In Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" the main character, Willy Loman, cannot express his true feelings, faking his own happiness and hiding behind a wall of deceit throughout the entire play. While Willy is responsible for his own destiny, his relatives and friends play a vital role in his death. He digs himself into a deep hole of lies and misconceptions as he shifts from the life that he lives with his family, to his job working for Mr. Howard Wagner. So greatly influenced by the society around him, and his desire to live his perception of the American Dream, Willy Loman is afflicted to the point of irrationality, and ultimately kills himself.
At the beginning of the play, Willy blames himself 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 responsible for the situation that he is in, even though he is not totally to blame. He is insulted when his neighbor, Charlie, tries to offer Willy a job position in California. Willy takes pride in his job, and doesn't want to quit. He is somewhat jealous of Charlie's success. .
Another reason why Willy is to blame for his own destiny is because he constantly lies to himself, his family, and his friends. Willy lies about his job and the amount of money he earns. Although Charlie gives Willy money to pay his bills, "he pretends, to me, that it's his pay," his 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 he needs to return the football that he is taking from the locker room, and then says that the "coach"ll probably congratulate [him] on [his] initiative" (Miller 1888).
