According to The Oxford Dictionary of the English language success is defined as “The accomplish of an aim or purpose.” But, depending on who you ask, success can be defined differently for every person. Fortune, wealthy, and popularity may label someone as successful in some people’s eyes, but others might consider successful as being happy, proud, and content. Colin R. Davis, a British conductor, once said “The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.” What he means by this is, in order to be successful you must fail at first, learn from it, then fix your mistakes and flourish. It may sound simple, but some people may become so obsessed with their image and the urge to become successful that they throw everything …show more content…
This play became extremely popular and is still to this day known as “the first American tragedy” as well as “a tragedy of the common man.” The play takes place at the Loman’s house and the many places Willy travels to for his work such as New York and Boston. The protagonist Willy Loman, is a salesman who is obsessed with being successful that it ultimately leads to his own suicide. Willy once says in Act I “Because the man that makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer” (Miller 33). He says this because him and his two sons, Biff and Happy, are talking about Bernard and Willy is asking whether he is liked or not. This shows that other people's opinions about someone are important to Willy. He cares about his reputation and what others think of him, along with his two kids. He believes that if other people think you, you can get advantages or special treatment that unliked people do not get. In Act II Linda Loman, Willy’s wife, says “You’re doing well enough, Willy!...Enough to be happy right here, right now….Why must everybody conquer the world? You’re well liked, and the boys love you,...” (Miller 85). Linda is explaining to Willy how he should focus on his family along with everything he has going for him instead of trying to become the perfect salesman and living his life through his kids. He has his own family where they will love him no matter what yet his family is one of the last of his
At the beginning of the play it is evident that he cannot determine the realities of life, and so he repeatedly contradicts himself to establish that his conclusion is correct and opinion accepted. These numerous contradictions demonstrate that Willy is perturbed of the possibility that negative judgements may come from others. Willy strongly believes that “personality always wins” and tells his sons that they should “be liked and (they) will never want”. In one of Willy’s flashbacks he recalls the time when his sons and him were outside cleaning their Chevy. Willy informs Biff and Happy the success of his business trips and how everyone residing in Boston adores him. He mentions that due to the admiration of people he does not even have to wait in lines. He ultimately teaches his sons that being liked by others is the way to fulfilling one’s life and removing your worries. These ideals, that one does not need to work for success, demonstrate Willy’s deluded belief of achieving a prosperous life from the admiration and acceptance of others. This ultimately proves to be a false ideology during his funeral, when an insufficient amount of people arrive. Willy constantly attempts to obtain other’s acceptance through his false tales that depict him as a strong, successful man. In the past, he attempts to lie to his wife, Linda, about the amount of wealth he has attained during his
This quote described Willy throughout the play, and it also show that all man should deserve respect and attention. The play Death of a salesman has a lot of drama and a lot of things that happened
Many dilemmas throughout the recent decades are repercussions of an individual's foibles. Arthur Miller represents this problem in society within the actions of Willy Loman in his modern play Death of a Salesman. In this controversial play, Willy is a despicable hero who imposes his false value system upon his family and himself because of his own rueful nature, which is akin to an everyman. This personality was described by Arthur Miller himself who "Believe[s] that the common man is as apt a subject for a tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (Tragedy 1).
“…I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being…” in this dialogue Linda wanted Biff to understand how Willy is a human being even though he is not the finest man in the world, but because of him they have a house to live in and money to buy food.
The failure of both Willy Loman and Troy Maxson to achieve their version of the American dream destroy their families. Willy is devastated he can’t gain riches on the basis of being liked. Throughout the play, he tries to define his worth by the importance of being liked. He is obsessed with this so much that he can’t
setting (time and place): Brooklyn, NYC and Willy’s imagination. Takes place in the 1940’s 3. main characters (complete descriptions): Willy Loman (60s years old) – The main character of the story. Willy is a salesman who committed suicide—which is what the play is written around—most likely because he was extremely unsuccessful in acquiring the American dream and he was in an unimaginable amount of debt. All of Willy’s life,
Sadly, this reasoning simply sets Willy and his family up for failure. Good luck and being well-liked will only get you so far in life. The true key to success is tireless aim and lots of hard work. Willy never learns this, nor do his sons either, and they are consequently failures at the game of life. In act 1, Willy speaks of his older brother: “What’s the mystery?
Willy’s desire to be popular makes who he actually wants himself to be unclear. Because of his actions depending on his wish for fame, he looks to other people to create his own self-image. His insecure idea of the man he wishes to be causes him to fail to stand as a good husband and a father. People in 1940’s society felt that financial success was an obligation alongside good parenthood and a relationship with the spouse. Willy does not represent a good father due to his lack of attention for Happy and his failure to discipline Biff.
The main character of the play is Willy Loman, and he is a heavy contributor to many of the constant themes. Willy is a very arrogant man who wants to be the typical, happy American family. Willy believes in his own personal American Dream, which consists of if you are appealing to the eye and charming, then you will be given whatever the heart’s
Being a salesman, Willy believes that being well-liked is essential in his line of work, and would therefore lead to more sales which in turn leads to more money, thus fulfilling his
Throughout his life, Willy Loman thinks of himself as well-liked in the play "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller. It is the most important attribute to him. Willy lived his life thinking he had thousands of friends all over the New England territory and that he would be recognized anywhere he would go. He boasts this to his sons and they think he is the greatest man on Earth. He raises his two sons, Biff and Happy, to be well-liked and Willy does not care about their grades. He believes they will be better prepared for the business world if they are well-liked, and does not think education matters as much as personality, appearance, and physical skill. Although he has set high standards for sons, his morals are being well-liked, he thinks he is the best salesman in his firm, and he claims to be extremely loyal to his family; despite this, he is none of these.
Centered around the main character, Willy Loman, the play, “Death of a Salesman” written by Arthur Miller in 1949, tells a story of an aging travelling salesman who has pursued the American dream only to find that he has fallen short. Therefore, the question is, why had Willy failed in his pursuit? Playwright Arthur Miller, very carefully reveals this through his use of flashbacks and dialogue in the play. In fact, the reader can glean from the play that Willy Loman, though he had been a salesman for most of his life, wasn’t very good at his job. Furthermore, Willy was a narcissistic, self-promoting liar who appeared to suffer from insecurity and bouts of depression.
This points to his dive to be known or to be famous. Willy thinks he is better at his job than he really is. When he realizes his son doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps, Willy becomes driven by his own “Willyness”. He starts talking to himself and slips into the past from time to time He also has an affair with another woman and becomes
He desires recognition in the play and when he’s conversing with Howard and talks about his admiration toward Dave Singleman, he states “And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?.” (SparkNotes) He thought a salesman could get him the greatest job in the world because Dave Singleman at the age of eighty-four had died and hundreds of salesmen and buyers attended his funeral and Willy wanted that, he wanted the recognition and wanted everyone to well like him as much as they did to Dave Singleman and so many people would come to his funeral.... ...
(Act 1) Willy shows throughout the play that this is not his belief, by showing it is more important to be liked then hardworking which we learn is definitely not