Examples Of Denial In Death Of A Salesman

heme: One of the most prominent themes in Death of a Salesman is denial. In the play, Willy Loman denies that he is a mediocre man, with a mediocre family, and will die after living a mediocre life. Although he wishes that he were perfect, deep down he knows that he is nothing but subpar. This denial is seen throughout the play, and also seen in the show How To Get Away With Murder. Annalise Keating continues to deny the death of her husband, Sam Keating. In the show, Annalise is a law professor, with a set of favorite students. Her students then kill her husband, and Annalise helps them to cover it up, and dodges her grieve by focusing on the students and helping them to hide the murder through elaborate plots. She continues to deny that her …show more content…
This is because the two characters share the characteristic of denial, as well as the fact that they both view themselves as failures. Willy Loman is in denial of the fact that he is not the well-liked businessman he wants to be. He refuses to accept the fact that he is just a normal salesman who will not achieve any grand schemes in life; due to the fact that he did not manage to live out his dream career, he is dissatisfied with his current situation and views himself as a failure. Annalise denies the fact that her students murdered her husband, and that she is inherently guilty as well in helping them cover it up. While Willy was not particularly successful, he still mirrors Annalise because she only appears to be successful on the outside, as she has a successful career, a home and a family. In reality, she is not perfect, and has to deal with a dark past and multiple insecurities that affect the way she makes decisions and interacts with the people around …show more content…
Both characters go through changes in their separate stories. With Connor, his view of Annalise changes after the murder of her husband, and their relationship is strained when he starts to doubt her decisions and who she is as a mentor and professor. In the case of Biff, his view of his father changes after Boston, when the eldest son accidentally uncovers his fathers infidelity. Biff then considers Willy to be a "fake," and he no longer goes along with Willy's grand fantasies of success. In both cases, the characters grow distant from people they once adored and respected and wanted to impress. In addition, the two also serve as the ones to confront their former idols when things go