Delusion and Despair: Analyzing 'Death of a Salesman'

1097 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Role of Willy Loman in death of a salesman

Death of a Salesman Essay Analysis The play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller is a powerful drama tragedy that focuses on Willy Loman, the hero of the play, is a delusional, ambitious, old salesman that can not do his job anymore due to old age. The play’s actions takes place mostly after the time of World War II when many Americans were finding jobs to be successful. During this time many Americans believed in the American Dream, thinking that their hard work will be paid off. Willy Loman was one of these Americans as he his blinded from the truth. However this delusion causes a misconception of how life is and how it is truly not a dream, causing Willy conflicts and the loss of hope. This play’s theme envelops the idea of the American Dream …show more content…

As the tragic hero, Willy Loman has the error in judgment as he believes in the American Dream and the success it comes with if you do. Willy goes on to share this belief with his children but they do not buy it and as a result of this, it pushes Willy to kill himself. Also If it were not for Miller’s new concept of a tragedy in a common man then there would be no hero in this play. These elements that are associated with a hero, along with the theme of the delusions that the American Dream can create for people, Willy Loman is the character to accept the role tragic hero in the story. In conclusion “Death of a Salesman” is a powerful drama as it questions the fundamentals of American values. The main character was truly the tragic hero because of his error in judgment, along with the elements of external forces, are what caused his downfall. Willy Loman’s error was his belief on the American Dream and this play explores on the theme of believing too much into faith. It teaches the readers to not believe in anything without putting in the same amount of effort into working hard in order to reach

Show More
Related

  • Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

    2006 Words  | 5 Pages

    Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman was written after the second World War while the American economy was booming. Society was becoming very materialistic, and the idea that anyone could “make it” in America was popular. These societal beliefs play a large part in Death of a Salesman, a play in which the main character, Willy Loman, spends a lifetime chasing after the American Dream.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Symbolism In 'Death Of A Salesman'

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many times authors use symbolism to get their point across, and to further the readers understanding of the plot in many different lights so as to increase the intelligence of the reader. Symbolism is a major part of any story, however, whether or not this symbolism is a material object or actual phrase, dialogue, or anything else, does not matter, because every story has some sort of symbolism that increases the value of the play or story. Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman,” is one of Miller’s many works that holds much symbolism and power. Miller writes often to challenge the popular beliefs of a certain time. In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller was referencing

    Read More

  • Death of a Salesman

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The American dream is, in part, responsible for a great deal of crime and violence because people feel that the country owes them not only a living but a good living.” Said David Abrahansen. This is true and appropriate in the case of Willy Loman, and his son Biff Loman. Both are eager to obtain their American dream, even though both have completely different views of what that dream should be. The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller shows the typical lives of typical Americans in the 1940’s. Miller’s choice of a salesman to be the main character in this play was not a coincidence, since it represents the typical middle-class working American, some of which have no technical skills what so ever. Miller’s play gives us insides on the daily lives of many Americans, this through the eyes of Willy and Biff Loman, he also shows what kind of personalities, what dreams they have, and their different points of view of what the American dream means.

    Read More

  • The American Dream in Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby

    1253 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ur promises of this country began to wither, and the nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable. The next generations must lower their sights, we know that it is mankind’s nature to have selfish and foolish characters, but we have got to act now. The way Arthur Miller depicts the Loman’s truly criticizes the fact that wealth and success are not the most significant attributes in real life. Death of a Salesman is a red light, it is another example of how America adopts one million ideas and dreams for success. Everyone wants to become the President of America, but when Willy fails to achieve his dreams, he becomes frustrated. His suicide is a caution for such modern values. Miller tried to show the failure of the American Dream while telling us that man is not a machine, he has emotions too. Willy gave his life in order to try and justify the waste of it….”

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: Death of a Salesman

    1706 Words  | 4 Pages

    "After all the highways, and the trains, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive," (Miller, 98). This quote was spoken by the main character of the Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman: Willy Loman. This tragedy takes place in Connecticut during the late 1940s. It is the story of a salesman, Willy Loman, and his family’s struggles with the American Dream, betrayal, and abandonment. Willy Loman is a failing salesman recently demoted to commission and unable to pay his bills. He is married to a woman by the name of Linda and has two sons, Biff and Happy. Throughout this play Willy is plagued incessantly with his and his son’s inability to succeed in life. Willy believes that any “well-liked” and “personally attractive man” should be able to rise to the top of the business world. However, despite his strong attempts at raising perfect sons and being the perfect salesman, his attempts were futile. Willy’s only consistent supporter has been his wife Linda. Although Willy continually treats her unfairly and does not pay attention to her, she displays an unceasing almost obsessive loyalty towards her husband: Even when that loyalty was not returned. This family’s discord is centered on the broken relationship between Biff and Willy. This rift began after Biff failed math class senior year and found his father cheating on Linda. This confrontation marks the start of Biff’s “failures” in Willy’s eyes and Biff’s estrangement of Willy’s lofty goals for him. This estrangement is just one of many abandonments Willy suffered throughout his tragic life. These abandonments only made Willy cling faster to his desire to mold his family into the American Dream. They began with the departure of his father leaving him and...

