... Biff's confusion is apparent when he states, "I tell ya, Hap, I don't know what the future is. I don't know-what I"m supposed to want" (Miller 1407). This realization represents a further detachment from the fabricated and illusionary existence that Biff has been so blindly pursuing. It is a promising statement because he does know what ... believed myself that I"d been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one look and-I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life had been!" (Miller 1449) This is the major development that prompts Biff to resign from his position as his father's Hen...

• Word Count: 932
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" it is possible to believe that the main character, Willy, the father of Biff and Happy, and husband to Linda, suffers from schizophrenia or some other psychological ... ...

• Word Count: 1178
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... to wholly dominate one's life and there are often disastrous consequences. This shows that while the Dream can offer purpose, failure to achieve it can cause dangerously crushing disappointment. Both Miller and Fitzgerald emphasise materialism as an increasingly important part of the Dream, with many people inspiring to be wealthy, owning hoards of possessions. Willy's dream is undoubtedly materially based; he ... , that man was success incarnate!" Willy realises that if he had have gone to explore the world with his brother, he too may have achieved the success, which Ben reaped. Miller...

• Word Count: 3225
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School

... became well known, many of the teachers he'd had throughout school couldn't remember who he was. As a young man during the Great Depression, Miller was shaped by the poverty that surrounded him, which demonstrated to him the insecurity of modern existence. After he graduated from high school he worked ... developed, and massive variations arose in wealth, which meant that this "American Dream" changed from being a potential reality, into being a dream. Most of Miller's plays are directly or indirectly about the American Dream, because ultimately this dream wasn't going to succeed as many...

• Word Count: 2042
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... worked with his hands, and Biff comes to realize this. "There's more of him in that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made." (Miller, 138) Willy never comes to the realization that it was not being a salesman that he cared about, but rather being well known. The American ideal of ... in the business world, but rather as a blue collared worker, Willy falls back on this American ideal of "Even your grandfather was better than a carpenter." (Miller, 61) The more Biff begins to realize that the American Dream is not for him, or his father, the harder it is to pretend that he cares .....

• Word Count: 891
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... Biff Loman's psyche, turning a subtle change in consciousness into one of the most dramatic and climactic parts of the entire work. As the novel progresses, Miller overwhelms us with the boldfaced lie that is the Loman way of life, largely through Willy's inability to accept that he is a "Dime a dozen-. ... As time passes, we become more aware, almost subconsciously, that Biff is unlike the rest of his family. It is through Miller's unique style of mixing the present day with the memories of what set Biff's change into motion, that the discovery of who he really is and ... the reality ...

• Word Count: 1045
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... author introduces Happy as "tall, powerfully made, sexuality is like a visible color on him, or a scent that many women have discovered (Miller 8)." Through this characterization we can see that Happy is the more favorable out of the two sons. However, Willy favors Biff more than Happy ... is always trying to gain Willy's attention and approval. It shows how Happy is always depreciated and always second in Willy eyes. Additionally, Miller uses irony to establish the main characters and their relationships, specifically, Willy, his wife and children. Irony is the use of words to convey ....

• Word Count: 685
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... walls highlights how Willy's perception of the past and present become blurred and he is unable to distinguish between truth and illusion. For example, Miller juxtaposes Willy's heartfelt protesting of his love for Linda and his family in the present: 'There's so much I want to make for ... historical and cultural happenings of the time. The playwrights both deal with the "decline of the west" through Truth and Illusion. Miller focuses on the decline of society showing a family, taken over by capitalism and consumerism, who have "substituted artificial for real values." Willy ... q...

• Word Count: 2422
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... a Salesman. This play was first published in 1949 and on November 18, 1950, when the play closed, it had encountered 742 well-liked performances. Death of a Salesman was Miller's "most critically celebrated play" (Leone 14). The play won a Pulitzer Prize, a Tony Award, and the Drama Critics" Circle Award. Death of a Salesman is about a ... beginning of act one when Willy is talking to Linda, his wife, about his day. "I couldn't make it, I just couldn't make it, Linda," (Miller 13). At this time, he is talking about how he could not keep his concentration. One reason for this is that he d...

