Willy Loman Archetypes

“I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman! (Miller 1902). Arthur Miller, a successful American playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949 and former alumni from the University of Michigan, in his play, Death of Salesman, published in 1949, describes the unsettling story of a hero of tragedy whose own fragile mental state unfortunately presents his downfall. Willy Loman seems like an ordinary man who attempts to embody the American dream of success, however, behavioral conflicts throughout his family prove to be too devastating as implications on his self-awareness and identity within society arise that haunt him until his last breath. Arthur Miller’s play essentially starts out with Willy, the father encouraging …show more content…
In this case, he represents a transcendent hero because he achieves a revelation or reality prior to his downfall. I will also note this example is relatable to hero archetypes seen also in Greek and Shakespearean tragedies, such as Hamlet and Oedipus, however, Willy, himself is no where close to them as he is just an ordinary human being. With that being said, Willy presents a fatal flaw or weakness that holds on to him throughout the play. As the play progresses, his fragile mental state shows because he is simply delusional in that he thinks of the past whenever things aren’t going the best for him. For instance, he relives past memories of his son, Biff’s last football game as he tells how he excited he was to tell his buyers. “I'm takin’ one play for Pop. You watch me, Pop, and when I take off my helmet, that means I’m breakin’ out. Then you watch me crash through that line! … Oh, wait’ll I tell this in Boston” (Miller 1852). As you can see, instead of acknowledging and realizing that he is not so much of a great success, he goes off and relives past moments where he recalls his son’s great pride in him. Willy’s hero archetype contains a mental flaw that does not allow him to distinguish between reality and past memories which in turn, contributes to his downfall in the play because he can not support his family like would have liked …show more content…
Apart from his actions, mainly including the fantasies and vivid dreams of past memories, Willy’s motivations and values reveal various themes of denial, reputation, and the vision of America. Willy and his family tend to believe that living in the United State grants opportunities that come with instant success. This theme is prevalent in the play as Willy demonstrates time and time again to his son’s that they should be successful because of the country they are living in. Willy’s mental imperfection allows him to not recognize the truth behind his family’s faulty vision of the American dream. For instance, Willy blames the growing population for the reason that Biff that could not settle and land a life of his own when he states, “There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining this country! The competition is maddening! Smell the stink from that apartment house! And the one on the other side… How can they whip cheese? (Miller 1845). Willy essentially believes that the notion of working hard in America will lead to a glorious and successful life, however, that is not the case and it isn't until the end where his son Biff acknowledges that the beliefs of the entire family is incorrect. “Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such—personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker. There’s one thing about Biff— he’s