Willy Loman's Character

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Willy Loman's Character

Betrayed or Betrayer? Discuss theses two aspects of Willy Loman’s

character and comment on how they affect both Willy himself and the

other characters’ relationships with him.

Betrayed or Betrayer?

Discuss theses two aspects of Willy Loman’s character and comment on

how they affect both Willy himself and the other characters’

relationships with him.

Death of a Salesman’ is a play written by Arthur Miller and first

produced on stage in 1949. This play is Miller’s most famous work. The

play shows a conflict within one family but on a deeper level does

much more than that. This play deals with larger issues regarding

American national values. Miller examines the American peoples ideas

and beliefs. This play looks at the life of the Loman family in

particular Willy Loman who is the central character in this play.

Willy Loman is ‘past sixty years of age’, a husband, and father who is

exhausted and coming towards the end of his life. This play follows

his last 24 hours. In order to understand the conflicts leading up to

boiling point in the Loman household and the reason why Willy

eventually takes his own life, Miller uses ‘flashbacks’. Each

flashback somehow relates to the present. They also offer essential

background knowledge. The main relationship throughout the play is

Willy’s and his eldest son, Biff. Both characters believe that the

other has betrayed them; in fact, this is quite true. The theme of

betrayal runs throughout this play. The aim of this assignment is to

look at the different points of Willy Loman s character asking was he

betrayed or was Willy the betrayer. When analyzing this play it would

seem that Willy betrayed others because he had been betrayed.

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Death of a Salesman Auther Miller (First published) – 1949 York Notes (on)

Death of a Salesman Brain.W. Last (First published) –1980

Websites used:

http://www.geocities.com/soho/den/1151/miller/genre.htm

http://www.homework-online.com/doas/discussion.asp.com

http:www.sparknotes.com/lit/salesmanhomeworkonline.com/doas//ipbs.org/wnet/

americanmasters

Another person that represents the American dream is Dave Singleman.

Dave is the man who inspired Willy to become a salesman. Dave a

successful salesman was a man Willy had met many years before. He had

not only material wealth but popularity in society, something that

Willy craved ‘cause what could be more satisfying then be able to go,

at the age of eighty four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and

pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many

different people?’

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