Willy Loman's Depression in Death of a Salesman  


Arthur Miller's, "Death of a Salesman," shows the development and structure that leads up to the suicide of a tragic hero, Willy Loman. The author describes how an American dreamer can lose his self-worth by many negative situations that occur throughout his life. The structure and complications are essential because it describes how a man can lose his way when depression takes over.

The first comlication which occurs in Act I, is when the reader acknowledges that Willy put his whole life into his sons, Biff and Happy, and they turned their backs on him. Willy always believed that biff would be this great, successful businessman and it turned out that Biff is still searching to find himself, which disappoints Willy in the worst way. The conflicts between Willy and Biff are rooted very deep. It all started when Biff was younger and he had failed his math class. He traveled to Boston to visit Willy, who was on a business trip. He had told that he had let Willy down and comes to find out that Willy is with another woman. Biff leaves and never takes that math class over. Willy felt guilty about this and believes that deep inside that he is responsible for Biff's choices in life and his failure to be successful. This conflict makes Willy weak and tremendously guilty, which stays with him as a reminder.

The second complication that destroys Willy is his aging. By getting older he can't do the things he used to do. His aging affects his work because he is not the salesman he once was. He is not making enough money to support his wife, Linda, and himself. Being 60, Willy is getting too old for the traveling he does for his work. Willy asks his boss, Howard, for a raise and Howard fires him. Willy is really worn out and Howard knows this. This situation in end destroys Willy's pride and he could never ask his sons for money.

The last complication at the end of Act II, is the conflict between Willy and Biff. Biff finally wants to get everything straight and clear with his father. Biff shows Willy the rubber tube that Willy wants to kill himself with. An arguement errupts from this and Biff tries to explain that he was never what Willy wanted him to be. Willy realizes that Biff loves him, even if he isn't the best person. This last situation has totally broken Willy down to a very tired man and he believes that his life is totally finished.

The play concludes in a tragic end when Willy leaves the house and crashes his car to end his life. With all the failing attempts, this time it had been successful. The structure of complications lead to the destruction of an American dreamer and the dreams of his sons. Willy wanted a dream that seemed materialistic and unimportant compared to the cost of his own life.

Teacher’s Comments

I think you are right on when it comes to Willy's depression. He just seems to wallow in self-pity the whole play, never forgiving himself for the things that have gone wrong in his life. I want to shake him and say, "get over it!" His depression not only affects him, but his entire family.

In the first paragraph, at first, I felt that the depression would have been the subject that would be developed based on how you worded it in the sentence; I was not exactly clear as to what your thesis statement was. Also, I noticed that your tenses were not consistent (i.e. He was this....He is this).

All you need for a very strong paper is to find some quotes to support your interpretation.