Character study of Willy Loman.
Willy Loman is a very unique character, he is pathetic and a modern tragic hero. I think the problem comes mainly from his excessive daydreaming, and his view of the American Dream, which is to succeed in life by being attractive and well liked by society. He spent most of his life pursing a dream but failed. His determination and dedication in pursing something that failed greatly affected his family members. Through Willy's actions, he affected the future of Biff and Happy by straying them in the wrong directions. Willy and Biff always fight and argue due to Biff not living up to Willy's expectations and also having yet to make anything out of himself. Happy and Biff try to help Willy, but every attempt always results in an argument. He believes he is well liked and popular but in reality nobody likes him and for that he is a small man. The interactions between Willy, Linda, Biff and Happy are usually never happy or normal. They always fight and argue with each other. Biff and Willy always have conflicts about getting a life and making money. Willy complains that Biff is nobody and as a result he doesn't listen to Biff's point of view. Instead, he makes fast and irrational conclusions such as not letting Biff talk about his visit to Oliver "Biff: His answer was- Dad, you're not letting me tell you what I want to tell you! Willy: You didn't see him, did you?
Willy Loman as a Father
Willy Loman as a Father Modern society would condemn the parenting skills of Willy Loman, the father in Arthur Miller's A Death of a Salesman, who imposes his dreams upon his two sons and preaches the value of popularity over integrity. As an unsuccessful salesman, Willy is unable to cope with his own shortcomings and valiantly attempts to find something to be hopeful for, and he finds this opportunity in his son Biff. Frail and well past his prime, Willy feels that he is incapable of ever getting back on his feet, and so he believes Biff has a better chance at success. However, Willy steps over the boundary, and he develops into a father attempting to control his own son's life. In one instance, Biff comes home to recollect, and Willy vows, "I'll see him in the morning. I'll have a nice talk with him. I'll get him a job selling. He could be big in no time" (6). These expectations, though, are contrary to Biff's desires and dreams, since he aspires to work in the outdoors. For Biff, the job of becoming a salesman entails one "to suffer fifty weeks of the years for the sake of a two-week vacation, when all you really desire is to be outdoors, with your shirt off" (11). Thus the difference in desire between father and son leads to conflict, especially because Willy is stubborn and unwilling to yield to his son's ingenuous ideas. Biff is first to realize that his own
Willy Loman`s American Dream
Willy Loman`s American Dream Many perceive the American Dream as obtaining fame, fortune, and success. The play" Death of A Salesman," by Arthur Miller, tells the story of traveling salesman, Willy Loman, who encounters frustration and failure as he reflects on and experiences his own life. Willy's quest for the American Dream leads to his failure because throughout his life, he pursues the illusion of the American Dream and not the reality of it. His mindset was on perfection, success, and his constant reminiscence of the past and foretelling of the future, all contribute to his defeat in the end. The reality of the American Dream is that people are capable of succeeding. Success, though, requires one to work hard and be dedicated to both his/her professional life and family life. Yet, the illusion of the Dream is that attaining material prosperity defines success. Failing to acknowledge the importance of hard work in achieving the American Dream is another aspect of the illusion. By ignoring the present, Willy fails to deal with reality. He has a tendency of living in the past and thinking of the future. He always thinks that if he had done something differently then this could have happened, or things will get better as time passes. His habit of distorting the past, never allows Willy to realize what is going on right then and there in
The Culture Of Willy Loman
The Culture Of Willy Loman Miller portrays his main character, Willy Loman, not as an evil selfish person, but as a well meaning yet misguided person. Willy's character is one of a common man, he isn't anything special, nor ever was he. He chose to follow the American dream and he chose to lead the life it gave him. Willy made the American dream his culture, and the American dream made Willy its victim. The American dream is the belief that through sheer hard work alone, any man can gain professional success and thus receive personal gain (wealth, brand name goods etc.). The major flaw in this 'dream' is that it produces selfish individuals who will go to any extent to receive personal gain. To show how different this dream is to any other and what this dream can do to people if they take it too seriously, Miller gives Willy two sons, Biff and Happy. Biff's the opposite of Happy and Willy. Biff doesn't care about the amount of money he earns, all he really cares about is that he enjoys his work. All he really wants is to be outside working with his hands. Biff rejects the American dream and makes one up for himself. Biff defines his own idea of success and takes control of his life. Happy however takes the American dream and eats it all up. He becomes just like his father but is more greedy and cynical. He wants everything for himself and wouldn't spare a dime to anyone
Death Of A Salesman, Willy Loman analysis
English Assignment Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller How much sympathy does Willy Loman deserve? Willy Loman, like millions of others, dreamed of improving himself and his family. Willy's life and death, I feel are extremely tragic, he has been working as a travelling salesman for the last forty years of his life, never really amounting to anything and not until the very end of his life has he managed to pay off his mortgage. Willy Loman, is someone who suffers from a mental illness. Therefore, I believe his plight is tragic as he seems unaware of this at times, he lives a delusional life in which he has regular conversations with his deceased brother Ben. To a certain extent his life has been an epic failure, he has not achieved what he had wished, at least not in reality. Therefore, I feel it is hard not to feel sympathy for Willy, as his demise I feel is upsetting and to a certain extent heart-rending. Willy despite proclaiming he is a great salesman and a successful one at that, in his entire life, it is evident that he is not. He constantly wishes that he had travelled to Alaska alongside his brother, where he could attain a better life for him and his family and this is something that weighs heavily on his mind. It may have been be a contributing factor to mental illness. On numerous occasions he questions his deceased brother for ideas on how to succeed. In
Character Analysis - Willy Loman
Emily Rugg Character Analysis Willy Loman Arthur Miller introduces us to the character of Willy through the stage directions at the start of the play. Our first impression of Willy is that of an old, tired, hardworking man who gets home after everybody is in bed. We then learn that he has mood swings and massive dreams. As soon as Willy enters the house we get the feeling that something is wrong with the fact that he is home, as Linda calls "with some trepidation". She then asks him if he has crashed the car again. This implies that he has done it before and is a danger on the road. When talking to Linda about what happened when he was driving he says "I cant seem to - keep my mind to it". This gives us the first indication about his state of mind, and, as he finds it hard to get the words out, that he shows some difficulty in telling the truth about his failure. We learn of his inner dream of living in the countryside and growing carrots, but he is hiding this dream under the dream of being successful as a businessman. A bit later we get an idea of how successful Willy is. Willy tries to blame his unsuccessfulness on the fact the Frank Wagner is no longer alive and his son, Howard, does not like him. We then learn that Biff, his favourite son, works on a farm. Willy does not approve of this and says "How can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life? A farmland?" This
Death of a salesman - Willy Loman.
