Linda Loman Strengths And Weaknesses

In Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman’s life seems to be slowly deteriorating. It is clear that Willy’s predicament is of his own doing, and that his own foolish pride and ignorance lead to his downfall. Willy’s self-destruction involved the uniting of several aspects of his life and his lack of grasping reality in each, consisting of, his relationship with his wife, his relationship and manner in which he brought up his children, Biff and Happy, and lastly his inability to productively earn a living and in doing so, failure to achieve his “American Dream”.

In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the author conveys the reader about how a person lives his life when he or she cannot live the “American Dream.” Willy Loman, the main character in the play is a confused and tragic character. He is a man who is struggling to hold onto what morality he has left in a changing society that no longer values the ideals he grew up to believe in. Even though the society he lives in can be blamed for much of his misfortune, he must also be the blame for his bad judgment, disloyalty and his foolish pride.

Although Death of a Salesman is mainly about a salesman named Willy Loman, the almost hidden presence of the women in the novel goes all too often unnoticed.  Linda Loman seems to be the glue that holds the Loman clan together, as Willy, Biff, and Happy are all deluded in one way or another.  Arthur Miller depicts Willy's wife in a very specific way, and this is a very crucial part of the story.  He depicts the other women in the story in ways that complement Linda's distinct nature.  Although Linda's role as a woman in society is extremely limited, she is a heroic character, both wife and mother to some very sad and twisted characters.

Watching a solitary blade of grass will never tell you the direction of hurricane, just as one characteristic can never describe Linda Loman. In Death of a Salesman, Linda Loman is a woman torn between guilt, retaliation, and pity. Her guilt stems from the fact that she prevented Willy from pursuing his true American Dream; she retaliates in response to Willy's failure; she feels sorry for Willy, because he is a "pitiful lone adventurer of the road" (47). As the battling motivations blow from opposing directions, the reader is left to decide to which one motivation Linda will succumb.

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is an example of a failure as a good father. He did not discipline his sons well by not punishing them. He did not set a good example to his sons by not admitting his faults. He did not make his family his number one priority. Instead, it was his work, coming before his family, his friends, and even himself. Not only is Willy Loman not a good father and husband, but he was a failure by not becoming successful, not achieving the American Dream.

But, most specifically the isolation of Willy Loman. Each family member takes unlike routes in building barriers between them an Willy. As aforementioned, Linda does nothing, leaving Willy to his own devices; instincts that are severely hindered. Anger, follows Biff and Willy’s conversations, severing all ties between the two. Happy, to busy trying to impress his father, misses out on his father’s problems. Finally, self-isolation. Willy chose to refuse help, chose not to speak of it, and took his life because of

The story ‘Death of a Salesman’ written by Miller focuses on a man doing all he can to allow him and his family to live the American dream. Throughout the story it is shown how the Loman’s struggle with finding happiness and also with becoming successful. Throughout their entire lives many problems come their way resulting in a devastating death caused by foolishness and the drive to be successful. Ever since he and his wife, Linda, met she has been living a sad and miserable life, because she has been trying support his unachievable goals. Also by him being naïve put his children’s lives in jeopardy and also made them lose sight of who they really were. Miller uses the Loman family to show how feeling the need to appear a certain way to the public and trying to live a life that is not really yours can turn into an American nightmare.

Willy Loman, the central character in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, is a man whose fall from the top of the capitalistic totem pole results in a resounding crash, both literally and metaphorically. As a man immersed in the memories of the past and controlled by his fears of the future, Willy Loman views himself as a victim of bad luck, bearing little blame for his interminable pitfalls. However, it was not an ill-fated destiny that drove Willy to devastate his own life as well as the lives of those he loved; it was his distorted set of values.

