Portrayal of Women in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Essay

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.

Biff does not want what he wants. Now that Biff is back from the West,

"What a woman! They broke the mold when they made her,” alludes to the representation of women in the tragic play of Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, as ideal. The play narrates the story of an aging salesman, Willy, who is fired from his job. After a series of unfortunate events, he encourages his sons to start a Loman’s Brother business. However, Biff decides that he is a man of the country and doesn’t want a business, hence, he gives up on the loan. When Willy hears that they are unable to get the money, he commits suicide. The reasoning behind Willy’s actions is that his sons would be able to use his insurance money to secure their future. Throughout the play, female characters are depicted as secondary and subordinate servers to

Let’s first consider how the main character Willy viewed women and how this contributes to his character development. Willy Loman the head of the Loman family, is known to treat his wife Linda like a minor who can neither think nor make decisions on her own. From the beginning to the end of the play, he is seen as a person who hates to be objected but always wants Linda to be on his side regarding matters. An example of women’s role is seen when Linda and Willy were talking about their elder son Biff:

While reading Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, and The Horse Dealer’s Daughter by D.H. Lawrence, I realized that Linda Loman and Mabel have many similarities and differences. Some background information on Linda Loman is, she lived with her husband Willy, and her two sons Biff and Happy. Willy was always mean to Linda and never let her have her own thoughts. Whatever he said was right and that was the end of it. Biff and Happy were pretty much disappointments, because Biff did not go off to college and Happy was sleeping around with people’s wives. This made Linda very desperate for her family's love. She always was trying to go out of her way to do things for them and always took Willy’s side no matter what. Even though she loved her

Death of a Salesman is a classic play that displays an array of old-fashioned based characters. Willy Loman, who is indeed the main character, carries out a career as a salesman in distress. Willy’s family is a typical nuclear family where gender roles are heavily followed. Therefore, Willy is under stress to abide by the rule that men must work and women must stay at home. His father died early which may have shaped a lot of his personality and views on life.

Linda Loman is the wife of Willy Loman. From the start of the play you see that shes not very happy with much in her life, but is very sympathetic towards her husband. She doesn’t play an intricate part, she simply plays the role of what Willy made her to be, a helpless wife and mother. Linda seems to be the only one thats not living in some sort of delusion throughtout the play, but she does feed into Willys fantasies. She often tells him that he does provide a wonderful life for her and the rest of their family, she continues to boost the idea of him eventually moving up in the Wagner Company, all of which is false. One of her biggest faults is that she does not have Willy’s eye for success. When Willy has the chance to go make something

She’s honest and realistic, but she still supports Willy with everything she does. She is truly the only character that realizes all of her husband’s shortcomings and doesn’t criticize him for it. This is partially because she lives in fear that her husband will commit suicide, and she is aware of how mentally sensitive he is. This passage is a great example of how protective Linda is of her husband. Willy explains that he “couldn’t do it” and that he had to come home early because his conscious isn’t constant. He tells her that while driving he couldn’t remember things and he had no recollection of driving. Linda responds to this by saying maybe it was the steering wheel or his glasses. This is significant because she is avoiding the real problem. She knows that his head isn’t screwed on right but she doesn’t say it. And after Willy insists that it’s him, she simply tells him that he needs to “rest his mind” which is true. Another example of how protective and caring Linda is of her husband is in the second act when Biff and Happy abandon their father in the restaurant bathroom. The boys came home with a bouquet of flowers and she knocks them to the ground and defends her husband. She criticizes her two sons for leaving their father there and tells them to pack their things and never

    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.

In the play Death of a Salesman, Linda Loman serves as the family's destroyer. Linda realizes, throughout the play, that her family is caught up in a bunch of lies. Linda is the only person that can fix the problem and she doesn't.

    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

Arthur Miller begins his play with an excellent description of the setting of the play. This makes it easy for the reader to imagine themselves actually watching the play and causes the reader to be able to better relate to the play. Because Death of a Salesman can be considered an emotional play, it qualifies as being a timeless work of literature, especially because it has the ability to touch the human heart. Willy Loman is a salesman, who lives in New York City with his wife Linda. From the beginning of the play, Miller makes it obvious that Willy struggles with many obstacles, such as anger and even confusion since there are many times throughout the play where Willy becomes severely confused. Many characters throughout the play,

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

Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman is wrought with symbolism from the opening scene. Many symbols illustrate the themes of success and failure. They include the apartment buildings, the rubber hose, Willy’s brother Ben, the tape recorder, and the seeds for the garden. These symbols represent Willy’s attempts to be successful and his impending failure.

Linda is the heart of the Loman family in Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman.  She is wise, warm, and sympathetic.  She knows her husband's faults and her son's characters.  For all her frank appraisals, she loves them.  She is contrasted with the promiscuous sex symbolized by the Woman and the prostitutes.  They operate in the world outside as part of the impersonal forces that corrupt.  Happy equates his promiscuity with women to taking manufacturer's bribes, and Willy's Boston woman can "put him right through to the buyers."  Linda Loman  holds the family together - she keeps the accounts, encourages her husband, tries to protect him from heartbreak.  She