Goals In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” This quote by Larry Elder is an explanation of the entire theme of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. It is a short way of explaining that without having a strategy and plot to achieve the ideal that is to be pursued; it will not exactly turn out the way it is expected to. Many have taken wrong turns in life and can prevent the goal from being reached and being the best person possible, this is a similar situation in which Willy Loman has to suffer through. In Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, he uses symbolism and character development to suggest that people that become obsessed with their goals eventually are blinded towards reality. Initially, Willy Loman is in the illusion of pursuing …show more content…
Willy plans out his final steps with the fantasy of him again communicating with Ben, he tells him how he is planning to leave only as an assumption of it being a way for him to sell himself to die the death of a salesman. “When the mail comes, he’ll be ahead of Bernard again.” It is shown as of this event that there has been no growth in Willy; he still only wants his son now to be greater and defeat Bernard. Willy reasons that he will finally be a success as his form of selling himself, in a way compensates Linda for his affair and other failings because of life insurance money. It was said that to be a successful businessman, along with your products you should be able to sell yourself, and as Willy was unsuccessful with this, he now wants to make up for it in a different way. After the meeting Willy has with his sons, he comes home in a rage and he and Biff get into a large argument. “I’m a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman and you are Biff Loman!” by the end of their fight, Biff starts to cry, and this is because he is broken and frustrated over Willy and his incorrect way of life. He is only telling him to stop what he is doing and let it go. Willy unfortunately mistakes his tears as an evidence of love, and he still fails to recognize his faults and flaws and he fails to recognize that Biff and he himself have both failed in every sense. As of the state of mind, Willy is so far past reality that he cannot even sense the truth anymore. Yet till his last breath he still wants his American dream to be met; whether it is by him killing himself, or Biff now finishing it up for him by becoming better than Bernard. While still in the fantasy of planning out his suicide, he talks big, “Ben, that funeral will be massive!... All the old timers with the strange license plates.” He says this to Ben in reference to Dave Singleman, an extremely successful