The Theme Of Death In Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman'

Superior Essays
Willy’s death is avoidable. He fills himself with imaginary thoughts that are distinctively different from the world of realities. He lives in a wishful world rather than focusing on the present situations. This is illustrated by his desire to give in to the pressures of modern America, characterized by material things such as new appliances. Willy’s proud and selfish nature largely contributed to his ultimate death as well, as he cannot accept his failures. He further ends up betraying his son’s dreams because of his obsession with success, highlighted by his need to dictate the career paths they should take to be well off. All these points to the aforementioned statement; that Willy’s death is avoidable, that his suicide cannot be attributed …show more content…
Willie completely loses his mind with the desire to see his sons’ affluence. In addition, he wants his son Biff to seek an office job in a town firm, but he declines since that is not where his passion is. He prefers to undertake manual work. Furthermore, both Happy and Biff show commitment to their dreams by abandoning their father at a restaurant following his outburst. Despite the fact that Willy did not like his traveling job as a salesman, he continued to pursue it knowing that he was a rather hands-on man. Willy tells Howard that “And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. Because what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eight-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved by so many different people” (Miller 75). This led him to live unhappily and miserably. This shows his thirst for living the American dream, as he is willing to pursue any job as long as it is perceived to be more modernized and with high returns. Similarly, Willie betrays his spouse in his quest for a luxurious life. He ends up seeking a mistress, “The Woman,” despite his wife’s unwavering love for him (Miller 102). As a result, he builds up so much vengeance, regret, and guilt within him that he commits

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Her constant doting and denial of significant issues in her own life cause confusion when Willy commits suicide. Even though she is constantly reminded of her husband's failures, she herself is deluded into thinking that they are following a life of…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Willy is unable to let go of it, unable to change in the face of reality, and commits suicide in the hope that he is helping his family.” He couldn’t accept the reality. As a result, Willy lost his mind, his grasp on reality and committed…

    • 1927 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Biff constantly discards Willy’s conditional affection and finally, expresses his disinterest towards fulfilling his father’s ambitions. This leaves Willy Loman rather vexed and dissatisfied at his life’s condition and finally decides to shut himself from both, the daunting reality of his fate and from the world of hysterical, yet distorted perceptions. This misery leads to the death of a discontented, unhappy…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    His visions of reaching the goals of being able to provide for his family and set an example for his sons gets deteriorated by his infidelity, contradictions to himself and his family, and his incapability to see his life for what it is. His motives for obtaining money, and being successful enough to reach what he thinks is the American Dream, are blindsided by his obsession of reaching this goal; so to the point that he pushes away his family, the reason he began this journey in the first place: “Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground”(Schlöndorff). Willy’s infidelity to Linda, and utter obsession of being “well-liked” chip away at his moral compass and virtues, being another reason as to why he’s unsatisfied with his life. Willy is under the assumption that the more liked an individual is, the more successful they will become, and with this, associates happiness with popularity.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Willy Loman Archetypes

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages

    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…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Willy’s view of success, denial of reality, and inability to make smart life decisions are what leads to his downfall. Willy heavily scrutinizes the lives of his sons’,…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Willy Loman Betrayal

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Willy believes that the best sacrifice he can make to his family is by killing himself to be remembered. “I’m—I’m ashamed to. How can I mention it to him? Every day I go down and take away that little rubber pipe. But when he comes home, I put it back where it was.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Willy bases his views of success on that of his peers success. The characters Ben,…

    • 1494 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To begin with, Willy is a father and husband who are expected to uphold the family by being a salesman. However, this is nearly impossible, due to his health rapidly declining. He can't seem to make out what is happening in real time, leaving him short tempered and in constant confusion. An example of this is when his brother, Ben, appears on several accounts throughout the book. This is particularly peculiar, because Ben met death many years ago, yet Willy still imagines having genuine conversations with him.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Some may argue that by lying to his family, Willy is protecting them from the worry and doubt of their economic and living status. However, the harm that comes from Willy’s false confidence spreads to other members of the household and creates a toxic breeding ground for deceit and dishonesty that affects them all. After Biff ran from Mr. Oliver’s office with no loan in hand, he began to notice the lies that he had been living and those he was made to think of by his father. While sitting for drinks with Happy he questions who gave him “the idea he was a salesmen at [Oliver’s Sporting good store].…

    • 2115 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Willy Loman Shame

    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages

    He is eventually fired with no notice, at the time in his life when he had hoped to be at the pinnacle of his career, the “someday” he is always speaking of. Willy’s dream is to be extraordinary. If he accepts his shortcomings, he is admitting not only to being ordinary, but also to being a failure, a notion that he cannot…

    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Willy instils into his mind that, because he must earn money he still has a job with Howard and he’ll “go to Boston tomorrow” (Miller). His conscience refuses to accept the fact he no longer has a job believing that he deserves the world for all that he believed he did in the past for the sales firm, “I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week” (Miller). Willy continues to live in his own mind in which he provides for his own image and…

    • 1159 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Happy’s real name is Harold, but it is his nickname that sticks. The dynamics of the Loman family leave him allied with Biff, both seeking to please their parents. But similar to Willy, his father is only present for the oldest son. Happy also mirrors Willy’s relationship with his older brother Ben, he feels dependent on going along with what his brother is doing to succeed. Happy waits all his life for Biff to show him the way.…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Application It is believed by many critics that this is Willy’s shortcomings and his own flaw that causes him to end up in such a tragic ending. In this case, J. I. Guijarro-Gonzalez and R. Espejo assert that: Although Death of a Salesman, after a superficial or cursory reading, would indeed look like a savage indictment of the system that victimizes Willy Loman, the more one thinks about it, the less plausible does that initial reading seem granted by the text. It is true that in a way, the system swallows Willy Loman, as the sharp focus on the apartments surrounding the Lomans’s place, symbolizing the modern world, seems to suggest, but the system is not to blame for it. Willy is on the brink of ruin.…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Death of a Salesman Essay

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    we find out that he now owns his house, the house that he despises and doesn't need. Willy's spirits die when he finally discovers that no one gives him the respect he deserves. I think this could again be linked to the issue of the American world, judging people on their wealth. Yanks just aren't going to give a poor salesman the respect the give to a highly paid…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays