Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman exhibits sadness and denial, as well as the five different literary themes including Love, Alienation/Otherness, The American Dream/Nightmare, The Quest for Identity/Coming of Age, and Conformity/Rebellion, all in one man’s need to conform to the pressures of society as a way of achieving success. The Loman family is a perfect example of a dysfunctional family; whose denial of the facts in this American Dream themed play leads to a turn of tragic events. The American Dream can be defined as one person’s need to achieve economic success or get ahead economically usually by working hard. However, sometimes a person may over commit themselves in their purchases of worldly goods in order to look like they have achieved economic success. Willy Loman strives to achieve the American Dream with his materialistic persona in “Death of …show more content…
Willy’s belief that in order to be well liked; a person must own the finest in worldly possessions, leading him to indulge in purchases of all kinds regardless of the consequences. As Willy and Linda discuss their monthly finances consisting of car, house, refrigerator, and vacuum cleaner payments it becomes evident that he has over indulged. Nonetheless, Willy gives a perfect example of his need and over indulgences for material objects in this conversation with Linda: “WILLY: I told you we should’ve bought a well-advertised machine. Charley bought a General Electric and it’s twenty years old and it’s still good, that son-of-a-bitch. WILLY: Whoever heard of a Hastings refrigerator? Once in my life I would like to own something outright before it’s broken! I’m always in a race with the junkyard! I just finished paying for the car and it’s on its last legs. The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddam maniac. They time those things. They time them so when you finally paid for them, they’re used up.”
When Linda refers to Willy as a "little boat looking for a harbor," another wind blows against Linda, pushing her to act with pity (1247). To her, he is nothing more than a small, helpless old man. She blames the business for forgetting Willy in his old age, and passing him over like an orange peel. Toward the end of Act I, Linda presents a sorry image of Willy, describing his past greatness as a salesman and ending with a sad description of treachery. She tells her sons that Willy is "exhausted" from driving 1400 miles without earning a penny, and that his reward from the ones he loved the most, his sons, is spite and rejection (1237). The picture she paints of her husband is on filled with pity and sorrow.
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman offers a distinct commentary on the American Dream, best explored in the death of its protagonist, Willy Loman. Almost immediately before Willy and his wife Laura are to make their final payment on their twenty-five year mortgage and take full ownership of their house, Willy, crazed and desperate, commits suicide. As his family mourns and praises him, Willy’s eldest son, Biff, bemoans, “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong…He never knew who he was” (Miller 111). This occurrence sheds light on the truth Miller hoped to convey: The American Dream – what should be equated with home, family, and happiness – may all too often be corrupted into something much more superficial. It may be warped into the
Another way Linda serves as the family's destroyer is by pretending that she doesn't know Willy isn't making any money on his job. Linda says to her sons, "Why shouldn't he talk to himself? Why? When he has to go to Charley and borrow fifty dollars a week and pretend to me that it's his pay? How long can that go on? How long?" (1425). Linda had known for a few months that Willy had been going to Charley every week to borrow money. Willy would then bring the money home and act as if it was
Willy’s self- image that he portrayed to others of being successful was a lie that he had lived with for so long
The American Dream ~ for many, it is the unlocked door that leads to happiness. It is the hope for a future filled with success and fortune. Although most people have a similar idea of what the American Dream is, they may have different ideas on how to achieve it. For Willy Loman, a struggling salesman, achieving this dream would be a major accomplishment. Unfortunately, his unusual ideas of how this dream can be achieved prevent him from reaching his goal.
In Theatre Mitu’s “hyper-theatrical” production of “Death of A Salesman” by Arthur Miller many aspects were added to heighten the messages and morals of the story about the American Dream. One major choice was the use of objects to signify characters as well as add to characters. Willy carried a empty, open briefcase. Linda carried a sun parasol. Biff carried football gear. All the other characters are objects themselves. Happ is a punching bag. Charley is a refrigerator door, and Bernard is a bug repellent light. The Women is a fan. Ben is a big light, and the waiter is a champagne bucket. Almost all of the characters excluding Biff, Willy, and Linda are recording voices which creates a degree of separation from the outside world. Happ is somewhere in between by being an actor with a microphone.
He is the shadiest operator in this region and would shoot his mother for a buck. What a crook!” One of the people at lunch, Joe Stucko, says: "I agree with you. Chetum stole my plans for converting old HVAC systems to new ones. I should sue him for stealing my ideas.”
