Death of a Salesman
In a sense there are two Willy Lomans in this play. There is the present broken, exhausted man in his sixties, soon to end his life. And there is the more confident, vigorous Willy of some fifteen years before, who appears in the flashbacks. One actor portrays both, readily shifting from one representation to the other. To some extent, of course, the personality remains constant. The younger Willy, although given to boastful blustering, does admit misgivings to Linda and loneliness to Biff. And the shattered older man, in turn, occasionally reverts to his former manner of jaunty optimism. Yet the changes are great and significant. The earlier Willy could never have been the idol of his teen-aged sons had he behaved in the perverse, distracted fashion of his older self.Willy's agitation during his last day's stems from a twofold sense of failure. He has not been able to launch successfully in the world his beloved son Biff, and he no longer can meet the demands of his own selling job. Although not altogether ignoring Linda and Happy, he is primarily concerned about the once magnificent young football star that at thirty-four drifts from one temporary ranch job to the next. W
" Finally, by encouraging them to idolize him through his blown-up accounts of their situation, he does little to help them really mature. But if he can still purchase success for Biff with the insurance money, he personally will yet have won. Biff has failed, in other words, mainly to "spite"Willy. Willy still wants to get back the old comradeship, even if he has to buy it dearly. Feeling some sense of guilt, Willy fears that all of Biff's later difficulties may have been really attempts to get revenge. By running down the importance of good grades, he prepares the way for Biff's disastrous failure. To some extent, of course, the personality remains constant. "I always knew one way or another we were gonna make it, Biff and I!"If, however, Willy at any stage is apt to overindulge in grandiose daydreams, he is hardly the "phoney little fake" he once seems to the shocked Biff. His boyish enthusiasm is, of course, part of his appeal. And our history certainly indicates that some did reach the top by combining personal attractiveness with a casual disregard for ethical practice. And when he loses his job, he is sorry to think how much she has suffered. And many business contacts, developed over the years, are vanishing as the men of his era die or retire. "Why can't I give him something," he asks the spectral Ben, "and not have him hate me?" And his great final moment of joy and triumph occurs when he can exclaim,"Isn't that remarkable? Biff - he likes me!"On the other hand, Willy also is emotionally involved with Biff because his son's success or failure is also his. " Being over sixty, Willy is doubtless tiring physically. Actually, Willy's attitude toward Biff is complex.
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