In act one of Death of a Salesman, Miller introduces the unique family dynamic that the Loman family has and is keen to show the reason for the family’s current situation. Miller displays the tension not only between Willy and Linda, as Linda struggles to cope with Willy’s ‘mercurial nature’ as well as showcasing the turbulent relationship between Willy and Biff and the disappointment shown by Willy as Biff has been ‘unsuccessful’ in his work because he hasn’t fulfilled the American dream regardless of the fact that Biff is happy on the farm. Miller also shows how Happy is somewhat disconnected from the family and whilst Happy shows the most concern for Willy, Biff is the son that receives the most attention. As well as showing the relationships …show more content…
Work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there’s no one to live in it’. In this extract, Miller clearly emphasizes that Willy has proved for his family for his entire life and is unhappy and potentially bitter about the fact that he’s provided for his sons and they don’t show any gratitude or respect for Willy. Miller also makes it clear that Willy is unhappy with this situation with the phrase’ You finally own it’, by using the modal adverb ‘finally’ further suggest an extended period time and allows the audience to feel sympathy for Willy because Willy has spent a long time working towards something and when he has finally achieved what he wanted to, it is too late, however this also shows Willy’s admirable and determined character. Within this extract Miller may be hinting to the audience that the idea of the American dream is unrealistic because Willy has worked hard all of his life and he is now only able to pay for his house when it is too late for his children to enjoy and therefore suggests that Willy deserves our sympathy because he has worked the entirety of his life in a job he doesn’t enjoy to provide for his …show more content…
In revealing this information Miller may be trying to reinforce the idea the strain and despair Willy is feeling ‘his exhaustion is apparent’ in his life and the struggles that the fixation on the American dream have brought. Miller has clearly shown the audience that Willy’s intense loyalty to the American dream has effectively personified the idea itself and the significant and ever present hold it has on him is similar to that of a shadow - in that he is unable and unwilling to remove himself from the idea - as he believes it is a concrete part of him and he is unable to let go. Therefore Miller is fundamentally reminding the audience of the catastrophic consequences that come from the devotion of the American dream, and the despair that follows when the dream is unable to fulfil expectation and desire. This allows the audience to feel sorry for Willy and subsequently reveals his tragic flaw. Additionally, Miller may also be trying to reflect Willy as being admirable because whilst he is trying to commit suicide, he tries to hide this from Linda. Miller shows the audience that Linda found the pipe ‘And behind the fuse box it happened to fall out’, and Miller may be trying to suggest to the audience that Willy is doing an admirable thing because he is unwilling to ‘burden’ Linda and the boys with his problems because fundamentally he is trying
In Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, a major theme and source of conflict is the Loman family's lack of morality. This is particularly evident in the father, Willy Loman. Willy has created a world of questionable morality for himself and his family. In this world, he and his sons are men of greatness that "have what it takes" to make it in the competitive world of business. In reality, Willy’s son Biff is a drifter and a thief, his son Hap is continually seducing women with lies, while Willy does not treat his wife with respect and lies to everyone.
After seeing both his father and brother find success, Willy attempts to prove himself to his family by chasing after his own version of the American dream. Willy grows up in the “wild prosperity of the 1920’s” when rags-to-riches tales inspire everybody, making them believe that “achieving material success [is] God’s intention for humankind (Abbotson, Criticism by Bloom). Willy’s father, a “very great” and “wildhearted man,” made a living traveling and selling flutes, making “more in a week than a man like [Willy] could make in a lifetime” (Miller 34). Even though Willy barely knew his dad, he built him u...
... American Dream that was sold in society at the time after World War II can overshadow the actual meaning in real life. The “American Dream” is, in the end, defined as a comfortable living in a happy house. Instead, the materialistic society back then attempted to sell it in terms of appliances and products that were not needed, and unaffordable. They marketed it to the middle-class by attracting them to the aspect of credit, buying it with money that they don’t have. As Willy’s neighbor claimed at his funeral, Willy was merely a victim of his profession, leaving him with an unhealthy obsession with an image that was unrealistic, especially for them. This dissatisfaction with his life, and his misinterpretation of the “American Dream”, led to his downfall as a tragic hero, and a death that went in vain, as his son failed to follow the plan he had laid out for him.
