Most people use sarcasm on a day to day basis. These people usually use sarcasm to portray something that is obvious or to seem funny. However, what they do not realize is that sarcasm is a simpler form of lying. Lying is just one of the themes in the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Miller demonstrates this by how Willy lies in order to appear that he is successful, that he is adored by many, and about his oldest child`s accomplishments. In these ways, Miller uses Willy to illustrate how people lie in order to make themselves look better than they actually are.
Miller uses Will`s lies about his success to portray how most people lie to make themselves look better. For instance, Willy lies about his success to his wife, Linda. For …show more content…
For example, Willy always lies to his boys about how great of a man he is. For instance, Willy claims that he "can park [his] car [on] any street . . . and the cops protect it like [it`s] their own," illustrating the idea that people like him so much that he practically runs the town that he sells in (Miller 31). However, that is not the case because he is not a good salesman. Even Willy knows this because "Ben [ his brother who is also known as his conscience tells him that] 'great ' inventors . . . earn more money in a week . . . than a salesman [like him] could earn in thirty-five years," proving that Willy, himself, thinks that he is not a very good salesman (Babcock Par. 3). This also proves that Willy thinks that he is not as popular as he lies about to his family. While Willy learns this later in his life, his family learns the truth of how 'well liked ' Willy is towards the beginning of the play. For example, Biff learns this when he is flunking math and goes to his father "because [he thinks if his teacher] saw the kind of man [Willy is] and . . . talked to" the teacher he could pass, demonstrating the power of Willy`s lying (Miller 118). This also proves that Willy has been deceiving them for so long that even Biff believes he can sell anything. In reality, Willy is better at selling his lies than his …show more content…
Willy does this because he feels guilty that Biff is not successful. For instance Willy tells Linda that "Biff Loman is lost [in] the greatest country in the world" demonstrating that Willy tries to rationalize why Biff is not successful because he knows he never will be (Miller 16). This is also because Willy knows that Biff cannot be successful because of how he raised him. This is expressed when Willy makes a "reference to . . . [tools, such as the hammer, which then reflects on] the fact that Biff`s destroyer . . . [is] Willy who failed as a father by" forcing Biff to become a salesman instead of letting Biff be whatever he wants, like Charley does (Ardolino Par. 14). This is also how Willy`s parenting is different from Charley`s, which then causes Bernard to be a success and Biff to not be. Willy demonstrates this when he claims that "if [Biff] hadn`t flunked [high school he would have] been set be now!" explaining that Willy thinks Biff could have been a great salesman or at least a successful man, if he just graduated high school like Bernard did (Miller 109). However, this is not the case because even if he had graduated, Willy filled Biff with so much confidence he could not keep a job. This is evident when "Biff [attempts] to meet with Bill Oliver, . . . [and] he [waits] in Oliver`s reception room and '[keeps] sending [his] name in ' . . . but
Miller uses Will`s lies about his success to portray how most people lie to make themselves look better. For instance, Willy lies about his success to his wife, Linda. For …show more content…
For example, Willy always lies to his boys about how great of a man he is. For instance, Willy claims that he "can park [his] car [on] any street . . . and the cops protect it like [it`s] their own," illustrating the idea that people like him so much that he practically runs the town that he sells in (Miller 31). However, that is not the case because he is not a good salesman. Even Willy knows this because "Ben [ his brother who is also known as his conscience tells him that] 'great ' inventors . . . earn more money in a week . . . than a salesman [like him] could earn in thirty-five years," proving that Willy, himself, thinks that he is not a very good salesman (Babcock Par. 3). This also proves that Willy thinks that he is not as popular as he lies about to his family. While Willy learns this later in his life, his family learns the truth of how 'well liked ' Willy is towards the beginning of the play. For example, Biff learns this when he is flunking math and goes to his father "because [he thinks if his teacher] saw the kind of man [Willy is] and . . . talked to" the teacher he could pass, demonstrating the power of Willy`s lying (Miller 118). This also proves that Willy has been deceiving them for so long that even Biff believes he can sell anything. In reality, Willy is better at selling his lies than his …show more content…
Willy does this because he feels guilty that Biff is not successful. For instance Willy tells Linda that "Biff Loman is lost [in] the greatest country in the world" demonstrating that Willy tries to rationalize why Biff is not successful because he knows he never will be (Miller 16). This is also because Willy knows that Biff cannot be successful because of how he raised him. This is expressed when Willy makes a "reference to . . . [tools, such as the hammer, which then reflects on] the fact that Biff`s destroyer . . . [is] Willy who failed as a father by" forcing Biff to become a salesman instead of letting Biff be whatever he wants, like Charley does (Ardolino Par. 14). This is also how Willy`s parenting is different from Charley`s, which then causes Bernard to be a success and Biff to not be. Willy demonstrates this when he claims that "if [Biff] hadn`t flunked [high school he would have] been set be now!" explaining that Willy thinks Biff could have been a great salesman or at least a successful man, if he just graduated high school like Bernard did (Miller 109). However, this is not the case because even if he had graduated, Willy filled Biff with so much confidence he could not keep a job. This is evident when "Biff [attempts] to meet with Bill Oliver, . . . [and] he [waits] in Oliver`s reception room and '[keeps] sending [his] name in ' . . . but