Everybody believes in a manipulative lie where in heroes are judged to possess no flaws, but deep within, heroes are humans too. Dr. Wheeler, a literary critic from Carson-Newman University, analyzed that tragedies enlightens those individuals involved to be more vigilant of the consequences of their actions and to act upon these mistakes before it becomes too late. Specifically, Willy Loman is a devoted father that was eager to achieve the idealistic American Dream. He fantasized that his failed ambition, accompanied by tragedies, would be endured and accomplished by his two sons, Biff and Happy. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is portrayed as a tragic hero through examples of his fate affecting the welfare of a number of people and his …show more content…
downfall caused by excessive pride, proving that a perfect hero is nonexistent.
Even though Willy Loman has flaws both as a father and a husband, as an honorable man, he never abandoned nor neglected his responsibilities as the head provider of the Loman Family. Until one day, Willy frightfully confronts Bernard, one of Biff’s friends, regarding his concern with Biff’s future as he describes, “His life ended after that Ebbets field game. From the age of seventeen nothing good ever happened to him” (Miller 71). Subsequently, Arthur Miller provides a flashback that the discovery of Willy’s affair from Biff’s trip to Boston disheartened Biff to aspire his promising future that was commencing from the Ebbets field game. This confrontation signified that Willy’s infidelity not only affected his marriage, but above all, the lives of his sons, especially Biff. As Willy himself observed that, “nothing good ever happened to him” since then. The consequence of Willy’s adultery was destroying Biff’s perception of trust as he began to suspect Willy, the person he looks highly upon, exhaling fictitious lies. As C.S. Lewis emphasized, “Tragedy alone brings people out of their own petty desires and into awareness of other humans’ suffering” (Wheeler). That being the case, Biff developed …show more content…
distrust with Willy’s words as he empathize with Linda’s forsaken marriage. In addition, Willy’s sour fate of losing his job brought an additional tragedy to the Loman household. Also, Willy’s excessive pride to accept the job offered by his friend Charley exhibits his egotistic temperament. Eventually, this culminated his downfall as salesman and as a reliable provider of his househould. This adversity obliged their family to dwell on scanty economic situation where in Linda could not even afford to buy a new pair of stockings. Thus, this misfortune enlightened Willy that his actions greatly affects the well-being of the people he cherishes. Hence, Willy’s faults of committing adultery and incompetence to provide adequate income to his family awakened Willy to reconstruct his life and stabilize the lifestyle of his family. Despite Willy’s contemplative observation of how the tragedies he induced produced consecutive misfortunes to his family, it took him time to realize that his personality and philosophy has caused this fate.
Furthermore, during Willy’s funeral, Biff graciously addresses to Charley, “There’s more of him in that front stoop than all the sales he ever made” (Miller 110) and Linda interrupting, “He was so wonderful with his hands” (Miller 110). From these comments, it shows both Biff and Linda’s expression of their appreciation of Willy’s sincerity and adherence to their family. Considering Willy’s death was a suicide encouraged by his belief that his death will be for the sake of providing his suffering family a generous grant from his life insurance. Contrasting with Miller’s depiction of an arrogant and delusional Willy Loman, his genuine conscientious was committed in securing the welfare of his family. In addition, William D. Montapert elaborated, “There are no tragedies, just facts not recognized in time” (Wheeler). Despite Miller’s foreshadowing of Willy’s suicidal attempts from the past throughout the book, Willy’s logic for wishing to die was misrepresented and unexpected. Willy’s real rationale for dying proves that Willy himself is aware of the tragedies he previously created, that had produced his downfall and produced a ripple effect on his family. At first, one can ignorantly assume that his death is simply because of his mental state, however, it is generated by
his remorseful guilt. On the subject of Willy’s life, filled with tragedies, experiencing multiple downfalls due to his excessive pride. At one point his refusal to accept a job from Charley was not because he was haughty, but was caused by his uncertainty and envy. This ego was just his manner of disguising his insecurities. Willy struggled to accept the fact that achieving his American Dream was incomparable to the optimistic and leisure lifestyle this ambition was promised to be accompanied with. Namely, Willy was too late to realize that his flaws and faulty choices were tragedies not identified in time that caused him to resort to a terminal and spontaneous solution of ending his own life. Thus, he exemplifies an honorable death embodied by his eccentric portrayal of sacrificial love. Arthur Miller, the author of the novel, Death of a Salesman, establishes Willy Loman’s downfall caused by his excessive arrogance to influence and alter the lives of his family to prove that Willy is a tragic hero that also possesses flaws. William Loman is a tragic hero that bear the conceited yet regretful fatherly role exhibiting an arduous responsibility of upholding the foundation of his family. Despite his flaws mainly induced by the delusional lies and false expectations Willy developed in his head, he is a hero that cherishes and devotes his family as his fundamental priority. Granted this, a hero is not solely based on his accomplishments. A hero is spawned by his flaws, downfalls, and mistakes. The strength to reconstruct oneself is the dignifying determinant that appoints an individual as a hero. Therefore, this proves that Willy Loman, as a father, a husband, and as a man is a hero capable of rising from his own downfall.
