Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman





Death of a Salesman is centered on one man trying to accomplish the American dream and taking his family along for the journey. The Loman's life from beginning to end is a disturbing story which is based on trying to become successful, or at least happy. Throughout their lives they come across many problems and the end result is a terrible death caused by foolishness and the need to succeed. Unfortunately for Willy, most of his dreams are illusions, yet he is incapable to come face to face with this fact. What happens when you try to live the American Dream, but you fail? By not realizing what he could and couldn’t do, Willy Loman caused a great deal of pain to himself, his wife, and his children.

Willy lived his daily life trying to become a successful salesman. His self image that he exposed to others was a lie and he was even able to mislead himself with it. He traveled around the country selling his products. When he was younger, he was able to sell a lot and everyone might have liked him, but after years, Willy was still stuck with this representation in his head and it was the image he let everyone else know about. In reality, Willy was a senile salesman who was no longer able to work doing what he has done for his lifetime. Unfortunately, when he reaches the point where he can no longer handle working, instead of realizing it he puts his life at risk as well as the lives of others just because he is stubborn and doesn't recognize that he has to give up on his dream. He whines about a lot of things that occur in everyday life, and usually he is the cause of the problems. When he has to pay for the repair bills on the fridge, he whines a lot and bad mouths Charley for buying the one he shouldn’t have bought, the car having to be repaired is only because he crashes it and doesn't pay attention or is trying to commit suicide. Willy should have settled down with what he had and made the best of it. He shouldn't have tried to battle with everybody and just made the best decision for him self using cleverness. Many of Willy's problems were his own creation, and the reason they were self-inflicted was because he wanted to live the American dream. If he had changed his views or just have been happy with his life, his life would have been much better.
Willy's problems in life were usually caused of his hunt towards the American dream. Every problem he had and every hurtful moment he experienced was also imposed upon Linda, his wife. All the bad time she went through each day was because she was his wife. Linda’s daily life was packed with stressful worrying about Willy. Picture how she suffered when she found out about Willy's suicidal tendencies. The dialogs between Willy and Linda lead us to believe that Linda is trying very hard not to take it personally. Linda tried her best to help Willy, but it wasn't her mistake she was not able to get through to him. Willy did not respect Linda or give her the credit she deserved. She spent the days fixing her silk stockings getting gray hair and worrying about her husband’s safety. In the meantime, Willy found company with many mistresses and gave away Linda's stockings. Linda agrees with everything Willy says and stays satisfied throughout the play. The one time she gets angry is when the boys came home from the restaurant after leaving Willy alone. She shows sentiment and with a little anger and hostility her true feelings.


In Biff’s and Happy’s case, when they were little, all depended on the way they were brought up. Willy was the only one with any say in the way the kids were brought up. Linda went along with whatever Willy said. Willy taught them that if they were handsome and successful, opportunity would come to them. Happy learned nothing from Willy's failure but insists that his father had the only dream to become the number one. Biff and Happy worshiped their father when they were little. The stories they were told by Willy made them picture their father as a well-liked and successful salesman. At the end, when Linda says they we free, Biff is free to understand his dream of buying a ranch out West where he can live near the normal world. Biff also recognizes that his father had the wrong dreams and didn't know him self. Biff is sure he won't repeat the same mistakes his father did. Meanwhile, Happy is more like his dad, determined to stay in town and prove himself to everybody. Having Biff admit the dishonesty of his own life, insists on the end of their fake dream.
In conclusion, as a man, he had a limitless number of hopes and dreams. Regrettably, most of these were fantasies, which Willy can not seem to comprehend. Willy's problems were caused by small decisions made throughout his life. He had an option of whether or not to do something, he just made the wrong choices most of the time because he wanted to live the American dream. The majority of problems Willy faced were the cause of the idea of the American dream in mind, though the outcome of the problems were not purposely meant to turn out as bad as they did. Willy Loman put his family through continuous torture because of his search for a successful life. He should have settled with what he had and he would have been happy. One dream is not worth all the pain and problems he caused, he should have learned to be happy. As hard as it may be to think, he should have understood what he could have achieved and given up on his American dream. So while Willy tried to live the American Dream, his children were left with the nightmare.
by Jim.