In “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, the main character, Willy Loman is an elderly man. He has come to a fork in the road of struggling with everyday life in modern America, in the late 1940’s. As constantly newer appliances and cars are being manufactured, Willy Loman is progressively tries to obtain the latest models for his family. As he slowly starts to lose his mind in this materialistic world, it becomes clear that the only thing he is really concerned about is keeping up with the people in his community. “The Salesman figure that comes through is not of a typical grunt brought down by financial failure but of an exceptional invalid, in whom the stress of business only increased existing psychological imbalances” (CJAS). Success
…show more content…
Seemingly, Willy Loman’s own downfall is his inability to move forward because of his focus is always on the wrong aspects of success. One day as Willy is traveling home from work he got “a little above Yonkers and had to stop for he could go no more” (Miller) because through exhaustion and daydreaming he ran off the road. This was the turning point in Willy’s life where he come to realize that he had grown much too old to drive and, make the long trips to his work. Willy is a strong willed male and this is hard for him to swallow. Finally, Willy makes the trip home and talks to Linda about what has just happened to him on the road. She suggests that he try to get transferred where he could work in New York. Next, Willy goes down to have a conversation with Howard Wagner, his boss, about a transfer within the company. Since he has been there for a long time, he stated, “He would be willing to take a pay cut just to be closer to home.” However, Howard Wagner lets Willy know that he is being terminated and that he should retire to get some much needed rest. Additionally, his boss encourages him to allow Biff and Happy; his two sons take care of him. Happy lets his father know that he would stand behind his dad if he chooses to
Seemingly, Willy Loman’s own downfall is his inability to move forward because of his focus is always on the wrong aspects of success. One day as Willy is traveling home from work he got “a little above Yonkers and had to stop for he could go no more” (Miller) because through exhaustion and daydreaming he ran off the road. This was the turning point in Willy’s life where he come to realize that he had grown much too old to drive and, make the long trips to his work. Willy is a strong willed male and this is hard for him to swallow. Finally, Willy makes the trip home and talks to Linda about what has just happened to him on the road. She suggests that he try to get transferred where he could work in New York. Next, Willy goes down to have a conversation with Howard Wagner, his boss, about a transfer within the company. Since he has been there for a long time, he stated, “He would be willing to take a pay cut just to be closer to home.” However, Howard Wagner lets Willy know that he is being terminated and that he should retire to get some much needed rest. Additionally, his boss encourages him to allow Biff and Happy; his two sons take care of him. Happy lets his father know that he would stand behind his dad if he chooses to