We can see that Willy is emotionally unstable and his determination to cling onto his dreams is a factor in his downfall as he cannot see past his dreams. He has mood swings and becomes contradictive. He says, “That goddam Chevrolet, they ought to prohibit the manufacturer of that car” whereas earlier he had praised the car. This shows his inability to face the truth as he made this contradiction when he had to face the reality that he was not making enough money to pay for everything. He gets angry and criticizes the things he has been praising rather than face up to the truth. He does talk realistically at some points during conversations but shows that he can’t sustain reality for very long. Willy would rather pretend that everything is all right rather than face the truth and deal with it.
Willy also shows his refusal to face the truth about Biff. He is angry at Biff for not having done anything with his life but still has hope for him. Willy could not see that Biff did not share the same dreams as him and only showed a real interest and happiness when Biff spoke about going into business. He has an unrealistic view of Biff’s abilities and seems to want to live his dream through Biff now, “I’ll get him a job selling. He could be big in no time.” It seems that Willy is slowly facing the reality that it is now too late to live up to his dreams and wanted Biff to follow the same dream. When the boys are younger Willy also shows his inability to face the truth. He tells the boys that if you are “well liked” then you will do well in life and gets angry with Bernard when he points out, “Just because he printed University of Virginia on his sneakers doesn’t mean they’ve got to graduate him” which again shows his changing moods when he is forced to face the truth.
We can see that Willy has put himself under much strain and stress because of this idea of what is a great man. He tries to live a lie which causes him to live in a fantasy. This stress contributes to his downfall and makes Willy unable to see what really matters. He wanted to do well for his family, he said “Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave home” It is important to Willy that he is “well liked” and he fails to see that it doesn’t matter to his family and they will love him no matter what. Linda says “enough to be happy right here right now, Why must everybody conquer the world“, which shows that she was happy with what they had. Willy lives a lie and pretends to himself and his family that he is “known” and “well liked.”
The ideas and dreams that Willy has have made him unable to admit to those around him that he has not achieved what he wanted. He lives in a pretence that he is doing well. He is also unable to admit that he needs help from Charley. He is very proud and doesn’t want to accept that he has failed and wants to hide his failure from his family. He says to Charley, “I’ll pay every penny back” which again shows his refusal to face reality as the reality is that Willy will not, in fact, be able to pay Charley back as he has lost his job. Charley is really a good friend to Willy and is always willing to help him out without question.
Willy’s life is full of fantasy and exaggeration about himself. He is determined to cling onto his dreams and even in his death he hopes that his dreams will live on through Biff. His mind is full with ideas and an image of being successful but another factor in his downfall may be due to the treatment of the firm he works for. He is rejected by them in his old age and Linda seems to think that this is a reason for his downfall, she says “no one knows him any more, and what goes through a mans mind, driving seven hundred miles home without having earned a cent? Why shouldn’t he talk to himself?” This has affected Willy which is why he goes to Charley for money each week because he doesn’t want to admit to his family that he is not making anything. He does not want to be seen as a failure. Willy can’t understand why Howard fires him. He believes that he should be more respected as he has worked for the firm a long time and he “named him Howard”. This is a factor in Willy’s downfall as he feels rejected and useless.
We can see that Willy has lived in a dream and the dream he had expected too much of him. This seems to have played a large part in his downfall. Another contributing factor to Willy’s downfall is Biff as he has not lived up to what he expected and this troubles Willy. There is also the way Willy has been treated by the firm he works for as he expected loyalty and understanding from them but didn’t get it. These factors are only a problem because of Willy’s dreams and are only factors in his downfall as they are more things that Willy refuses to face the truth about. The whole idea of his dream is a major cause of his downfall as he always striving for more and never able to see that what he has is enough to be happy with. He fails to see that he has everything he really needs. Willy could not live up to his dream and he could not face the truth about this and subsequently he could not face the truth about anything in his life and his downfall is mainly due to this.
