In the beginning of the book “Death of a Salesman” You get introduced to Willy and Linda as a married couple who may or may not suffer from money issues. Willy comes in the house late while everybody was asleep and of course Linda wakes up and is very concerned when he comes home, the conversation went:
Linda: Willy
Willy: It’s alright. I came back.
Linda: Why? What Happened? Did something happen?
Willy: No. Nothing happened
Linda: You didn’t smash the car, did you?
Willy: I said nothing happened. Didn’t you hear me? I see Linda as a woman in an precarious situation. She knows that Willy is suicidal, irrational, and difficult to deal with; yet she goes along with Willy's fantasies in order to protect him from the
At Willy’s grave Linda, Biff and Happy all stood by and just watched over him. As Biff told happy that their father didn’t make anything of himself and he was a dumb and weak-minded man for a lot of the decisions he made in life. Biff remembers how hard he would stay of top of him. Willy wasn’t as hard on Happy as he was on Biff. So Biff had no bad blood between him and his father and he wanted to stay in town and become his father son and take care of his mother and just do right. He wanted to show everybody his father had a dream a great dream and he was going to live by that. As Biff and Happy leave their Linda their mother by herself to say her good byes she stated:
“Why did you do it? I search and search and I search, and can’t understand it, Willy. I made the last payment on the house today. Today dear. A there’ll be nobody home. We’re free and clear. We’re free (…) We’re free (…) We’re free (…)”
Linda repeats “we’re free” 3 times as if she wanted to tell herself that she was free, but is she really free? Without Willy and with boys fighting about who their father really was. Even Linda says that nobody will be home because to her with her husband her house in no longer a home. Personally don’t think Linda is a free woman, because I believe that she will trap herself inside of the house and won’t let go of the memories and the house because of Willy. Nor will she move on in
Found within the storyline, Willy implements features of a tragic hero as he shows the reversal of events in his life due to his own actions. Willy, through the downfall with his son, Biff, shows that his actions have caused a bridge between him and his son in which his son chooses to grow apart from his family. As seen at the beginning of the play, Willy represents a tragic hero as he is distressed and troubled as he comes home from another failed sales trip. Although Willy represents a tragic hero in many cases, there are also others found within Death of a Salesman that help implement the role of a profound hero. Willy’s wife, Linda, implements the heroine as she presents herself with many wise and understanding words for Willy has he faces his hardships. Throughout the story, it is seen that Linda represents herself as a put together woman for her husband but is often found distraught by her husband’s actions in which readers and audiences can empathize with
This also show that Linda loved her husband more than anything, she would do anything to protect his pride including not telling Willy that she knows he had been trying to commit suicide. Everything Linda di is to protect Willy pride and face, and not letting any of her son
Willy becomes more and more dependent on his drug as the story progresses. His next allusion to the past was during a conversation with his wife. Willy is downhearted about his failure to provide for his family, his looks, and basically his whole life in general. He begins to see some of the truth in his life: "I know it when they walk in. They seem to laugh at me."(Miller; The Death of a Salesman; pg. 23) By trying to see the reality in life, for once, he depresses himself so awfully, that he has a rendezvous in his head with his women that he sees on the side. He only uses this women to lift his spirits and to evade the truths that nearly scare him into his own grave.
Linda Loman is the enabler of the Loman family, and also uses self- deception to escape her life mentally. Linda never spoke up to Willy, and did nothing but feed his unrealistic dreams. Linda lived a life of “what ifs” with Willy. They both did the bare minimum in every aspect of their life, which is why
Willy Loman married Linda and had two sons together, Biff and Happy. Although they were both old in the play, they were going through problems surrounding their identities. With the pressure to satisfy their needy father, Biff and Happy turned into hopeless dreamers. Biff could
Biff is home for a visit and is talking with his brother, Happy in their room just as they did when they were young boys. Willy has come home prematurely from a business trip and is downstairs when the boys overhear him talking to himself in a sort of quasi-reality. In the meantime, the two boys discuss the past. It is interesting here that the roles of the two boys with respect to each other seem to have reversed. Happy was the shy one growing up and Biff had all the courage and self-confidence. Now, Biff appears to have been beaten down by life and is on the brink of the se...
Foremost, Willy has a problem with his inability to grasp reality. As he grows older his mind is starting to slip. For example, when he talks to the woman and his brother Ben. Throughout the story, Willy dreams of talking to the woman, because the woman is a person that he was dating in when he went to Boston. He was cheating behind his wife’s back. Willy basically uses her as a scapegoat when he’s hallucinating about her. He blames all of his problems on the woman. For instance Willy says, “ Cause you do… There’s so much I want to make for.” (38) This is the evidence right here. Also he dreams about his brother Ben. Willy wishes could be more like his brother who has just passed away a couple of months previously to the story. He also wishes he didn’t have to work and could be rich like Ben. He respects Ben for not really working and making a lot of money. Another example of Willy’s hallucinations are when he says,“ How are you all?” (45) This occurs when Willy is talking with Charley and he starts thinking about Ben. Willy’s inability to grasp reality never changed throughout the story.
