The dominant theme expressed in "Death of a Salesman" is that of the American Dream. In the play it is important that Willy is a salesman as he represents the reality and consequence of living a false American Dream. Through Willy, Miller makes a huge impact on the audience.
During "Death of a Salesman" Miller uses Willy to portray the progression of the American Dream and the inability of Willy to keep up with this as values which once seemed important are now irrelevant. Early in the play it is established Willy believes all it takes to be successful is to be "well-liked" and "personally attractive". This falsity stemmed from the effect of the growth of the film and media during the period in which the play was written. During this period the film industry was booming, a means in which people suffering from the effects of the Great Depression after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 could escape into the glamorous and idealistic world of the movies. This helps to emphasise how the American Dream had altered from being personally fulfilled to rich and famous, this being evident in Miller's writings. It is important that Willy is a salesman as he does not make his own product, does not specialise in any area and additionally must sell his personality. It is Willy's transition from selling goods to selling himself, he becoming useless merchandise which alienates Willy.
After thirty-six years of working for his company Willy's salary is removed and after relating to Howard " I've come to the decision I"d rather not travel anymore" is subtly fired; "I don't want you to represent us". Charlie tells him "The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell. And the funny thing is that you"re a salesman and you don't know that". This emphasises that Willy is disillusioned about what it takes to be a salesman having not adjusted to the modern world where personality no longer matters. Miller uses Willy's role as a salesman to exploit the callous, capitalist system that America adopted during the era prior to the period in which the play was written.
Willy Loman to this day is one of the hardest characters for an actor to act out in a play. ... How Biff has affected Willy was in a big way. ... Willy refuses to listen to what Biff is saying; he tells Biff how great he is and how successful he can become. ... How Willy attempts to solve this situation was suicide. ... No one is present at Willy Loman's funeral. ...
Oedipus, Macbeth, Lear, Hamlet, Othello "or Willy Loman. ... Willy Loman is indeed a pathetic and tragic hero of Death of a Salesman, for his problems stem from his own delusions, not unlike Oedipus. ... Death of a Salesman follows this rubric in that Willy Loman loses his son's respect (reversal) after making the mistake of having an affair (hamartia). ... Willy Loman is incapable of discerning what is real from what is not. ... WILLY: That's funny. ...
In Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," Willy Loman struggles to find success and be the role model that his sons look up to him as. ... Within Jonathan Witt's "Song of the Unsung Antihero: How Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Flatters Us", he expresses that Willy is over exaggerated and should not be considered by the audience as an anti-hero. ... Witt explains that "Miller himself has created a very big ad for the dysfunctional Willy Loman and its effect is not altogether unlike the effect of the Hastings refrigerator ad on Willy Loman " (Witt 213). .....
Willy's Useless Advice About Success Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a play that illustrates a family that lives in a dream world but ultimately comes into reality. ... Willy Loman, husband and the father of two sons, is a sixty-year-old, insecure traveling salesman. ... Loman insists that his son must be well-liked and popular; that is the key to a successful life. ... Willy Loman constantly emphasizes that "personality always wins the day" when in fact it does not (1351). ... Oliver, Willy gives some awful advice about how he should use his persona to impress the poten...
In the play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman is like many people today. ... Willy Loman states: I'm fat. ... Willy Loman says, "Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty thousand dollars in his pocket? ... Willy Loman's decision to place his hopes of wealth on his son is another aspect that many immigrants can relate to. ... In conclusion, Willy Loman tries his best to gain wealth. ...
At the very outset of my essay, I will you to get to know Willy Loman. ... Willy Loman is a traveling salesman who grew up inspired by the success of his salesman father, who left his family for Alaska. ... But in fact, there are two Willy Lomans in the play. There is the Willy Loman, how we met him at the beginning of the Book, as an exhausted man, which life is soon at the end. And on the other side, the young and self-assured Willy Loman, who appears in Willy's flashbacks and fantasies. ...
Willy Loman: A Tragic Hero A tragic hero is a character exhibits traits of good moral, but possess a fatal flaw that brings upon his or her own downfall. In Arthur Miller's drama, Death of a Salesman, the protagonist and tragic hero, Willy Loman, although somewhat corrupted by material desires, is a man with good morals and noble qualities, but possesses a tragic flaw, which sees him to his inevitable downfall Though a seemingly unsuccessful and emotionally unstable character, Willy Loman has good noble qualities, a characteristic of a tragic hero. Further supporting the characte...
Death of a Salesman Character Analysis Willy Loman a traveling salesman who has worked for the Wagner firm for thirty-four years. ... Nor do his sons fulfill his hope that they will succeed where he has failed. ... The overwhelming tensions caused by this disparity, as well as those caused by the societal imperatives that drive Willy, form the essential conflict of Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman is the protagonist of the story. ... The dream also seems to say that the individual need not master any form of skill or profession to make it big. ...
Although pitiful to any spectator, Willy Loman represents every man living a life of quiet desperation and in that sense is therefore greater than any one man. ... Money is one of the main problems that Willy Loman had throughout the play. ... Willy would tell Linda how much he had made, but she would then point out how much they owed on everything. ... The most realistic part of the play may have been about how much Willy loved his children and how he wanted their life to be better than his own. ... When reading Death of a Salesman, most people can relate to the problems of the Loman'...
