According to The Oxford Dictionary of the English language success is defined as “The accomplish of an aim or purpose.” But, depending on who you ask, success can be defined differently for every person. Fortune, wealthy, and popularity may label someone as successful in some people’s eyes, but others might consider successful as being happy, proud, and content. Colin R. Davis, a British conductor, once said “The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.” What he means by this is, in order to be successful you must fail at first, learn from it, then fix your mistakes and flourish. It may sound simple, but some people may become so obsessed with their image and the urge to become successful that they throw everything …show more content…
This play became extremely popular and is still to this day known as “the first American tragedy” as well as “a tragedy of the common man.” The play takes place at the Loman’s house and the many places Willy travels to for his work such as New York and Boston. The protagonist Willy Loman, is a salesman who is obsessed with being successful that it ultimately leads to his own suicide. Willy once says in Act I “Because the man that makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer” (Miller 33). He says this because him and his two sons, Biff and Happy, are talking about Bernard and Willy is asking whether he is liked or not. This shows that other people's opinions about someone are important to Willy. He cares about his reputation and what others think of him, along with his two kids. He believes that if other people think you, you can get advantages or special treatment that unliked people do not get. In Act II Linda Loman, Willy’s wife, says “You’re doing well enough, Willy!...Enough to be happy right here, right now….Why must everybody conquer the world? You’re well liked, and the boys love you,...” (Miller 85). Linda is explaining to Willy how he should focus on his family along with everything he has going for him instead of trying to become the perfect salesman and living his life through his kids. He has his own family where they will love him no matter what yet his family is one of the last of his
“…I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being…” in this dialogue Linda wanted Biff to understand how Willy is a human being even though he is not the finest man in the world, but because of him they have a house to live in and money to buy food.
This false confidence from Willy may temporarily give him and his wife a positive mood, but it does not do him any good in the long run. He uses this false confidence to make his wife happy, and to put away her worries. Willy almost sounds like Lennie from Of Mice and Men, which further emphasizes how detached he is. He is also tricking himself into thinking that he is doing well, which has a negative effect. Happy also exhibits this false confidence in Act One, when talking with Willy.
Many dilemmas throughout the recent decades are repercussions of an individual's foibles. Arthur Miller represents this problem in society within the actions of Willy Loman in his modern play Death of a Salesman. In this controversial play, Willy is a despicable hero who imposes his false value system upon his family and himself because of his own rueful nature, which is akin to an everyman. This personality was described by Arthur Miller himself who "Believe[s] that the common man is as apt a subject for a tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (Tragedy 1).
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
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...
The failure of both Willy Loman and Troy Maxson to achieve their version of the American dream destroy their families. Willy is devastated he can’t gain riches on the basis of being liked. Throughout the play, he tries to define his worth by the importance of being liked. He is obsessed with this so much that he can’t
Linda is an enabler of Willy’s delusional life. Even though Linda knew that Willy would never succeed as a traveling salesman, she neglected to stop him from digging such a deep hole that he would not be able to climb out of it which ultimately lead to Willy’s death. Linda did this to keep the family intact, which worked for a long time, but it clearly was not a permanent solution to the family’s problems. Linda’s full dedication to keeping the family happy caused her to slightly fall into the allusion herself, but ultimately, she knows that the family has serious
People all have their faults--it’s just human. And for humans, it’s hard not to get caught up in all the false dreams and fantasies of fame and success that come with everyday life. These illusions create a promising falsado on what is actually there, and one must not get too lost in their own world, otherwise the result can become too overwhelming to bare. It is best to just face reality, no matter how difficult it may seem. Success doesn’t define a person; It doesn’t just come by the snap of the fingers.
Willy’s desire to be popular makes who he actually wants himself to be unclear. Because of his actions depending on his wish for fame, he looks to other people to create his own self-image. His insecure idea of the man he wishes to be causes him to fail to stand as a good husband and a father. People in 1940’s society felt that financial success was an obligation alongside good parenthood and a relationship with the spouse. Willy does not represent a good father due to his lack of attention for Happy and his failure to discipline Biff.
The main character of the play is Willy Loman, and he is a heavy contributor to many of the constant themes. Willy is a very arrogant man who wants to be the typical, happy American family. Willy believes in his own personal American Dream, which consists of if you are appealing to the eye and charming, then you will be given whatever the heart’s
Being a salesman, Willy believes that being well-liked is essential in his line of work, and would therefore lead to more sales which in turn leads to more money, thus fulfilling his
Centered around the main character, Willy Loman, the play, “Death of a Salesman” written by Arthur Miller in 1949, tells a story of an aging travelling salesman who has pursued the American dream only to find that he has fallen short. Therefore, the question is, why had Willy failed in his pursuit? Playwright Arthur Miller, very carefully reveals this through his use of flashbacks and dialogue in the play. In fact, the reader can glean from the play that Willy Loman, though he had been a salesman for most of his life, wasn’t very good at his job. Furthermore, Willy was a narcissistic, self-promoting liar who appeared to suffer from insecurity and bouts of depression.
Time and again, he wants to make sure his boys are well liked and popular. If this is true, then Willy believes that his sons will be hard workers, admired and therefore successful. He is not able to see that his sons are not succeeding because he only focuses on their popularity. “It is Willy’s fault the way Biff feels, And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! Thats whose fault it is!”
This points to his dive to be known or to be famous. Willy thinks he is better at his job than he really is. When he realizes his son doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps, Willy becomes driven by his own “Willyness”. He starts talking to himself and slips into the past from time to time He also has an affair with another woman and becomes
Willy is a multi-faceted character which Miller has portrayed a deep problem with sociological and psychological causes and done so with disturbing reality. In another time or another place Willy might have been successful and kept his Sanity, but as he grew up, society's values changed and he was left out in the cold. His foolish pride, bad judgment and his disloyalty are also at fault for his tragic end and the fact that he did not die the death of a salesman.