• Word Count: 1159
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... outside, Willy acknowledged this to himself, saying "What the hell did I say to him? My God, I was yelling at him! How could I" ( Miller 1285). This is a perfect example of Willy's lack of communication skills. It's well known that parents' behavior influences their children. So it's no surprise ... with Biff)..and this woman?.. Linda: What? Biff: Nothing. Go ahead Linda: What did you say? Biff: Nothing. I just said what woman? (Miller 1272). This is a typical conversation in the Loman household; interrupting each other, not listening to each other, and lack of interest in what one anoth...

• Word Count: 1181
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... for his own failure. "It's me, it's me," he declares as he drives his car past Yonkers, a town on his sales route to New England (Miller 1879). Willy knows that his job is going to end, but he has too much pride to take any other jobs offered to him. He feels that he is ... wife Linda explains (Miller1903). However, he deceives no one when he tries to explain, "they don't need me in New York" because "I"m vital in New England" (Miller 1879). Willy also tells Charlie that he has a job when he knows that he is about to lose it. Willy contradicts himself when he tells his son Biff that ... ...

• Word Count: 829
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior, as defined by www.dictionary.com. The book "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller is about Willy Loman. He is a salesman who has been living his whole life as a lie. The only way to be a success is to be well- ... , even though it is significant. Finally Happy disowns his own father. "Happy: No that's not my father. He's just a guy. Come on." (Miller 115). Happy gets embarrassed by his father's actions. That he disowns his father and is showing what he learned from Willy. By doing this he becomes more ... h...

• Word Count: 1278
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... drama. Dramas demonstrate, criticize, and evaluate our everyday lives. More importantly, dramas accentuate the relationships built between people. Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, is a tragedy that analyzes the relationships of a family in search of the "American Dream."" The plays plot specifically focuses on the relationships between the ... to a better life, Willy in turn tapers their futures, destroying his own life as well. In Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller invisible walls can be the cause of difficult parent/child relationships. Willy tries to live his life through his...

• Word Count: 727
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... him and his sons. The death of this particular salesman raises the issues concerning the significance and value of the American dream of success. Miller portrays the Lomans as an average all American family. He does this with the setting of middle class suburbia as well as with the dialogue ... their peers and seem destined for success. Willy's typical American job, his "All American" sons and his commitment to achieve the American dream enhance Miller's idea of the American ideal. For years Willy has believed that both he and his sons (particularly Biff), will one day be great successe...

• Word Count: 1287
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... shifts to the past the mood is cheerful and optimistic. This gives the reader the idea that Willy would rather live in the past. Both Shakespeare and Miller used a realistic style to deliver their message. Miller's story is carried out in a dialog while Shakespeare's poem and Faulkner's short story are both narrative. Shakespeare's poem is first person narrative while Faulkner's is third ... person narrative Both Faulkner's and Miller's stories are not told in chronological order and both use foreshadowing to predict the ending. This style of writing adds to the suspense of the plot. Al...

• Word Count: 1074
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... the reason for why Biff doesn't love him. Willy's major flaw is his "total compulsion to evaluate himself justly" (Miller 1368). The circumstances occurring in his life and the identity he has created for himself are being confronted by his conscience to "evaluate himself justly ... because he believes he is someone, not just "a dime a dozen", he is "Willy Loman", top salesman, husband, and father (Miller 1362). Willy Loman most definitely meets Arthur Miller's definition of a tragic hero, and he connects with most of the requirements. The main reason that one is led to this conclusion ...

• Word Count: 1278
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... him and his sons. The death of this particular salesman raises the issues concerning the significance and value of the American dream of success. Miller portrays the Lomans as an average all American family. He does this with the setting of middle class suburbia as well as with the dialogue ... their peers and seem destined for success. Willy's typical American job, his "All American" sons and his commitment to achieve the American dream enhance Miller's idea of the American ideal. For years Willy has believed that both he and his sons (particularly Biff), will one day be great successe...

