Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman and The Life of an Entrepreneur The relationship of Willy Loman to his Diamond Mining Brother Ben
The play "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller takes place almostentirely in the head of its main protagonist, Willy Loman. The playcontinually evolves through a series of flashbacks to the past and flashesof what Willy is actually experiencing in the present. This allows theviewer of the play not only to meet Willy Loman as the father of two grownboys, but also see a bit of his own relationship, with his own brother. Itshows that Willy was always a dreamer, more interested in dreaming ofmaking money than actually possessing the real-life capabilities of doing Unlike Ben Loman, rather than being a financial success, Willy Lomanis about to lose his job at the beginning of the play. He is failing as asalesman and failing in mind and body. Willy feels as if he might bebetter off dead than alive because of his inability to make money,something that the playwright Miller suggests indicates the failure ofAmerican capitalism's value of the human mind and spirit as well as Willy'sfailure as a provider to his family. However, even more poignantly, Willyis failing as a father-not because of his financial poverty, but because ofhis refusal to see either his wife o
The idea that distance and motion will bring riches, as adopted indifferent ways by Willy and later by Biff, had been taught to the boysvirtually from birth. I'm getting nervous about him, y'know, Biff' However, even Biff(who has returned home only for a brief visit and has made clear that hehas no intent of sticking around his father's home) deploys his father'sand the family's usual defense mechanism of shutting out the truth. Because a girl, y'know, they always believe what you tell 'em, andyou're very young, Biff, you're too young to be talking seriously togirls. I droveinto the city with him last week. He just doesn't keep his mind on it. The only individual who seems to have any concretesuccess in the present, in the lived and real terms of the play, isBernard, who has worked hard duly in college and become a lawyer. Ironically, the most fulfillingrelationship Willy has during the play is not with other human beings, butwith the imaginary figure of his brother, Ben, whom drifts in and out ofthe play, proclaiming the wealth to be had from the diamond mines inAfrica. Rather, the viewer only sees Benthrough the glossy, rose-colored images of Willy's mind, in the distantpast, where Ben takes on almost a divine resonance-not because of any greataccomplishments on the man's part, but simply because of his substantialwealth and daring. You were never anything but a hard-workingdrummer who landed in the ash can like all the rest of them! I'm onedollar an hour, Willy! I tried seven states and couldn't raise it. Happy persists, "No, I've drivenwith him. "I am not a leader of men,Willy, and neither are you. "Hiseyes are going," Biff says of his father. Although neither Willy and Ben nor Happy and Biff hada real and concrete exchange of ideas, and a real relationship based onmutual understandings rather than mutual illusions, at least Biff and Biffalone ends the play free of self-delusion.
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