Essay On Willy Loman's Name In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

A person’s name plays a substantial role in identifying the true identity and reputation that he or she has. A recognized and respected name that is heard by most of the public is more likely to succeed while a poorly reputed or unknown name is less likely to succeed. In Death of a Salesman and The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the characters, Willy Loman and John Proctor, takes pride in their name and are hesitant to disgrace and give it away, because a person’s name is something that defines who he or she is, and is something that no one should abandon, even if one should lose everything else. In The Crucible, John takes pride in his own name and chooses death instead of lying to himself and the public. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot …show more content…
“It’s contacts, Ben, contacts.. that a man can end with diamonds here on the basis of being liked.. his name will sound out like a bell and all the doors will open to him”(62). Willy believes that if you have a positive reputation in society, then opportunities will come to you and so success will follow. Because Willy values his name so highly and believes that everyone likes him, he eventually becomes deluded in his own thoughts and starts to become separated from reality. “I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman” (98). When Willy says this line to Biff, it shows how Willy wants others to perceive him. Throughout his entire life, he thinks of himself as a special and irreplaceable person; however, when he is fired from his own job, he realizes that his life has begun to fall apart and that he wasn’t as well liked as he thought he was. Now that he is unemployed and his son, Biff, does not have a job as well, he comes to the conclusion that they have never truly “made it”. Not only did Willy have to borrow money from Charles in order to pay rent for the house, he realizes that their family name wasn’t so well liked and respected after all. Willy has a lot of pride in the Loman family name and when he realizes that they are living a life of failure, he decides to commit suicide in order to provide his sons …show more content…
My Chinese name is 伍家俊(Wǔ jiā jùn) which translates to a capable person. Like the characters, Willy Loman and John Proctor, I value my name highly because my name defines who I am as a person and how others perceive me. However, I am not willing to go as far as committing suicide or choosing death over my name because while my name is important, I find that living and surviving is a lot more essential. This has to do with the fact that society is so vast nowadays that even if you manage to make a bad reputation for yourself in a school or city, you can still go someplace else and have a clean slate. I somewhat agree with Willy that while your name and reputation does matter in becoming successful, it’s not as important as working hard or the abilities that a person has in the workplace. Even if a person is well liked and everyone adores him, it’s pointless because if he doesn’t have any qualities that allows him to work on the job, then no one will hire