    Read More

  • Willy's Misconception of Himself in “Death of a Salesman”

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play, “Death of a Salesman” written by Arthur Miller, presents Willy Loman, as a salesman, who fails to earn a living and slowly loses his mind. Willy continuously seeks the past to find out where he went wrong. During his years in life, Willy wanted his two sons, Biff and Happy to become someone they’re not; Willy wanted them to become a salesman like him. However, because of his obsession in the American Dream of easy success and wealth, he created a life full of lies for himself and his sons. In the end because of “his misconception of himself as someone capable of greatness” leads to his downfall and the end of his life (Death of a Salesman).”

    Read More

  • Death of a Salesman: The Flaws and Failures of Willy Loman

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Vulnerability of the American Dream in The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, is a play that illustrated the realistic life of being an American and the vulnerability of an American Dream. It is a play that blended realism and expressionism in order to demonstrate the struggles and failures of Willy Loman. It showed Willy’s illusion of an American Dream, and the harsh reality shattering his dream into pieces. The play displayed Willy’s dreamlike inner world and the cruel realities of the external world. However, it is the interactions of realism and expressionism that makes the life of Willy evermore impacting. The blending of the reality and the inner feelings of Willy illustrates the true struggles of an American during the eighteenth century-- the feebleness to accomplish their dreams under the trenchant reality.

    Read More

  • Willy Lowman’s Tragic Misinterpretation of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman Willy Character Analysis

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play, The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller,Willy Loman, an unsuccessful business man struggling to support his family is completely out of touch with reality throughout the plot line. Many characters throughout this play and their interactions with Willy have showed the audience his true colors and what he thinks is important in life. His constant lying and overwhelming ego certainly does not portray his life in factual terms, but rather in the false reality that he has convinced himself he lives in.

    Read More

  • The Collapse of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller,

    2029 Words  | 5 Pages

    The reader can see how Arthur Miller was inspired to write this play because of his family background using a biographical approach. Miller’s father “was a prosperous businessman until the Crash of 1929, after the family suffered through the Depression” (Rollyson) which had a significant influence on his life and works. As we see in the play, Willy Loman in a sense has two different realities. There is a Willy Loman -- “the financially burdened and emotionally exhausted main character (Thompson) -- is broken, an exhausted man in his sixties, near the end of his life. And there is the more confident, vigorous Willy Loman of some fifteen years before, who appears in flashbacks in the story. If we make a parallel between the story and the author’s life, these two realities are the before and after of the great depression that Miller’s father suffered through when Miller was a child. His life served as the inspiration to create the characters of the story: “Miller drove trucks, unloaded cargoes, waited on tables, and worked as a clerk in a warehouse.” (Rollyson)

    Read More

  • Failures in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    This play is based the mid 20th century when success was achieved through hardwork and industry and wit and charm would not earn you a living and this is the main reason Willy Loman failed in life. The play is one of the great tragedies and is a very depressing experience for the audience. No matter how much Willy deserved to fail because of his poor value and morality we cannot but feel sorry for this confused man.

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman Analysis

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Expressionism In Death Of A Salesman

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    The language, or diction, is closest to natural conversation. However, Miller also incorporates Expressionism throughout the play, as he presents the inner psychological reality of his character, a subjective vision of the world. Miller was interested in Expressionism but didn’t want to abandon the conventions of realism. So instead, he used a dramatic form that combined the subjectivity of expressionism with the illusion of objectivity afforded by realism (Wilson). This ultimately provides a far more accurate weighing of American values: “The blurred line between realism and expressionism is not the weakness some critics have claimed, but on the contrary, one of the play’s most subtle successes” (Parker). Death of a Salesman is also, in many ways, a tragedy. In fact, Arthur Miller created a tragedy of the common man. Willy Loman is an ordinary, misguided man setting out to accomplish something that he believes to be the right thing, similar to many of us. Miller demonstrates that the problems your “everyday” person faces are of equal worth, significance, and importance; we cannot diminish these “ordinary” problems. Ultimately, by using a realistic and expressionistic approach to this tragedy, Miller tackles social questions of the effect the capitalistic American Dream myth has on an ordinary American like Loman (Porter). Willy Loman has to fight to attain his dreams of success, a fight that is easily relatable to his audience. And, in doing so, Miller also raises questions regarding universal human controversies about the nature of happiness and

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman Essay Questions

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    Death of a Salesman, a play written by Arthur Miller, critiques America’s capitalist economic system, which is based on the private ownership of the means of production, and their operation for profit, all driven by the delusion of the “American Dream,” and the effects it has upon society. Audience may observe, Death of a Salesman through the conflicts within an American middle class family, and the social reality that entails. The American Dream can be defined as “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative,” in which Miller uses this play to clarify and challenge the definition of the “American Dream”, using the character Willy Loman.

    Read More

More about Delusion and Despair: Analyzing 'Death of a Salesman'

Open Document