The Presentation of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Willy Loman is presented as both a tragic hero and an unconscious
victim in "Death of a Salesman". "Death of a Salesman" is very much
based upon the American Dream, and whether we are slaves or conquerors
of this dream. This is an idea that the playwright Arthur Miller has
very passionately pursued both through Willy's own eyes, and through
his interaction with the different characters in the play.
Firstly, the definitions of a hero and a victim very much influence
the way that Willy is viewed by the audience. Miller has not used the
play to suggest that Willy Loman is an ordinary hero, but more a
tragic hero. A tragic hero, simply by definition means that the reader
already begins to see Willy in a more sympathetic light. A tragic hero
is somebody who cannot forget his past, and so is destroyed by the
consequences of his own actions.
In order to picture Willy as a victim, again one cannot think of a
regular victim, but of an ignorant victim. This would mean that Willy
was completely unaware of his role as a victim in the play. It would
also imply that Willy was not in control of his own fate.
From the beginning of "Death of a Salesman" we see Willy playing the
very victimised role of the conformer. Near the end of the first
scene, as he speaks to his sons in one of his flashbacks he says: "the
man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates
personal interest, is the man who gets ahead."
This sounds very much like a typical business ideal, and one cannot
help but feel at this stage that Willy is taking on ideas from other
people ...
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..., because he still
thinks that he can solve Biff's problems with money. On the other
hand, wrong answers do not, and should not disqualify a man from being
a tragic hero. If we see tragic heroes as being those ruled by lust,
ambition or jealousy, and fully respect these forces; why not neurotic
awareness? In some ways, don't we ourselves live by the rules of Willy
Loman - that "liked" is very different to "well-liked"? Every ordinary
person is a potential 'watered down' version of Willy. Arthur Miller
is neither blaming this solely on society, nor is he presenting a
pathetic creature who is the author of his own misfortunes.
Bibliography:
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 8th ed.Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford, 2008. 1908-1972. Print.
We are here today under unfortunate circumstances. My father, Willy Loman took his own life several days ago. We end up asking ourselves, why did you have to leave us? He was indeed an extremely stressed man between work, and family. Father had grown to be the age of 63. He was a hard working man and had accomplished many things in his life. I remember he always did everything he could for his family and we will forever be grateful. Unfortunately he could not see his accomplishments.
In the book Death of A Salesman, author Arthur Miller shows how cruel life can be through the life of Willy Loman, the main character. His feelings of guilt, failure, and sadness result in his demise.
have a nice talk with him. I’ll get him a job selling. He could be
Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy. "Death of a Salesman" Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed. New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 1212-1280. Print.
Miller, Arthur, and Gerald Clifford Weales. Death of a salesman. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Print.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 2128-2193. Print.
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.
Miller, Arthur. “Death of a Salesman”. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Dana Gioia and X.J. Kennedy.10th Ed. New York: Pearson, 2007.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999. 1636-1707.
Eisinger, Chester E. "Critical Readings: Focus on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: The Wrong Dreams." Critical Insights: Death of a Salesman (2010): 93-105.
Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." Compact Literature. Ed. Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 1262-331. Print.
Willy Loman did not die a martyr, Willy Loman is a complex character who confuses illusion with reality. In a way, Willy has two personalities in this play. The one we see in the present action is a tired man in his sixties. The other Willy is the one we see in flashbacks. He is young and confident. Linda and willys sons think other wise that he died in honor .
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.
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