emphasize Willy’s resentment about how he treated Bernard when he was younger. Willy realizes that his false impression of the American values did not set his sons up for a successful future and he should have followed Bernard’s lead. He is resentful of the fact that his sons did not reach the level of success Bernard did. Both authors tried to portray the resentment that each protagonist have in regards to their positions in society.
Ann’s feelings of being a farmer's wife and Willy being a salesman that is unable to earn enough money to pay for life’s essentials. Ann and Willy live in a farmstead miles away from any community and Ann finds the isolation very hard at times. She is someone who thrives when being in social situations and she craves for opportunities like going to dances in the schoolhouse or visiting with neighbours. Ann understandably finds it tough since her husband John does not enjoy being social therefore providing her with not much incentive to go out since she would be going alone. When her husband left her alone, Ann found it quite hard to bear the weight of loneliness. She told herself, “All farmers' wives have to stay alone. I mustn't give in this way. I mustn't brood.” (Ross 3). We can absolutely tell that she wishes she had some neighbours who lived closer in proximity and she occasionally wishes she were in a different position in society. Even when her husband is present at home in a sense Ann is still lonely since he does not provide her with the companionship she desires. So whether she is with John or left alone she always feels a sense of loneliness that then offsets resentment about marrying a John and continuing to live the life that John had previous to their marriage. The resentment would have impacted the success of her relationship with John since she had unsettling thoughts. From the start of the play to the end Willy is seen worrying about the lack of money he has to support his family. He was given the opportunity to go to Alaska with Ben, but he decided to stay back and start his career has a salesman, a profession that he thought would keep him afloat until the day he retired. In the play, Willy is seen lying to his wife Linda about his earnings after business trips, borrowing money from Charley and begging for a higher salary from
Howard in order to maintain a sense of dignity with his family. He does not want to admit to his family that his theory that if you are well liked than you will go far, failed him. When Ben arrived and told his story of the jungle and his success Willy saw this as his opportunity to impress his sons. Willy cries out, “No, Ben! Please tell about Dad. I want my boys to hear. I want them to know the kind of stock they spring from.” (Miller 48). Since Willy feels he has disappointed his sons, he wants to let them know they have a shot at becoming successful since someone else in the family did. The resentment Willy bears pertaining to the fact that he feels he made the wrong decision for his working career, pains him because all he wants is for his sons to look up to him. Since he is unable to earn much money in his current stage in life he feels he is worth nothing to his family. Both authors clearly felt that illustrating how one's’ life could become obscure if they bear resentment from the past was important. They wanted to convey that the more anger and resentment towards the past, the less capable you are to living in the present. Navigating through life blinded by resentment is something that causes hardships in relationships and detracts from the sense of contentment with your life.
“I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.
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.
Porter, Thomas E. “Willy Loman and the American Dream.” Readings on Death of a Salesman. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999.
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman exploits the notion of the American Dream and the promises made by the American Government towards its citizens. Throughout the play, Miller makes references to dreams that each character carries but the failure in the fulfilment of the same. He recaptures the disappointments and disillusionments that the American nation suffers from for the American Dream is as well as death. Miller was the first playwright of his time who sheds light on this fact that the dream that every American carries a torch for is dead and gone.
A white picket fence surrounds the tangible icons of the American Dreams in the middle 1900's: a mortgage, an automobile, a kitchen appliance paid for on the monthly - installment - plan, and a silver trophy representative of high school football triumph. A pathetic tale examining the consequences of man's harmartias, Arthur Miller's "Death of A Salesman" satisfies many, but not all, of the essential elements of a tragedy. Reality peels away the thin layers of Willy Loman's American Dream; a dream built on a lifetime of poor choices and false values.
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller highlights the result of an unfulfilling life through Willy Loman’s pursuit of an unrealistic American Dream and the effects it creates on himself as well as his family. This story has many strong examples which prove the psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud and his concept of the human
Arthur Miller's, "Death of a Salesman," shows the development and structure that leads up to the suicide of a tragic hero, Willy Loman. The author describes how an American dreamer can lose his self-worth by many negative situations that occur throughout his life. The structure and complications are essential because it describes how a man can lose his way when depression takes over.
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a story about the dark side of the "American Dream". Willy Loman's obsession with the dream directly causes his failure in life, which, in turn, leads to his eventual suicide. The pursuit of the dream also destroys the lives of Willy's family, as well. Through the Lomans, Arthur Miller attempts to create a typical American family of the time, and, in doing so, the reader can relate to the crises that the family is faced with and realize that everyone has problems.
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.
One major theme in Death of a Salesman is the pursuit of the American dream. Playwright Arthur Miller details main character Willy Loman’s misguided quest of this dream. Death of a Salesman was written in postwar America, when the idea of the American Dream was a way of life. The United States was flourishing economically, and the idea of wealth was the base of the American Dream. Capitalism was alive and well, and by living in a capitalist society, everyone in America was supposed to have a chance to become rich and successful. Miller makes the reader realize this dream is a falsehood, because it doesn’t always work for everyone as planned. In the play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is a prime example of someone trying desperately, yet unsuccessfully, to pursue the false hope of the American Dream, directly resulting from capitalism’s effects.
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.
The pursuit of the American Dream has been a long sought ambitions of many. Generally speaking the American Dream is the ability to become prosperous, successful and to be financially free. In “The Death of a Salesmen” by Arthur Miller Willy Lomans’ character has his own perception of the American Dreams. Likewise, “The Death of the Salesman” challenges Willy’s perception of the American Dream. Throughout the play the dialogue and actions of the Willy character illustrate desperate pursuit of the American Dream.
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is a demonstration of the affliction with which America has been stricken. It is an affliction of false idealism, but also a birthing of the consumer. It is this consumer society which is the affliction, and the characters of this drama are unable to cure themselves of it. Willy Loman is the manifestation of the consumerism which is destroying society. He is the corporeal manifestation of this myth, and the American dream is the myth itself. This myth can be broken down into several parts itself. First is the belief that situations, commodities, etc. improve with time, which is a technological misconception. Second is the understanding that hard work is necessary to bring about this sort of improvement. And third, the coming together of these amounts to the belief that commodities brought about by hard work will help in the betterment of our lives, and that this never ending accumulation of wealth will generate a truly happy life.
Prosperity, job security, hard work and family union are some of the concepts that involves the American Dream, generally speaking. Some people think this dream is something automatically granted; or in contrast, as in the story “Death of a Salesman” written by Arthur Miller, as something that has to be achieved in order to be successful in life. The play takes issues with those in America who place to much stress on material gain, instead of more admirable values. American society is exemplified with Miller’s work and demonstrates how a dream could turn into a nightmare. Arthur Miller’s, “Death of a Salesman”, is a play that portrays the author’s life and the psychological problems that brings the collapse of the American Dream for this in a lower-middle family in an economical depression.
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.