Death of a salesman - Why did Willy commit suicide? What did his suicide represent?
Death of a salesman
Why did Willy commit suicide? What did his suicide represent?
Willy commits suicide in the last scene of Act 2, the audience are left to let there minds finish the play as ‘the car speeds off’ and the next thing the audience see is the Family at the funeral. The scene leading up to the suicide is a confrontation between Biff and Willy, this confrontation exposes the essential gridlock of their relationship arguable caused by Willy’s affair. Willy desperately wants Biff to think of him as successful like his Uncle Ben rather than a ‘useless bum.’ Biff wants to leave and for Willy to forget about him so he can continue his life without the ongoing pressures from his father and live his life how he wants to instead of the carrying the weight of his fathers dreams.
When Biff and Happy return to the house with a bunch of roses for Linda but she throws the flowers to the floor, and tells them to leave and accuses them of leaving there self destructing father in the restaurant bathroom. Happy denies all the accusations but Biff admits his mother’s judgements and degrades his own status by calling himself the ‘scum of the earth.’ Biff wants to see his father and ‘erupt a conversation’ before he leaves but Linda tries desperately to prevent a confrontation which I feel she does as she knows deep down how close he is to death and this would kill him. Biff hears Willy outside, he is frantically planting seeds. When the audience see him outside he is talking to Ben, we can see from the outset this is a flashback and shows his deterioration in to madness. Willy talks to Ben about his $20,000 life insurance proposition which his family will get if he dies. Ben warns this is the ‘cowardly way out’ and the policy may not be honoured. He compares the proposition to a diamond that is ‘shining in the dark, hard and rough’ that is reachable by Willy. Willy is adamant that this money will prove to Biff he is important and this will be enforced when he sees the amount of people who liked Willy at his funeral. This conversation allows Willy to contemplate suicide but he does not realise that the last thing he wishes to succeed at will fail as you don’t get the life insurance money if it is suicide.
