DEATH OF A SALESMAN ESSAY SERIES

Willy, however, remains imprisoned by a set of false ideals. In a sense, Death of a Salesman ends on an optimistic note, in that Biff discovers a new sense of himself, stripped of illusion, as he finally becomes a man with self-respect. Happy, meanwhile, lacks the courage of honesty and remains caught in the rat race, still under the impression that wealth and status are the keys to fulfillment. The life of business and the city is not for him, and he sees his happiness in day-to-day living rather than in the goals foisted on him by society or by his father. Yet, when Biff confronts his father in the final scene, he has an epiphany, a sudden burst of knowledge: Biff realizes that success entails working at an enjoyable job, which for him means working on a farm, outdoors, with his shirt off. These scenes present Biff and Happy as they appeared in high school, providing the audience with a glimpse into the happy past that shaped the unhappy present.

DEATH OF A SALESMAN ESSAY SERIES

The way in which this theme informs the play is also the key to its form, since Willy constantly relives the past through a series of flashbacks. He taught Biff that being вЂњwell-likedвЂќ would carry the day, thus ignoring the damaging truth that BiffвЂ™s habit of petty theft - whether it was lumber from a nearby construction site or a football from the locker room - would ultimately lead to the boyвЂ™s downfall. Willy makes the error of celebrating popularity over know-how, style over substance. While Willy himself was never successful as a salesman, he remains confident that his son Biff will be able to make it big in business because of his good looks and his past glory as a high school football star. Implicit within this dream, however, is the assumption that money leads to fulfillment, regardless of the type of work that one does in order to attain it. The capitalist nature of the American Dream - the belief that through the pioneer virtues of hard work, perseverance, ingenuity, and fortitude, one might find happiness through wealth. It is this snobbery, combined with a lack of practical knowledge, that leads to his downfall. For Willy, the success of that dream hinges on appearance rather than on substance, on wearing a white collar rather than a blue one. WillyвЂ™s tragic flaw also stems from the fact that he has misinterpreted the American Dream, the belief that one can rise from rags to riches. In the trough of his life, Willy seeks the help of an old friend and student named Howard, asking him for a better job, even though he has past his limits. He never took the time to vacation or relax with his family, which ends up exhausting his mind and leaves him confused and ill at a relatively young age. While someone could do this every now and then for major business trips, it would be quite unimaginable to see someone do this day in and day out, just like Willy did. His work often involved taking very long trips to cities along the entire east coast, and his only way there was by car with him at the wheel. Willy valued his job more than he did his mental health. Willy sacrifices his family, his time, and his own mental health for his career in the world of selling. However, Willy Loman finds nothing but defeat at the end of his road. In the play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, businessman Willy Loman sacrifices nearly every aspect of his life and family for the sake of business, in hopes that one day he could hit it big and retire rich. However there is a point where the sacrifice is not worth the reward, and there is a point where the reward becomes unattainable. Whether it be time, money, family, or virtues, some weight must be lost if they wish to obtain their goal. It is very well known that if one wishes to succeed, then that one must sacrifice something in their life.

Death of a salesman essay