Miller’s use of personification and symbolism in the book shows the situational irony that surrounds Willy. This highlights the overall message of blind faith towards the American Dream. The major case of irony in the book is Willy’s blind faith in the American Dream. This belief is that if one is well-liked, they will become successful. The truth is actually completely opposite. The real belief is that if one works hard, with no regard to how well liked they are, they will be successful. This relationship is shown between Willy and his neighbor Charley. While Willy believes likability is the only way to success, Charley works hard and does not care how people think of him. Through his hard work, Charley started his own business, and is now very successful. Willy, however, ends up getti...
All in all, when comparing Willy and Charley side by side, we can clearly see that these two characters have chosen different decisions that have set them down a path that leads to their dream of having the American Dream or the road to suicide. Towards the end of the play, Willy plays his last card and commits suicide, this could symbolize that he was indeed childlike and not ready for the real world. He only had one goal of obtaining the American Dream, which does not come easy. I believe that Author Miller is trying to show us that hard work and dedication alone is not enough to get what we strive for in life.
Thesis. In the play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller proves he is America’s social critic when he criticizes Willy’s relationship with his family, his lack of success in achieving his goals and dreams along with his inner turmoil and personal collapse which result in suicide. At the onset of the play, Willy told Linda that she “worked a lifetime to pay for a house. You finally own it, and there is nobody to live in it” (Cohn 56). This quote shows how Willy strives his whole life to make a home for his family and by the time he sees the realization of that one dream, his family has drifted apart and he is alone with his haunting thoughts and his ghosts.
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
When their two dreams collide, it becomes frustrating to Willy because he believes that his way is the right way. If a father becomes too involved in his son’s life, Miller believes friction will be the resultant factor. As unfortunate as it is, there are many instances where a father favors one son over another, which leads to social conflicts within the less-favored son. In most cases it is the oldest son that is being favored while the younger son is ignored. Usually the father doesn’t even realize what is happening. He simply gets too caught up in the successes of his eldest son and he may even try to live out his life through his son’s experiences.
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).”
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.
An American dream is a dream that can only be achieved by passion and hard work towards your goals. People are chasing their dreams of better future for themselves and their children. The author Arthur Miller in Death of a Salesman has displayed a struggle of a common man to achieve the American dream. Willy Loman the protagonist of the play has spent his whole life in chasing the American dream. He was a successful salesman who has got old and unable to travel for his work, and no one at work gives him importance anymore. He is unhappy with his sons Happy and Biff because both of them are not successful in their lives. Moreover, Biff and Happy are also not happy with their father Willy because they don’t want to live a life that Willy wants them to live. The heated discussions of Willy and his older son Biff affect the family and the family starts to fall apart. However, Willy is unable to achieve the American dream and does not want to face the reality that his decisions for himself and his family have lead him to be a failure in the society. In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the protagonist Willy Loman spends his whole life to achieve the American Dream by his own perception and denies facing the reality, just like nowadays people are selling themselves and attempting to find success in life.
Willy's Tragic Flaw and the Effect it Has Upon his Sons in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman focuses on the American Dream, or at least Willie Loman’s version of it. *Willie is a salesman who is down on his luck. He "bought into" the belief in the American Dream, and much of the hardship in his life was a result. *Many people believe in the American Dream and its role in shaping people’s success. Willy could have been successful, but something went wrong. He raised his sons to believe in the American Dream, and neither of them turned out to be successful either.
...y he is so obsessed with trying to attain it. He is the product of his own illusions and of a society that believe that with hard work everything is possible. The reader can understand that Willy’s skewed perspective of the “American Dream” is due to his distortion of his life and the dream that he thinks he lives in everyday.
Willy’s failures and lies have been a result in his constant faith and will to achieve his dreams, the dreams which society has implanted within him. His flaws have come from society, but also himself, and Miller has used this to create the conflict and tragedy in the play. It is then that writer then makes the impact of Willy’s failures greater, incorporating his death into the play, crushing his dreams and the dreams of the characters around him, creating his tragedy.