He's wearing heavy-soled shoes, scuffed, creaking, but well-shined. I think I see Willy Loman several times a week - in lobbies, coffee bars, airports. ? Tragedy and the Common Man?.'Death of A Salesman' Marks 50th Anniversary Feb. ?Miller, Arthur,” ? 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft? Encarta? Online Encyclopedia 2000. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. At the end, Willy eventually killed himself leaving behind a tragic life and a family immersed in a world of illusions with no hopes.ĭiYanni, Robert. Willy also thinks that by committing suicide he will help Biff with the twenty thousand he will get. He wants to plan something in the garden before he dies. After returning home, Willy is upset and ready to commit suicide. In the restaurant Willy finds out that his two sons did not talk to Bill about the new business and when Willy goes to the bathroom Biff and Happy leave the restaurant with a couple of women. The next day, the Loman Family goes to the Frank?s Chop House where Biff and Happy invited Willy and Linda. Biff and Happy tell him that they are going to talk with Bill Oliver, Biff?s previous employer, to start a sporting good business. Willy lives a life filled with false hopes. Although Biff does not like what his father did, he feels sorry for him. He also remembered when Biff caught him with another women in a hotel during a business trip. As the play continuous, Willy becomes more involved in his dreams. Ben is another driving force behind Willy?s idea of success. One might think Ben is not real, yet to Willy, Ben is very real. Ben tells Willy that he became rich when he went to Africa and found a mine of diamonds. Another influence in Willy?s downfall through the play is the presence of his brother Ben in his dreams. He thinks he is well-liked, but in reality he is not. In a sense, Willy is lying to his sons and to himself.
?Willy Loman is here!? That?s all they have to know, and I go through? (DiYanni, 1142). I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. He tells his sons, ?Be liked and you will never want. He believes that all it takes to be successful in life is to be well liked. Willy is in the kitchen remembering how Biff used to be popular in high school and the superstar of the football team. Biff and Happy discuss in their bedroom about how Willy is becoming senile in his old age.
Throughout the play Willy has flashbacks of his life, which are somehow related to the present events.
He is always tormented with the hopes and dreams he had years ago. Willy has immersed himself into a world of illusions. Willy expects his two sons, especially Biff, to become successful, but he has not realized that even his two sons are incapable of succeed. Willy tells Linda he does not know why Biff is lost, without a job, and no money. His two sons, Biff and Happy, are visiting the family. He is getting old and tired of traveling long distances. The play starts with Willy returning home from a sales trip. In ?Death of a Salesman? Willy is willing to sacrifice anything to accomplish his dreams of being successful and known as a powerful salesman. In this article Miller clearly conveys that a person will sacrifice anything, even his or her own life, to protect his or her dignity. In an article Miller states, ?I think the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing ? his sense of personal dignity? (Miller, 1). Miller presents a common man, Willy, as the tragic character of the play. Willy has always wanted to be successful and well-liked among people, but he has not accomplished anything. Other characters as Ben, Charley, Bernard, and the women in the hotel play a major role in Willy?s downfall through the story. Willy Loman is married to Linda, and his two sons are Biff and Happy. ?Death of a Salesman? is the story of the Loman family, especially Willy, trying to accomplish the American dream, but with no success. The main themes of this play are the idea of the American dream and what it takes to success, the struggle to distinguish between reality and illusion, and the emotional problems of the family. In the case of ? Death of a Salesman?, Miller uses social realism, which is the attempt to describe human behavior and surroundings or to represent figures and objects exactly as they act or appear in life (Encarta 1). Most of Miller?s works emphasizes the common man struggling through the misconceptions and false illusions that modern society imposes. The play ? Death of a Salesman? was written by Arthur Miller in 1949. Death Of A Salesman Essay, Research Paper