Death of Salesman

The book Death of a Salesman is all about the American Dream. However, some take the American Dream a little too far, and that’s all they want in life. Willy took this a little too far. He had a false sense of importance in the world. When you do that and shut everything else out, you will lose everything, even yourself. The main character in this book does just that. He is a salesman who wants nothing but to be rich and well liked. After trying and trying to do this and never succeeding, he loses everything and even takes his own life. It’s just as Willy’s son, Biff states at the end: “The man didn’t know who he was.” (Miller138)

Willy is the main character in the play. He is a crazy man who develops many problems because of his outlook on life. He let the American Dream take over and basically kill him. He spends all of his life thinking that if you are well liked you will succeed in life and become rich. Success in his mind is being rich and well liked. Even though he thinks that being well liked is so important, he isn’t well liked. “I know when I walk in. They seem to laugh at me.“ (Miller36) Over these invalid statements he loses his mind, friends, family, job and his whole life. His way of thinking al

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That was when the kids respected their dad and looked up to him, but as they got older they lost much respect for him. Willy started talking to thin air again and embarrassed them. " (Miller97) Willy believes that in order to be a success, one must be well liked; therefore, Charley explains to Willy that good business will make someone wealthy. He looked up to his Dad and wanted to be just like him up until the night he went to Boston. Howard feels that he should fire Willy because he isn’t selling anymore, and people are noticing that Willy is going crazy. Biff, however, doesn’t see it like that, he now can see that his dad is a fake and doesn’t want to be like that.

Another theme in the play was his tendency to resist change. The illusion that he was well liked and successful killed him when he saw the truth. Biff at one section of the play steals a basketball and instead of punishing him, Willy basically says it’s okay because your a Loman. Howard knows that Willy is not doing well, and when Willy didn’t go to Boston one day Howard states: “What happened? You didn’t crack up again did you?“(Miller79) Willy has flashbacks of the past, and will break out and start talking to thin air. This is another example of Willy reflecting on the two boys. He is a very realistic character who attempts to convince Willy that his goals are all wrong. He should’ve looked more closely to what is really important in life. She was always trying to please him.

Approximate Word count = 1338
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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