In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the conflicts that formulate between Biff and Willy Loman build up to the death of Willy. Biff’s delusional perception of being liked in the world leads to a successful life which was an idea brought onto him by his father, Biff’s discovery of his father's affair, and Biff’s lack of business success all accumulate to the heavy conflicting relationship between Biff and his father, Willy. These contribute immensely to the idea that personal dreams and desire to reach success in life can negatively impact life with personal relationships, which causes people to lose sight of what is important. This ultimately leads to the Willy committing suicide from the build up of problems with his son.
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).
Miller’s Death of a Salesman is the tragic account of the demise of a meager salesman, Willy Loman. Willy is passively nearing the end of his career and life. His two sons, Biff and Happy show little remorse or pity for Willy, despite his obvious senility. When Biff borrows a football from his coach to practice passing, Willy encourages him: “Coach’ll probably congratulate you on your initiative!” (Miller 30). Willy erroneously praises Biff, not realizing that such affirmation could deceive Biff. Later, as Biff awaits an appointment with a prominent businessman, he feels compelled to steal his fountain pen, “I don’t know, I just—wanted to take something”(Miller 104). Such incidents set a precedent for Biff, eventually leading to his lackluster professional status. Willy once again deludes Biff as he mistakenly deters him from his studies. When Bernard reminds Biff, that in order for Biff to graduate, he must study his math, Willy initially agrees and encourages Biff to study: “You better study with him, Biff. Go ahead now”(Miller 32). When Biff confidently shows Willy his sneakers, on which he printe...
One problem Willy has is that he does not take responsibility for his actions; this problem only gets worse because of his lies. Biff looks up to Willy, so when he finds out that Willy has an affair in Boston, Biff is petrified. Biff realizes his hero, dad, the one he wants to impress, is a phony and a liar. Willy destroys Biff's dream of playing football by saying he does not have to study for the math regents, he also Willy telling Bernard to give Biff the answers. When Biff fails the regents, he does not want to retake the test because he is so disgusted with his hero and does not want to succeed. Not only did Willy destroy Biff's dream, he also broke his vows and refused to admit it. Biff is a failure, in Willy's eye, in most part due to Willy and what happened in Boston. Willy refuses to take responsibility for what he did, so he lies about Biff. Willy tells Bernard that Biff has been doing great things out west, but decided to come back home to work on a "big deal". Willy knows that Biff is a bum who has not amounted to anything, but he refuses to take responsibility for what happened in Boston, so he changes the story of Biff's success. Throughout Willy's life he continued to lie. It might have stopped if Linda did not act the way as she did. Linda is afraid to confront Willy, so she goes along with his outlandish lies.
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.
Similarly, in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman's lies and delusions lead to his downfall. Willy is a salesman who has been working for the same company for over thirty years. He has always believed that being well-liked is the key to success, and he has instilled this belief in his sons. However, Willy's life is falling apart, and he is unable to accept the reality of his situation.
Although the characters are not of noble birth nor possess a heroic nature nor experience a reversal of fortune, many of the elements in "Death of A Salesman" fulfill the criteria of a classic tragedy. The downfall and crisis points in the play are directly linked to the Loman family's combined harmartias, or personal flaws. The Loman's have unrealistic ideas regarding the meaning of success. To Willy, the foundation of success is not education or hard work, but rather "who you know and the smile on your face." Moreover, Willy ridicules the education Bernard has earned, declaring that his sons, Biff and Hap, will get further ahead in the business world because "the man who 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." Willy idolizes two men: his brother, Ben, who walked out of an African jungle a rich man, and an 84-year-old salesman who could "pick a phone in twenty or thirty cities and be remembered and loved, and finally honored by hundred of mourners at his funeral." To Linda, success is paying off a 25...