The term success is a word that many strive to achieve during their lifetime . The term can withhold different definitions based upon the individual and how they would particularly consider a person successful, whether it's through having the appreciation and love from family, possessing an immense amount of money, or even having a great deal of respect from their community. The role of succes in Death of a Salesman plays not only as one of the vital themes however , Arthur Miller uses, “success” to allow readers to better understand the complexity of his characters. The endeavour to earn success causes the readers to view the true hardships and consequences behind fulfilling , “The American Dream”.In the Death of a Salesman, we are introduced to the protagonist Willy Loman who urgently searches for his success, desperate to prove his worthiness of the title.We also take a glimpse of two other important characters. Willy’s sons Billy and Happy Loman who struggle to come to terms with their father’s failures and there separate ideas of true success. As we are first introduced to Willy we learn that in the past, he was indeed a successful salesman whose family had a intimate connection ,despite the fact he was simultaneously committing adultery. Fast forward 15 years and Loman's character is depicted as an unassertive, self-decepted, individual with a slowly failing business as a sales representative.Loman throughout the play has trouble with accepting the failure of his, “ American Dream” and often hallucinates his reality. His wife Linda, encourages these hallucinations in order to allow her husband to continue to live with certainty of who he is as person. This gradually causes Loman to be blinded by the superficial reality of what makes an individual ultimately successful. He uses this as an opportunity to blame other bystanders for his current non success in reality. “There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining this country! The competition is maddening! Smell the stink from that apartment house! And the one on the other side… How can they whip cheese? (Act 1,17)”, here is an example of his arrogance he uses as an excuse for his ongoing failure rather than him simply owning up to his broad

-Biff defends her from Willy but she defends Willy, then Biff says “Don’t go making excuses for him, he wiped the floor with you. He never had an ounce of respect for you (54-55)

    Linda, a character from Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" is a selfish housewife. She pretends to care about her husband, but in reality, prefers that he kill himself so that she can live an easier life.

The next instance where Linda serves as the family's destroyer is in Act 1. Linda justifies Biff's desultory life by saying, "He's finding himself, Willy" (1404). Willy replies, "Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!" (1404). Linda says, "Shh!" (1404). Willy says, "The trouble is he's lazy, goddammit!" (1404). Linda says, "Willy, please!" (1404). Willy says, "Biff is a lazy bum!" (1404). Linda knows that Willy is right about Biff being lazy. But Linda is trying to protect her son from the truth. Linda is making excuses about him being lazy, just as she made excuses about Willy trying to kill himself. Linda should have let Willy tell Biff the truth about him being lazy. Maybe if Biff had heard the truth earlier in life, he wouldn't be thirty-four years old finding himself.

    Linda Loman is the heart and soul of the Loman household.  She loves her family, even though she is all too aware of husband's faults and her sons' characters. She provides a sharp contrast to the seamy underbelly of the world of sex, symbolized by the Woman and the prostitutes.  They operate in the "real world" as part of the impersonal forces that corrupt.  Happy equates his unhealthy relationships with women to taking manufacturer's bribes, and Willy's Boston whore can "put him right through to the buyers." In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Linda Loman holds the family together through purity and love - she keeps the accounts, encourages her husband, and tries to

Linda speaks these lines to Biff and, not only do they prove that she loves this man an enormous amount, but also that she would sacrifice not seeing her son again just to keep Willy happy. She is wiling to sacrifice her family for the man that she loves, who appears to not treat her as well as a husband could. Linda's last comment shows that she is not treated with a great deal of respect from Willy. Nevertheless, she puts his needs before her own because of the profound love she has for him. Her love for him drives her do whatever is necessary to keep him happy, and binds her to him no matter what the consequence.

Linda is the heart of the Loman family and devotes to her time to her family, especially to her marriage with Willy who is difficult to deal with. She loves Willy unconditionally and defends him at all costs. She easily chooses him rather than her sons, when it comes to arguments between then men of the house. Not to mention, she goes along with Willy in his delusional moments and fantasies of grandeur (“Death of a Salesman”). For instance, as Willy explains to Linda how he suddenly could not drive anymore, Linda states, “Maybe it was your steering again… Maybe it’s your glasses. You never went for your new glasses” (Miller, 13). Linda constantly finds excuses for Willy when she knows that he is suicidal and irrational because in order to protect him from the criticism of others. Furthermore, “…selflessly subordinating herself to serve to assist…” ("Death of a Salesman Themes") Willy’s needs. In comparison, the prostitutes are two young women whom Biff and Happy meet at Frank’s Chop House while waiting for their father. Miss Forsythe and Letta provide character and plot development when Happy showers compliments on Miss Forsythe such as, “You ought to be on a magazine cover” (101). At this point, the theme of deception and lies is emphasized. Happy lies to the women so that he lures her into entertaining him and his brother for the evening. As a result, the prostitutes go off with the men to assist to their sexual needs and