BEYOND THE OBVIOUS:
Things are not always as they appear. At times many things are found to have deeper meaning. Arthur Miller displays his elusive technique as symbolism in Death of a Salesman. In this play, the author uses symbolism to establish the themes of pride and success. Furthermore, symbols are used to develop the characters of Willy, Biff and Happy. The themes of pride and success are achieved by symbols used in Arthur Miller's play. First of all, pride is shown when Willy refused to accept a recurring job offer from Charley. Charley asked Willy, ". . . What the hell is goin' on in your head? . . . I offered you a job." (Miller, 96) Willy would accept money from Charley, but would not lower himself to work for him. Charley ends up having a successful son and a good business. Even though Willy depended on Charley for income, he continually insulted him and refused a job. Willy's sons were a source of false pride for him. He would not admit to Howard that Biff and Happy were not dependable and that he could not go to them for assistance. Moreover, Howard pointed out Willy's false pride. When Willy said that his boys were ". . . working on a very big deal." (83) Howard replied by saying, "This is no time for false pride, Willy,
The stockings represented Willy's guilt. Women are a symbol of success to Happy: That girl . Biff said that he didn't know why he stole the pen from Bill Oliver just that he, ". Willy's car was symbolic because it is a representation of power and mobility while Willy's life was filled with hopelessness, and despair. He tells Linda to throw the stockings away in a symbolic action of his desire to be free of his guilt and problems at home. Willy witnessed Singleman when he was a rookie in the sales and Willy realized that, ". " (83) Not only was Willy unable to discard his pride in times of need but he was also un!able to give up his dreams of becoming a success. Willy told Howard that the reason he became a salesman was due to Dave Singleman. Even the neighbourhood seemed to be closing in on Willy when he said, "They boxed us in here. It also gave the impression that Willy felt everything closing in on him including time, debts, and relationships. Firstly, Ben gave evidence that he was always successful by the way he talked and the way he dressed. And he's the third executive I've done that to. As a teenager, Happy tried to tear Willy's attention away from Biff by repeatedly saying, "I'm losing weight, you notice, Pop?"(33) When Happy had grown older he still searched for acceptance and he showed an ambiguity of character at the restaurant.
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Acceptance Essays