Willy Loman becomes incredibly involved in work-related matters, instead of the happiness surrounding his family life. He discourages Biff to take his own path, and instead, nearly forces him to become a salesman, in hopes that Biff will be more successful than he turned out to be. Willy tells Biff that his dreams will “cut down (his) life…!” Willy cannot simply hope for Biff and Happy to attain satisfaction in life, which is the element that Willy misses. He is so consumed by the idea of success that he had not once stopped to reflect on being a good father or loving his wife. Having an affair was one of his main problems-he could not put enough love into his family, so he put it anywhere else he could. He visited his mistress on business ventures, which is the only aspect of his life he truly appreciated. Therefore, his home life became full of lies, Biff saying that they “never told the truth for ten minutes.” Miller is, again, critiquing American households, since their typical values revolve more around money and presentation than a loving, kind, and caring home. Willy had a family who loved him, but he neglected to notice this, which lead to his unhappiness. Never placing any type of value of love and kindness can cause a person to become cold and bitter, which is exactly what Willy became. He may have avoided suicide if he had realized the love and care he could have been surrounded
Willy Loman is a man in his sixties who is married to Linda Loman, and they have two adult sons named, Biff and Happy. Willy is living the American dream by owning a house, and owning a car, where he can support his wife. Willy works as a traveling sales man in Boston for the Wagner Company for the last thirty-four years. After many uneventful events in his life Willy kills himself by running his car into a tree. The years of guilt that Willy’s lives through that he had ruined his son, Biff’s life, and his betrayal of his wife Linda, is what killed Willy.
Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman follows protagonist Willy Loman in his search to better his and his family’s lives. Throughout Willy Loman’s career, his mind starts to wear down, causing predicaments between his wife, two sons and close friends. Willy’s descent into insanity is slowly but surely is taking its toll on him, his job and his family. They cannot understand why the man they have trusted for support all these years is suddenly losing his mind. Along with his slope into insanity, Willy’s actions become more aggressive and odd as the play goes on. Despite Willy and Biff’s “family feud”, his two sons Happy and Biff truly worry about their father’s transformation, Happy saying: “He just wants you to make good, that’s all. I wanted to talk to you about dad for a long time, Biff. Something’s – happening to him. He – talks to himself” (Miller 21). Willy, as a father, cares about his children but he wishes they would do better. He believes Biff should have been an athlete. According to Harrington, “Even figuratively, Willy is haunted, and particularly in Biff’s failure to achieve success as a sports figure” (108). This haunting is part of what led to Willy’s slow plunge into madness. As Willy’s career in sales fails, he also fails, even failing his family. Heyen adds: “He didn’t have anything of real value to give to his family, or if he did, he didn’t know what it was” (48). His debilitating flashbacks and delusional hallucinations with Uncle Ben cement his horrifying realizations that he has let down his family. Willy Loman blames the economy for his downfall in his career. In one of his more extreme outbursts he exclaims, “There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining this country! Population is getting out of control. ...
Willy Loman’s character in Death of a Salesman portrays him as a tragic hero. Willy Loman continued to want recognition and his reputation, but never forgets about his family. These characteristics describe him as a tragic hero in Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman’s tragic flow leads him to pursue the idea that reputation in society has more relevance in life than knowledge and education to survive in the business. His grand error of wanting recognition drove him crazy and insane and led to his tragic death.
It is said that "Good stories are driven by conflict, tension and high stakes" (William Landay). For Willy, problems grow and conflicts increase, which shows a good story. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman is a flawed character, who has many conflicts to face, which accumulated throughout his lifetime. Consequently, Willy's internal and external conflicts ultimately lead to his own downfall, after being compiled and left unresolved. For instance, he deals with the aspiration of being somebody in the business society. Similarly, he acquired moral issues within his family. Lastly, Willy encounters various challenges with the way he is. Willy Loman led to his own demise through numerous conflicts with family, society and himself.
Willy, Linda, Biff and Happy are all characters that use self- deception as a way to mentally escape the terrible reality of their lives. As the play progresses, and ends Biff is truly the one and only character that becomes self- aware. At the end of the play Biff accepts the lies his family and him have been living in for years. Biff makes huge changes mentally at the end of the play, which cannot be said for the rest of the Loman family.
Willy's search to find his mistakes of his life failed because, even though he found out what happened to Biff, he did not search for the right thing: his identity. Willy found out that his affair made Biff envision his father as a fake and phony, but he did not realize that a salesman was not the right job for him. When Willy died, no one came to his funeral (Act II. Scene I). This just showed that Willy was not the man he thought he was. He thought he was a great salesman with an unlimited amount of friends, but, when he died, no one was at his funeral but his family (Act II. Scene I). It showed that Willy was just a simple craftsman, who only needed attention and love from his family, and did not need fame or to be well-known ("Arthur Miller and Others," 311-314)
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.