Theme Of Self Preservation In Death Of A Salesman

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One of the greatest impacts on an individual's life is their parents. The values of one’s parents are the first ideas that a person embraces, regardless of their moral soundness. One form of self-preservation is to live one’s life by lying to oneself and others in order to feel better about oneself. There is great difficulty in rejecting a lifestyle that a person has grown up in, in favor of a more morally correct way of living. Ultimately, there is great freedom, and great pain, in finally breaking free of one’s past. Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, proves that the lifestyle that a person grows up in is incredibly difficult to break free from. Often, people are afraid to change their life based on the animal instinct that change can bring about harsh - if not fatal - outcomes.
In the play, Willy Loman, the main character, brought up his sons with the mindset that if one says a lie enough times and to enough people, it will eventually become the truth. Obviously, this is not true, but for the Lomans, this became their way of life. They were so focused on being "well-liked" that they made up stories to appeal to different people. For instance, Happy Loman told the lady he met at the restaurant that his brother was a famous quarterback. Similarly, Willy convinced himself that he chose the name for Howard, his boss. Likewise, Biff spent fifteen years of his life believing he was a salesman at Bill Oliver's store, rather than a shipping clerk. All of the Loman men have lied to themselves about who they are to be "well-liked." Biff, specifically, was influenced by this upbringing, and he has lied to himself about his values, thus falling into the habit of stealing. Not only does he not know who he is, but he is also perhaps trying to scavenge bits of other people's identity by stealing physical things from them. In a way, all of the Loman men are thieves, stealing events, ideas, job titles, and credit from others to increase their self-worth.
Unfortunately, there can also be growing pains involved. By the end of the play, Biff Loman decides that he is through with his family's phoniness and lies. In his enlightenment, Biff openly renounces his father's way of life and his own upbringing, saying "We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house." Regrettably, Biff's self-awareness does not arrive without great pain. To completely renounce his own father's way of life would have been a heavy blow to their already weak relationship. In severing ties with his father, Biff has planted the final seed for Willy, who now feels no use to his son alive and thus attempts to provide for Biff one last time through his death. Biff's epiphany, though crucial for him to start living a fulfilling life, was also the catalyst for his father's death. Despite the growing pains, Biff is now free to seek out who he really is and what he really wants. No longer will he feel obligated to follow in his father's footsteps because he now knows that he is his own man. He has overcome the animal instinct that change is bad and that sticking to the path set out for him is the only way.

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