Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Free Essays

Usually suicide is the last measure a human being would take when he or she sees no way out of a situation. Willy Loman, the protagonist of the drama Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, appears to be attempting suicide several times before he succeeds at the end of the play. His family does not seem to understand what is driving him into suicide until very late, as there seem to be several reasons. We will write a custom essay sample on Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller or any similar topic only for you Order Now Behind the word success Willy Loman does not seem to see anything more than material possession. Self-fulfillment is nothing else than earning a lot of money to provide a good standard of living for one’s family. This ironically is Willy’s ideology, even though he is a salesman with a low salary who can barely pay the upcoming installments. Willy’s view of the world is based to a large extent based on two men. His brother Ben, who made a fortune by finding diamonds in the jungle, and an old salesman called David Singleman, the salesman he aspires to become. Willy desperately tries to believe that he is a success, something he always tried to tell his sons. But of course at the age of sixty-three, near retirement, he has to realize that he cannot achieve what he was longing for. He starts going back into his past and seeing his brother Ben, who he thinks has all the answers. His life lies in ruins in front of him and he starts realizing that according to his ideology he is a failure. Materialistic things are everything that count for him is how it seems. Therefore he cannot see what he has in his wife and two sons, who stand behind him by the end of the play. The idea that his life insurance money could help his son to set up his business prevails for him. He had always wanted his sons, especially Biff, the elder one of them, to be successes. At the age of thirty-four, though, Biff has still not settled down, as he wants to be a success in the eyes of his father but on the other hand realizes that he is best at working with his hands. This of course would mean not making much money but would probably give him a feeling of self-fulfillment. By the end of the play Biff realizes exactly this but is not able to make Willy drop his views. These views prevent Willy from doing what he also shows talent in, which is construction working. Only materialistic things are what count in a man’s life. As Willy slowly seems to comprehend how much he failed, according to his narrowed views, a process begins in him, which many of the other characters would describe as confusion. It is much more than that, though, he looses his touch with reality and gives up his will to live. On his long journeys in his car he deliberately tries to crash and at home he connects a plastic attachment to the gas pipe in his cellar in order to suffocate himself. This not only shows that he has given up but also that his family is not enough reason for him to continue his life. This cannot be explained simply by saying he does not love them but it is that he thinks he is unworthy of living with them when he cannot provide them with money. Therefore his line of thinking continues with the idea that in his death he can give them a lot more financial support than he could in his life time. Following his logic this is to say that he is a much better husband and father, dead than alive. In the play there is a rather optimistic part, where the future of the Loman family seems rather good. Willy is about to see his boss for a non-traveling position and his sons have the plan to open a sports article retailing business. All of these hopes for a better future get crushed at once and the way to Willy’s suicide is free. In a last vision of Ben, Willy sees a new hope at least for his sons in his life insurance money and therefore his death. Ben encourages him in this unspoken intention Willy takes the last step and drives into the next tree. Willy Loman, husband and father is driven to his suicide by a perverted version of the American dream. His view of success and self-realization has reduced to a materialistic meaning. All he can see is his failure in providing his family with a good financial situation. His real failure, though, is not to see what he has in his family and what else he can give them besides money. How to cite Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Papers Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Free Essays â€Å"Death of a Salesman†, by Arthur Miller, is the perfect play for you to revitalize your career, as it contains an outstanding and memorable character that is understandable and somewhat realistic the audience. There are also several themes thoughout the play that the audience can connect to. The play is also heavy in symbolism that relates these themes with the characters. We will write a custom essay sample on Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller or any similar topic only for you Order Now By bringing all these elements into a masterful performance, you should have newspapers and critics alike marveling at your performance and swaying the public image of yourself from negitive to positive.Mr. Sheen, you will be playing Willy Loman. Willy is a salesman who, at one time in his life, used to be well liked and well known, but is now a troubled and misguided man, as seen in the following text: WILLY. â€Å"†¦ And then all of a sudden I’m goin’ off the road! I’m telling ya, I absolutely forgot I was driving. If I’d’ve gone the other way over the white line I might’ve killed somebody. So I went on again – and five minutes later I’m dreamin again, and I nearly – (He presses two fingers against his eyes. ) I have such thoughts, I have such strange thoughts. 1774) The â€Å"strange thoughts† that Willy continues to have thoughout the play are glimpses into his psychological thought process. To combat his unhappiness in himself and his family, Willy frequently reminiscences the past using soliloquies and illusions, imagining times where he felt content, appreciated, and successful. This will help the audience understand the trials you are undergoing as the play continues to unfold before the audience’s eyes. While it is normal to recall good times in our lives, it is not healthy to focus on them for too long. Willy basically lives in the past, which unables him not to be able to function in the present. The past has already occured, and you need to help the audience realize that there is nothing that you can do to change it. He even goes as far as to having conversations with imaginary people, showing his deteriorating mental health. Willy’s admiration of Dave Singleman’s (asuccess shows his obsession with being well liked: WILLY. And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? (1807) Willy wants people remember and love him to substitute his neediness to be loved in a way his family love does not. Willy chooses to ignore the fact that Dave is still working at the age of eighty-four, and is probably experiencing the same frus trations and financial worries Willy does himself. Willy is frustrated with himself and his two sons whom he sees nothing but failure in, and tries to commit suicide several times. His wife, Linda, works to cheer him up, but is unsuccessful in doing so. Willy’s two sons, Biff and Happy, also try to improve Willy’s morale by attempting to win their father’s affection by getting better jobs with better pay. They, too, are unsuccessful, and Willy kills himself at the end of the play. To Willy Loman, the falsity of the American Dream is the dominant theme of Arthur Miller’s â€Å"Death of a Salesman†. In early memories, you possesses a solid family that is happy and secure.However, no matter how much you wants to remember his families past as all-American and blissful, he is unable to rewrite his past. Willy represents the primary victim of this dream. As with most men working in the middle class, Willy struggles to provide financial security for his family and dreams about making himself a huge financial success. The failure of the American dream is present, and makes the audience question his/her commitment to their own false dreams. Another major theme of the play is the lost opportunities that each of the characters face and regret.Willy also regrets the opportunities that have passed by Biff, whom he believes to have the capability to be a great man. This is helped understood by the symbolism throughout the play. Symbolism in this play is very important, as it helps relate the themes to the characters. The seed Willy buys to plant his garden help to symbolize Willy’s desire for a fresh start in life. Willy’s desperate actions to attempt to grow the seeds relates to the unhappiness he goes through realizing his family has not â€Å"grown† into the thriving, nourished family he always dreamed of. Willy states: WILLY. Nothing’s planted.I don’t have a thing in the ground. (1827) Suggesting he is talking about his own sons and their future, his failure in being well known and well liked, and preoccupation with material success. The planting of the seeds can also show Willy’s desire to leave something that is tangible for his family and others to show the worth of his labor. Maybe you could reflect on the legacy you would like to leave as you dive into the role. All these elements help create this play into just what your career need in order to help improve your currently low image where it belongs.Many critics believe your cocaine nd hooker addiction is the suicide of your career, so you would be able to relate to Willy’s situation. You can relate to his unhappiness and character flaws as you have some yourself. Seeing as how you just recently divorced your wife, you could easily mold the tone and emotion needed to play this character. A moderate amount of people can relate to the struggles that Willy has undergone and can relate it to their lives 1. Miller, Arthur. â€Å"Death Of A Salesman. † Literature: An Introduction to Fiction,Poetry,Drama, And Writing. 11th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 1773-835. Print. How to cite Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Papers