Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman is a play written by Arthur Miller. In 1949, the play made its debut in New York City. To this day, it is considered a classic in American theatre. The play centers on the Loman family: Willy, Linda, Happy, and Biff. The primary focus is on Willie Loman and his quest for covetous success as a salesman in addition to his felt need to have successful sons. Susan Koprence compares the character Walter Mitty of James Thurber’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty to Willy Loman in…

dysfunctions within an individual's own family, it is far easier to pick out the abnormalities in another's family. Throughout “Death of a salesman”, the Loman family displays an abundance of dysfunctions in their lifestyle, which is aided by Willy and Lindas co-dependence. 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…

When we are challenged by the dark, sombre facets of reality, we cringe, only to entangle ourselves back into the labyrinth of our trivial illusions. This idea is epitomized in the film, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller by the character of Willy Loman, who constantly denies the harsh, objective reality is blinded by his own irrational, superficial desires that he believes will take him to the highest happiness. Ostentatious and ambitious as…

Shockingly, the Salesman Dies: On Character, Circumstance, and Audience Perceptions in Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun Both A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller capture families at points of conflict, both among themselves, and with the societies they inhabit. In the case of Miller’s play, the Loman family is in financial despair due to the deceit of their family patriarch, Willy. Comparatively, Hansberry portrays the Younger family who…

Everyone has to face the truth at one point or another. Anyone can run from the truth, anyone can hide, but the truth always catches up. Arthur Miller and Sophocles portray their anti-heroes trying to dodge the truth in their pieces: Death of a Salesman and Oedipus Rex. Both Oedipus and Willy run and hide from the truth, both have to face it eventually, and both could have done something other than run to prevent their downfall from happening. Point is, no one can hide from the truth for forever…

In the Death of a Salesman, all of the main characters lie for all different kinds of reasons. Willy Loman is the first character that lies at the beginning of the scene and continues to lie throughout the book. Willy often lies in exaggeration to make himself look more likable and successful than he really is. For an example, Willy continually mentions that everyone likes and needs him. He acts as if everyone is dependent on him and every time someone sees him it's like they are watching a…

the unwavering perseverance to obtain success. While some people let ambition empower them to become their best selves, others let ambition control them to the point of failure. Through the characters of Macbeth in Macbeth and Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, both William Shakespeare and Arthur Miller reveal how uncontrolled ambition and reckless dreams possess the capability to lead one to their destruction. Ambition leads the characters to be extremely gullible and destroys their moral…

One man's trash is in fact another man's treasure. In Death of a Salesman, a play written by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman's trash; his insecurity and false pride, his many faults and his lack of mental stability all eventually lead to his demise at the end of the play. Even though, Willy, failed to reach the pinnacle of a modern tragic hero, since he did not share any virtuous characteristics, hence, why he died in vain which led to, Biff, Willy's son whom he doubted so much throughout most of the…

One style of living can dominate and overrule another style of living; that way of life gets stepped on and those who practice it feel the ruining effects. Arthur Miller tells a story of Willy Loman, a salesman in New York, who yearned for a simple country life. He travels around cities with his suitcases to sell stuff but he never actually reaches his life goals. As the years went on, the pace of the city sped up and almost everyone held modernized attitudes. Miller emphasizes how the rural…

Schellpfeffer 1 Ryan Schellpfeffer Mr. Pardee English 11 10 May, 2016 Abandonment in Death of a Salesman In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, one of the main characters named Willy lives in deep fear of abandonment in his life. Willy wants his family to embrace and practice the ideas of the “American Dream” because that is how he wants to live his life. Still, however he is fearful that his family might get up and leave him out of disgrace or non acceptance. As Willy’s father…