Willy’s life teeters between these petty concrete objects and his grandiose verbal projections. In past, present, and fantasy, Willy expresses himself through clichés and repetitions in a formulaic chant. However, he achieves neither popularity nor success as a salesman, and he fails as a gardener, mechanic, husband, father. (Martin 67)
One example is the way the fields and greenery surrounding the Loman’s home is gradually replaced by cement, cars, and other artificial constructions. Not only are Willy’s physical surroundings replaced by unnatural substitutes, but also the intimate relationships Willy has with his sons and employer, both of whom he relied on, are eventually diminished. Social change is an eroding force in Willy’s life. Over time, he becomes obsessed with the idea of doing meaningful, rewarding work, mostly in hopes of appearing to be successful and happy. In chasing visions and interpretations of happiness and self-actualization, Willy identifies financial prosperity as being the most visible, relevant sign that he is a good provider for his family (Centola 57). This fixation
Through the play Willy is striving to live the American Dream; to have a better, richer and happier life. He is obsessed with materialism thinking that acquiring possessions will make him and his family happy. When Linda tries to mend her stockings, Willy tells her “I won’t
Many workers today go through a low time or a struggle and give up. Today’s workers do not necessarily commit suicide when they are in a low point but they do things such as quitting the job or relying on government assistance. Willy strives to achieve the American dream and he eventually realizes that he has failed and gives up on life. This dream is a belief in America and that all things are possible if you work hard enough (Criticism of ' the American Dream' in 'Death of a Salesman'). Arthur Miller uses this story to expose the problems with pursuit of such a dream: “What Miller attacks, then, is not the American Dream of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, but the dream as interpreted and pursued by those for whom ambition replaces human need and the trinkets of what Miller called the ‘new American Empire in the making’ are taken as tokens of true value” (Bigsby). “Death of a Salesman” creates a challenge to the American Dream and shows that an American should live a prosperous and plentiful life instead of get lost and die tragically (Criticism of ' the American Dream' in 'Death of a Salesman'). Gradually throughout the play, Willy gets farther and farther away from achieving his idea of the American Dream. His income slowly decreases to nothing: “as a salesman, Willy stages a performance for buyers, for his sons, for the father who deserted him, the brother he admired. Gradually, he loses his audience, first the buyers, then his son, then his boss” (Bigsby). His problem is that he completely surrenders to the American Dream and by the team he realizes his mistake, he has nothing to fall back on (Panesar). If Willy would have embraced his natural talent for manual labor and his family’s love for the countryside, the Lomans could have a totally different lifestyle (Panesar). Towards the end of the play, Willy became overwhelmed
Charley says something in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman that sums up Willy’s whole life. He asks him, "When the hell are you going to grow up” (Miller 97)? Willy spends his entire life in an illusion, seeing himself as a great man who is popular and successful. Willy exhibits many childlike qualities and his two sons Biff and Happy pattern their behavior after their father. Many of these qualities, such as idealism, stubbornness, and a false sense of self-importance in the world have a negative impact on Willy’s family,
As a salesman, Willy shows he perceives himself highly when talking to Linda about his job: “I’m the New England man. I’m vital in New England” (14). One can also see Willy’s inflated sense of self-worth when he talks to his children about his job: “They know me, boys, they know me up and down New England... I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England, and the cops protect it like their own” (31). However, even though he is extremely confident about his value as a salesman to his family, the reality of Willy’s reputation at his job is almost completely opposite: “I’m fat. I’m very—foolish to look at... they do laugh at me” (37). Although he essentially brags to his family about his expertise in business, Willy acknowledges the reality that his career is much less successful than he expects it to be. In fact, the inner turmoil inside of Willy from his unrealistic expectation of himself of being a fantastic salesman leads Willy to become mentally unhealthy, and eventually results in Willy committing suicide when he believes that he doesn’t have any self-worth anymore. Willy’s previous inflated self-worth is demonstrated yet again at his funeral, when no one shows up even though Willy thought he had a lot of friends from his job: “Why didn’t anybody come...
What is the "American Dream?" How does one define success? Many people hold different views on how to obtain true happiness. One common view is the accomplishment of something yearned. A majority of individuals desire love, compassion, and a family. On the other hand, there are those concerned with self-image, material items, and the fact that money can indeed buy true happiness. In Arthur Miller's play DEATH OF A SALESMAN [published by Ted Buchholz (1993)]--the story of a sixty-three year old man named Willy Loman striving to achieve the "American Dream" and his family who suffer as a cause--contains many examples of trying to achieve material success. Willy's
This again indicates Willy's lost opportunities in life. So Willy is surrounded by great successes in a society where success and money is what is respected. This means that Willy is far from respected. A technique Miller employs is using language to aid deeper meanings in the storyline.