Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Essay In life, there are many lessons and trials one must endure, learn from, and then overcome. Some lessons take long to understand and sadly, some people never learn these lessons. Many people go through their whole lives without ever discovering what is truly important to them and their family and what is real happiness. In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman portrays this very man; one who is lost in his own world, without a clue about life or himself. On his deathbed, Biff states his father "had all the wrong dreams" and "he never knew who he was" (138). Through studying the complex character of Willy, Arthur Miller conveys a deeper message to readers about the nature of life and the human condition. Willy Loman is a poor salesman with hopes of becoming a well-liked and respected man. He constantly worries about what others think of him. Although he is nothing really out of the ordinary, he tends to portray a false image of great success. For example, when telling the boys about his recent trip to Massachusetts, Willy claims to have met and talked to the mayor! Like this, all his stories are obvious lies. He lies about how much people like him and how good of
To be rich and liked: is this not the American dream?Perhaps here, Miller is trying to send us a message about this dream present in all men. On the surface, these do not seem to be such terrible desires. She seems to be in a state of shock, and is very confused about everything that has happened. Although, Willy was able to fool himself into believing his lies, Linda did not always believe them. Willy's values are very common to most men. Yet, knowing Happy's character in the past, this again is not a very realistic idea. Willy once tells the boys "a man who makes an appearance in the business world, and the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead" (33). He wants to show everyone that Willy did not die in vain and in fact, he had the right dream; the only dream. Willy's problems begin because he does not have balance in his life. Perhaps, because Happy was the neglected son, he feels as if he betrayed his father and now wants to give something back to him. While Biff faces reality, Happy seems to be following his father's example. This was causing problems for Biff until he began to realize he was not as superior as he thought. He is what one should try to avoid in life. Through Miller's depiction of Willy, we are shown a person who we should strive to be nothing like.
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