Willy Loman as Coward in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Everybody feels the penetrating presence of fear throughout life. However, people’s reactions to this fear separate the brave souls from the cowards. Mark Twain once said, "Courage is resistance to fear; mastery of fear, not absence of fear" (Twain 6). In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman fears rejection by his son, Biff, and the business world. His fears master him, creating in him a fantasy world of life as it was eighteen years ago. Willy’s avoidance of reality and his suicide show his cowardice. However, the emphasis he puts on financial success prevents him from realizing the consequences that his suicide would create.
Willy’s refusal to face reality and accept responsibility shows that he is a coward. According to Gordon Hitchens, Willy "broke the first commandment of American business . . . [which is] to be a success" (Hitchens 81). He not only fails as a businessman, but also as a father. He feels especially let down by the bitter state of his relationship with his son, Biff. Nevertheless, instead of facing his dilemmas, Willy cowardly escapes to a fantasy world in which he relives happier times. Furthermore, Biff’s animosity toward his father stems from his discovery of Willy’s affair. When he was eighteen, Biff visited his father in Boston and found him with a female companion. After receiving this shock, Biff’s ambition and confidence, formerly supported by his father, dwindles. Bernard, Biff’s boyhood friend, notices this change and eventually asks Willy what happened in Boston to cause it. Willy becomes defensive and angry. He asks Bernard, "If a boy lays down is that my fault?" (Miller 1257). He refuses to accept responsibility...
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...illy fails to master his fears. He allows money and financial success to control his actions. By doing this, he widens the rift between him and Biff. Willy’s dishonesty and denial also add to the tense situation in the Loman household. Willy’s fears of rejection and failure do not make him a coward. His reaction to these anxieties merits him the label coward. The belief that his actions are for the good of the family does not reconcile the lack of courage that he shows.
Works Cited
Hitchens, Gordon. Attention Must be Paid: A Study of Social Value in Four Plays by Arthur Miller. Columbia University. 82-104.
Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." Discovering Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays. Ed. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele L. Rico. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997. 1209-1283.
Twain, Mark. Readings from the Voyageur Outward Bound School. 48.
The key to increasing revenue for Nike branch is to make the product as cheaply as possible and keeping the cost of transporting low. Then sell the brand to countries
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).
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Biff loses respect for his father and soon realizes what lie he has been living. Willy is in denial about his involvement with Biff’s failure in life, and when he is confronted about it by Bernard asking, “What happened in Boston, Willy? (141), Willy quickly becomes defensive, saying, “What are you trying to do, blame it on me? Don’t talk to me that way!” (141). After finding out about Biff’s reaction of burning his favorite University of Virginia shoes that symbolize Biff’s hopes and dreams for the future, Willy realizes what impact the affair had on his son. Willy’s lack of acceptance of reality affects his relationship because he never owned up or admitted he had an affair. This weighs heavy on Willy because the hate from his son will always be there. Biff loses all respect for his father and sees not only a failed business man, but in general a failed man. Throughout it all, Willy’s wife still remains supportive of him and constantly reminds him of her love for him. Despite this, Willy still yearns to have what he does not and pursues “the other woman.” It is bright as day that Willy finds some sort of comfort and validation for his affair with a woman who makes him feel wanted, yet his wife does the same thing. This guilt is always carried around with Willy which is just another contributor to the death of Willy
Willy Loman’s false pride leads him to believe that he has been successful as a father. He remembers how he was once looked up by his children, especially by his son Biff. However, Willy fails to realize that the relationship he once had with his son Biff has been broken, due to the fact that Biff caught Willy in an affair he was having with another girl; Biff was heartbroken to fin...
Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman”, primarily focuses on the flaws and failures of Willy Loman, Millers’ main character in this story. Willy’s distorted and backward views of the American Dream, paired with his inability to let go of the past lead him down a road of regret and in the end his biggest failure which was his wasted life.
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
Although it is never actually said verbatim, it is obvious that Willy has some kind of mental problem that needs attention. Yet even in his own home, he can't get any help because his family can't bring it upon themselves to help him. This instance depicts the way society would rather "let someone else handle it" than take action and go against what is popular. This example is probably the saddest and most heartbreaking part of the play. A final instance of Willy Loman's alienation is the way he excludes himself from society.
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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.
The creators of Nike Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman began in 1964, they used be name Blue Ribbon Sports. Little be known an athlete and track coach at University of Oregon would be on their way to create one of the most well known athletic brands today. At first, they began as an athletic Japanese shoe supplier and then eventually became what we know now as Nike. To this day they are the main supplier of athletic clothing, shoes, accessories today! Nike is one of the top sponsors for athletes, to name a few Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant are all phenomenal basketball players. Although Nike continues to revolutionize athletic wear and staying as number one on the leader board, such achievement wasn’t always there
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.
Nike American Sportswear generated revenue of 7495 million US dollars in 2014, which was almost double of 2009 revenue of Nike Sportswear (Statista, 2015).The sales of (Athletic) Sportswear of Nike 90 million US dollars, however, the sale of Adidas Sportswear (Competitor of Nike) was 25 million US dollars, which was not even one third of Nike Sportswear sales (Statista, 2015).Nonetheless, the return on assets and equity are 13.41% and 26.43% respectively (Yahoo Finanace, 2015).
"Death of a Salesman By Arthur Miller ." Goodreads . N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
Phil Knight was a track runner. He was very talented at what he did. He went to school in oregon in 1955. Also he was a middle distance track runner. He was very good at running track. During his track running time he was assigned a project about a business and that’s kinda how nike began.