Death Of A Salesman Philosophy

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

Willy's close friend Charlie on the other hand, despite his seemingly ordinary lifestyle, enjoys far better success compared to the Lomans. Charlie differs to his friend considerably: he is financially secure whereas Willy can barely afford to pay the next gas bill. Similarly, Charlie never indoctrinated his son, Bernard, with the same enthusiasm as Willy. Subsequently, Charlie stands for different beliefs to Willy and, ironically, ends up far more successful. He is a voice of reason for his friend but is only useful if Willy follows his advice. Instead, Willy's proud and stubborn nature ensures that he will never accept Charlie's many

Next, Willy uses his pride to hide his failures and insecurities. Willy talking to Bernard says, “…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).

Willy tried to instill in his sons, that the main success in life is to reputable. Willy strongly believes that success is strictly aligned with the impression a man makes and whether he is adored, and reputable; Willy’s numerous discussions with his sons, particularly with Biff, clarifies the value of self-image is important. Willy believed that if you became popular and were liked by many people, you would have prominent achievements. His perception of success is equated to dumb luck; He thinks men just randomly achieve

The boys ask their father if his business will be like their Uncle Charley's.  Willy responds by saying that he'll be, "Bigger than Uncle Charley!  Because Charley is not- liked.  He's liked, but he's not- well liked."  From this example, it becomes evident that Willy thinks being "well liked" can make you successful.

Willy was a stubborn man that was possessed by extreme pride. Charley offered him a job when he came into his office nearly begging. Charley tried explaining some points of the business world, explaining that being liked is not an issue. Willy really had no idea how the business world worked. He thought if one was liked, no problems would arise.

This is what Willy has been trying to emulate his entire life. Willy's need to feel well-liked is so strong that he often makes up lies about his popularity and success. At times, Willy even believes these lies himself. At one point in the play, Willy tells his family of how well-liked he is in all of his towns and how vital he is to New England. Later, however, he tells Linda that no one remembers him and that the people laugh at him behind his back. As this demonstrates, Willy's need to feel well-liked also causes him to become intensely paranoid. When his son, Biff, for example, is trying to explain why he cannot become successful, Willy believes that Biff is just trying to spite him. Unfortunately, Willy never realizes that his values are flawed. As Biff points out at the end of the play, "he had the wrong dreams."

In the Death of a Salesman, the protagonist, Willy Loman shows jealousy towards his neighbor Charley because of his son Bernard, his job and his congeniality. Willy’s two sons and Charley’s son Bernard are all around the same age. However, Charley’s son Bernard grew up to become a very well-known lawyer. Bernard was going to present a case to the Supreme Court. Although Willy was very proud of Bernard, he was also jealous of how it made Charley look. When Willy’s children were younger they were very successful in sports. However, when sports ended for the Loman brothers, they became stuck on what to do next with their lives. Bernard always worked hard to become successful. While Willy and his sons talked about achieving success but have failed

Willy also has strong feelings toward appearances. He even goes so far as to tell his kids “That’s why I thank Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. Because the man who 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” (1594). Even Willy’s views of himself are romanticized; he thinks he is essential to his job, even though we soon find out that he isn’t. He goes on and on to his sons about how much people like him, and how he has so many friends and so much respect everywhere he goes.

"WILLY: That's just what I mean, Bernard can get the best marks in school, y'understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y'understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him. That's why I thank Almighty God you're both built like Adonises. Because the men who 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. 'Willy Loman is here!' That's all they have to know, and I go right through" (p. 33).

        Willy is like an impetuous youngster with high ideals and high hopes.  Children always have high hopes for their

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...

The play begins with Willy as the antagonist, fighting with his wife Linda and a generally mean person. He insults his sons and scolds Linda for buying the wrong cheese. Willy shows his biggest personality flaws early on in the story; contradicting his own thoughts, being verbally abusive, and showing his over developed sense of pride. Willy loses

Willy believes education is not important for his son's future. Although Biff is failing his math course and Bernard is passing Willy still accepts the fact that his son will achieve success. Being handsome, popular, and excellent in sports adds to this belief. Willy does not realize that an individual must work hard to accomplish success. He also feels he is higher in status than Bernard's father Charley because "Charley is not-liked. He's liked, but he's not-well liked." (1257) Even though he feels this way he is also jealous of Charley's business success. Willy felt too proud to even accept a paying job from Charley after his boss, Howard Wagner, fired him. The audience can see Willy's definition of success defined in the conversation he holds with Charley in Act II:

It gets obvious that next to becoming successful, Willy also longs to be regarded by other people, he wants to be known and popular, he does not want to lead the life of a nobody. However, it is not enough for him to be liked; Willy wants to be “well liked”. Charley realizes this strong need of Willy to be respected and liked by everybody, but when being asked why everybody has to like him; Willy knows no answer to this (Miller 104). In my eyes, Willy’s need to be liked shows that he has many self-doubts. He does not want anybody to think that he might not be the successful salesperson he pretends to be. For that reason, he always longs for reassurance that other people – mostly people who have success, like Charley and Bernard – are not well liked either. (Miller 30, 33). To sum it up, Willy presumes ”[…] a brash personality, a ready smile, a fast joke, and a glittering appearance - as the key to fame and fortune […]” (Nelson 105). Does Willy fail because of society or does society let him fail?