The dramatic play Death of a Salesman, composed by Arthur Miller in 1949 portrays the hours leading up to Willy Loman’s death. Willy is a sixty-year-old salesman living in Brooklyn New York with his wife Linda and after thirty-five years working as a traveling salesman he feels defeated by his lack of success and difficult family life. As a salesman, Willy Loman focuses more on personality and being well liked by everyone than actual skills. When he returns early from a business trip it is apparent that he is extremely distressed and confides that he almost got into an accident. All thought the play we get to witness Willy’s brain unravel and his tragic character flaws that all seem to stem from being abandoned by his father and brother. This abandonment leaves Willy with an extreme need for approval and direction but he’s also riddled with fears and insecurities. This fear ruins his character, making him an emotionally desperate and needy man who feels that the only way you can ever be successful in life is if you’re “well liked”. Which is heartbreaking because it becomes apparent throughout that he is not really liked or successful at all but living out fantasy scenarios to soothe the pain. His brother was the man he admired the most but throughout the play Ben is revealed as being a mean, nasty man who believe that being rich is the only sign of success even thought he stumbled upon his wealth thought pure luck. We began to see his open wounds from being abandoned that leads to this obsession with needing to be liked by everyone, why he and Biffs’ relationship is so tense and irreversibly broken but also why he’s so disrespectful to Linda.
It is evident that Happy only found happiness in pleasing Willy. Even though Willy ignored Happy, his devotion to his father was strong and this is evident because he would stand up to Biff and defend Willy. Happy states: All right, boy. I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He has a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him” (Miller, 139). This quote is said at Willy Loman’s grave and Happy says that he will continue his father’s illusions and become the next generations, Willy Loman. Willy always favoured his son Biff, and it turned out that Happy was the son who obeyed his
Biff did not confront his dads' actions. Willy enabled Biff to steal by failing to discipline him after stealing a football as a teenager by praising his actions. This behavior became a habit and that led to Biffs lazy attitude towards gainful employment, and worst of all Biff grew up thinking that he was not compelled by social rules because his dad did not abide by them. Biff's understanding of Willy as the perfect father ends following Biff's trip to Boston. The moment he discovers that Willy is having an affair, he rejects Willy and considers him being fake, He quits believing him, Instead, begins to despise him and avoids associating with him.
Benziman touches this idea in his South Atlantic Review, “Success, Law, and the Law of Success: Reevaluating "death of a Salesman 's". Benziman says that that this could have been because of his personality, or he could have inherited it. After all, his father and brother were also salesman. However, Willy puts too much of himself into his job and he felt he was worth more dead than alive. Having a life insurance policy signaled that he was giving up. Willy was ready to die for the sack of his family. He saw himself as a success if he was dead. Even though he has a tough exterior the pain of seeing his family struggle was too much for him to bare. Willy never went to his family and told them how he felt. Being someone who wanted to be seen as tough he would rather die than express his failures to his
Biff was Willy's way of being special. Willy's other son Happy isn't in the spotlight.... ... middle of paper ... ... Yet their insecurities about themselves and the way their own lives turn out, forced them to live in the past and remember their glory days.
In conclusion, Biff will not follow in Willy’s footsteps due to the fact that he has no motivation or desire to go into the business world. Willy dies thinking that his life was a success because of the money he is leaving for his son whereas it is not, at least in the way he thinks. Biff breaks free from Willy’s false dream and tells Happy: “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong... He never knew who he was” (111). Happy does end up taking the money to start a business and while that was not Willy’s main aim; it is something rather than nothing.
...causes Willy to attempt to take his own life. Linda tells about Willy’s attempt, “Last month… Oh boys, it’s so hard to say a thing like this! He’s just a big stupid man to you, but I tell you there’s more good in him than in many other people. I was looking for a fuse. The lights blew out, and I went down the cellar. And behind the fuse box-it happened to fall out-was a length of rubber pipe-just short” (59; Act 1).
In the play Death of a Salesman, Willy who is the father figure in this play to his son Biff , and a husband to his wife linda. Willy is the type of man who needs to be constantly reminded that he is a good person, an attractive person, a person that people like. "I'm fat. I'm very foolish to look at, linda."says Willy (Miller 24). Willy's wife Linda is Willy's rock. He depend on her for support and she is happy to enable him in his choices whether they be good or bad."How can i mention it to him? Everyday i go down and take the little rubber pipe. But, when he comes home i put it back where it was." says Linda (Miller 43). Biff, who is Linda and Willy's first born has so much pressure on him. His father wishes that he would fallow in his footsteps as a salesman, but Biff sees the struggle of his dad and doesn't want to have to go through that. Willy and his son have a very bad relationship because of an affair that willy had with a college. "You picked me?"says willy "I did i've been sitting at the desk watching all the salesman go by, day in day out. But you've got such a sense of humor, and we we do have such a good time together." says willys mistress (Miller 25).