• Word Count: 1287
• Approx Pages: 5

... views. I am going to discuss two different views of this play. One view is Miller's play as a tragedy with Willy Loman as the hero or the second view a realistic drama about an ordinary, flawed man. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman breaks the mold of formulaic tragedies of previous eras. In this play ... of some attention as a human being who suffers. After all, she says, "a small man can be just as exhausted as a great man."] To Arthur Miller "the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to ... secure on...

• Word Count: 1185
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... then notices this himself saying, "Pull myself together! What the hell did I say to him? My God, I was yelling at him! How could I!" (Miller 1350; all page references are to the class text, The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, 5 th ed.). Willy however, is not the only member of the ... What woman? (Linda simultaneously): and this woman Linda: What? Biff: Nothing. Go ahead. Linda: What did you say? Biff: Nothing. I just said what woman?" (Miller 1339). This is a normal conversation in the Loman household interrupting each other, not listening to each other, and lack of interest...

• Word Count: 872
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... lessons. Many people go through their whole lives without ever discovering what is truly important to them and their family and what is real happiness. In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman portrays this very man; one who is lost in his own world, without a clue about life or himself. On ... deathbed, Biff states his father "had all the wrong dreams" and "he never knew who he was" (138). Through studying the complex character of Willy, Arthur Miller conveys a deeper message to readers about the nature of life and the human condition. Willy Loman is a poor salesman with hope...

• Word Count: 977
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... reality of the characters. The characters, because they cannot change, are truer than the actors. They will always be the way they are. In Arthur Miller's work, truth, reality and illusion are not explored in the same way as in Six Characters in Search of an Author. Willy Loman's entire life ... was based on illusions due to his incapacity to distinguish what reality really was. Miller explores the nature of his illusions by the use of frequent flashbacks through out the play, where Willy relives conversations and events of the past ... .. Miller differentiates between reality and illus...

• Word Count: 1019
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... emphasizes the common man struggling through the misconceptions and false illusions that modern society imposes. In the case of "Death of a Salesman", Miller uses social realism, which is the attempt to describe human behavior and surroundings or to represent figures and objects exactly as they act or appear in life (Encarta 1). The main ... Willy's downfall through the story. Willy has always wanted to be successful and well-liked among people, but he has not accomplished anything. Miller presents a common man, Willy, as the tragic character of the play. In an article Miller states, "...

• Word Count: 792
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... the reason for why Biff doesn't love him. Willy's major flaw is his "total compulsion to evaluate himself justly" (Miller 1368). The circumstances occurring in his life and the identity he has created for himself are being confronted by his conscience to "evaluate himself justly ... because he believes he is someone, not just "a dime a dozen", he is "Willy Loman", top salesman, husband, and father (Miller 1362). Willy Loman most definitely meets Arthur Miller's definition of a tragic hero, and he connects with most of the requirements. The main reason that one is led to this conclusion ...

• Word Count: 1231
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... nave views on success. His son Biff is lost in the world with no light, until the end, to find his vision of the "American Dream."" Miller also adds in Willy's brother Ben whose life is not as much someone's definition of a working success as it is almost anyone's dream of success. A ... ."" In the play Willy plays a career salesman that never advanced in life; with many tragic flaws that ultimately lead to his downfall. Throughout the play Miller is constantly reinforcing Willy's personality and childish view on success. In Willy's mind the key to success is to be well liked, if you are ...

• Word Count: 1159
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... and - I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been! We've been talking in a dream for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk." (Miller 104) Towards the end of the play, Biff blames Willy for his unsuccessful career, "And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air ... I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That's whose fault it is!" (Miller 131) With his lies about Biff's success that the entire Loman family came to believe, Willy is in great part responsible for Biff's failure and ... burns his sneakers on which he had previously printed 'University ...

• Word Count: 957
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School