The Flashbacks In Willy's Death Of A Salesman

In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller’s character, Willy Loman, is desperately trying to achieve the unattainable American Dream. Throughout the play, Willy encounters many challenges that have derailed his course and his perseverance drives him and his family insane.

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

In the play The Death of a Salesman, it is a play of how one dream can affect your whole look on life, that dream can either make your life or break it, it all depends on how you pursue it. It is a tragic play, the Loman family faces a lot of difficult circumstances due to all of the lying, betrayal and the one dream Willy is trying pursue for his family. Willy then confuses the difference between reality and illusion, he is so caught up in trying to reach the perfect life, which was the “American Dream”, that he lost track of himself and his own

In the play “Death of a Salesman”, by Arthur Miller, the primary theme can be seen as a conflict between man and society. In which the ambition to achieve the “American Dream” controls the life of Willy Loman and the influences he has. When success is not reached, sends Willy’s mind on a mental ride.

Author Miller's Death of a Salesman is plain and simply a call for everyday American's to wake up and take a glimpse at the reality that could befall them, with the wrong ideals. It is not difficult to decipher the type of character Willy Loman is, nor is the play analytically or rhetorically written, for that very reason. Aside from the plain text Miller further goes on to evoke a call to action to his audience through his saturation of symbolism. Everyday items, such as gardening seeds, stockings, sneakers and a rubber hose that would normally mean nothing, become symbols that further the development of Willy Loman's character, and provide us with knowledge of his past, his present, and his impending downfall in the near future.

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

Death of a Salesman is a play written by Arthur Miller and is about the tumultuous life of Willy Loman. Willy is a salesman that lives in New York who travels all over the eastern half of the country selling his products. Though it seems Mr. Loman is in a great position in life, he faces many problems in the play that ultimately result in his demise. Throughout the play it’s evident that despite all that has transpired in his life, happiness eludes him which bombards him into a deteriorated state of mind. Even though play made by Miller is fiction, it manages to stay realistic and shine a light on real issues that many people face today. This play is detailed and accurately pinpoints the struggles that some of the characters have to endure

No one remembered Willy in the business world he was just another travelling worker, no big shot, someone who was soon to retire. As Willy thought about this more all he could hope for was the success of the two good-looking boys he had raised, in hope that they would be the next big thing. But

We are first introduced to Willy Loman at age 60 as he returns home early from a sales trip. This is also where we get the initial glimpse of Willy’s dementia as he tells Linda, his wife, what happened during his trip. Willy’s two sons, Biff and Happy, are also present in another part of the house trying to ignore what is happening downstairs. The first backwards slide into memory that takes place not only reinforces that Willy is dealing with dementia, but also highlights the weak moral character he possesses. As the play continues, both the dementia and weak moral character are highlighted in Willy’s own experiences and memories along with being reflected in both sons in separate ways.

Willy is offered help by his friend Charley, a successful Business man, Willies all time friend and only friends he has left, when Charley offers Willy a job, yet willy full of pride and envious of Charley rejects it yet does not rejects it but continues to borrow money from him. This is due to Willies flaw in his desire of being higher in society than anyone else.Willy cannot let go of the past and continuously refers to 1928, when his career was at its peak. His withdrawal into the past is a defense mechanism as he refuses to come to terms with his failure as a salesman. His illusions of grandeur lead to fierce exaggerations of himself. He tells Biff to "Go to Filene's go to the Hub, go to Slattery's, Boston. Call out the name Willy Loman and see what happens! Big shot!" (Miller, 62). He refuses to realize his personal failures and falsely believes that he is successful. Memories of a happier past Willy losing a grip on reality and on time escapes into the past. Despite his desperate searching through his past, The deep probing of dreams and memories in Death of A Salesman where quite important in illustrating Miller's point. Willy is a man stuck in the past reminiscing about times when things where good fabrication of those times really were as good as he imagines them to be? Like his inflated dreams of the future, the past may well be embellished by Willy's wild imagination. It seems

Willy Loman, the protagonist in Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, is a character lacks self-confidence. Willy passionately believes in the American Dream as a way to achieve accomplishments and be wealthy, however he does not accomplish it and his sons too. His sons struggle to do their father's hopes, while Willy’s delusions starts to affect his real life under the challenging realities of life, his cerebral condition starts to deteriorate. The pressure strains appear because of this American Dream, and because of the general necessities Willy initiates the main conflict of Death of a Salesman.

            Willy is the aging salesman whose imagination is much larger than his sales ability. Willy's wife, Linda, stands by her husband even in his absence of realism. Biff and Happy follow in their father's fallacy of life. Willy's brother, Ben is the only member of the Loman family with the clear vision necessary to succeed. Charlie and his son Benard, on the other hand, enjoy better success in life compared

As though to recreate the connection in life, literature often shows the relationship between past events and a character’s present actions and values. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy is haunted by memories of his older brother, father, and salesman Dave Singleman. Willy’s character and values are constantly influenced by the memory of the three men, compounding upon his deliria throughout the play. Willy considers these men the epitome of success, thus explaining his dependency on all three. Miller’s view on society, men, and the success of the American Dream are portrayed through Willy’s interactions with the men. The American Dream is synonymous with the phrase “the world is your oyster,” but Miller uses Death of a Salesman to criticize the American Dream through Willy Loman and his interplay between the past and present.

  In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy is depicted as living in his own world. The play centers around the end of Willy’s life, when the real world comes crashing through, ruining the false reality he had created for himself and his family. Throughout the play, Willy Loman uses the concept of being well liked to build a false image of reality, as shown through his teachings to his son, what he considers successful, and his reasoning for committing suicide.

On the contrary, we are not immediately introduced to this delusional, flaky character. At the beginning of scene one, we see the more assertive side of Willy as he discusses business possibilities with his wife Willy. Miller balances out the audience's perception of Willy towards the end of the act where the more vulnerable side of Willy is illustrated, with the use of his behaviour and the response of others to his attitude. An example of this would be Linda diligently agreeing with Willy's strange statements. One of Willy's traits which qualify him as a hero is his eternal sacrifice, and the way that he throws everything into the balance in order to secure his rightful place in society, and to live the American Dream.