Death of a Salesman Task One: Willy Loman Willy Loman is a very complicated character, to say he is a 'hero' would be too sudden to say. After reading the first act, I have concluded that I don't believe he is a 'hero' as he is believed to be. He tends to be very self absorbed and a pessimistic man in the beginning. He lives a dream that involves only him and Biff (his son). He doesn't appreciate or pay attention to Happy (his other son) and Linda (his wife). I think he is a failure as a person, although I believe he was a very strong and caring man in his past. But after reading the first act and connecting my thoughts, I came to the conclusion that he is a very troubled man who seeks help desperately and he's very lonely without Biff being there anymore. Since he is very lonely he began to live out his past, which to him was sort-of dream like. He had the perfect son, who was attractive, athletic and thought to be a successful man in the future, as Willy believed he was when he was younger as well. His dreams have always involved money; he thought money brought happiness. This is where I believe Willy wanted to live the "American Dream", where you get happiness out of wealth. He believed so much in the "American Dream", he thought his life was almost like it in the past, and he wanted it back desperately. In act one, page 46, Linda is speaking to Biff and Happy
Was Willy Loman a tragic hero or not?
Nikesh Kumar 1/23/03 Period 3 Was Willy Loman a tragic hero or not? Arthur Miller" Death of a Salesman is considered one of the great tragedies, yet it does not apply to the given definition of tragedy. A tragedy is a drama that recounts an important and casually related series of events in the life of a person of significance, such events culminating in an unhappy catastrophe, the whole treated with great dignity and seriousness. The purpose of a tragedy is to arouse the emotions of pity and fear and thus to produce in the audience a catharsis (a proper purgation or cleansing of the emotions of gear and pity by vicariously participating in the actions of the hero and learning through his experiences and mistakes) of these emotions. In this play by Miller, Willy is the main character, but cannot be considered a tragic hero, according to the definition. Certainly, Willy is a victim of his own tragic flaw, but is not a person of significance, does not have outside forces bring him down, and he does not face his destiny with courage rather self pitying whimpers. First, Willy Loman definitely has character flaws that had a big part in his downfall. As his name implies, he is a `low man', an ordinary man, whose dreams and expectations have been shattered by the false values of the society he has put his faith in. Unlike the heroes of classical tragedy, he is not a man
Willy Loman - Villain, Victim or hero. What is your view?
GCSE: ENGLISH LITERATURE Unit 3: Coursework Arthur Miller (1915- ) Death Of A Salesman Willy Loman - Villain, Victim or hero. What is your view? Willy is a common man. He isn't anything special, nor ever was he. He chose to follow the American dream and he chose to lead the life it gave him. Willy made the American dream his culture, and the American dream made Willy its victim. The American dream is the belief that through sheer hard work alone, any man can gain professional success and thus receive personal gain (wealth, name goods etc.). Failure to fulfil the American dream, is failure in life. Willy Loman is stuck in a vicious cycle brought on by the American dream. He cannot bring himself to admit that he has failed as a salesman due to his self-pride; therefore he must keep trying to succeed. The problem is, that he will never succeed as a businessman, as he doesn't understand how business works. Willy Loman believes that in order to be a successful man in the business world, you need contacts: "Be liked and you will never want." Dave Singleman was a man who Willy met when he was young. Dave Singleman was the man who inspired Willy to become a salesman. Dave was eighty-four when Willy met him, and he was still working, but from a hotel where he was staying. Dave would ring up the friends that he had made in his time, and arrange business deals and meetings. This
To what extent do you consider Willy Loman a tragic hero?
. To what extent do you consider Willy Loman a tragic hero? Should 'Willy Loman' of Arthur Millers classic, Death of a Salesman be regarded as a tragic hero, or merely a working-class, socially inadequate failure? Described by Miller as a "self-destructive, insecure anti-hero", it seems almost impossible for Loman to be what is known as a tragic hero in the 'classical' sense, but with the inclusion of other factors he maybe a tragic hero, at least in the modern context, or partially suit one nonetheless. To make the decision as to Whether Loman is a tragic hero or not, one must define the term 'tragic hero' and reveal its development in theatre over the course of time. The tragic hero first defined by Aristotle in the Poetics, "...sees the rise of a noble character (employing artistically enhanced language); presented in dramatic form. Due to a character flaw and a seemingly unchangeable series of events, their demise is met, resulting in a pitiable and fearful scenario, leading to catharsis." According to Aristotle, fate and the wish of the Gods played a large component in the falling of the tragic hero and nothing at all could be done to stop this. On the contrary some centuries later Shakespeare, whose collection of plays included many tragedies, decided his plays would rely less on fate and more blame would be attributed to the character involved and those surrounding
