Death of a Salesman - Symbols
The cars that Willy Lowman own in Death of a Salesman symbolizes his mental well-being throughout his life. This will be examined in three separate sections, Willy's flashbacks, the 'present time' sections of the play, and finally the car crash. These explanations will be presented in chronological order to keep things from becoming confusing.When Willy is having flashbacks on his life it is shown that he was a very happy and stable person, the kind of person people liked. He had a job which let him travel and kept him from a cramped office space, he was able to pay the bills without too much trouble, and he loved his family and they loved him back. At this time in Willy's life he owned a red Chevy pickup. It was 1928 and Willy lead a happy life with a happy family. He had a great relationship with his children. "I've been wondering why you polish the car so careful. Ha! Don't leave the hubcaps, boys. Get the chamois to the hubcaps. Happy, use newspaper on the windows, it's the easiest thing. Show him how to do it Biff! You see, Happy? Pad it up, use it like a pad. That's it, that's it, good work. You're doin' all right, Hap." That quotation shows how much of a hero Willy was t
In the final scene where Willy is alive he drives himself into something on the street in front of his own home. He believes this is a new beginning for his family, due to the insurance that he thinks is going to his family, and he is right. Although the insurance does not go through as planned, he leaves the family with a bit of new hope. The crashed car symbolizes the way Willy was before, and just after, the crash, His state of mind beforehand was getting old and confused, just as a car gets rusty and run-down. Willy never quite knew what he was supposed to do with his life and he was constantly trying to find himself. This is like the car that was always needing repair, causing a burden on the family, as was Willy. o the boys at this time in their lives. It also shows how he was indeed active in their lives and proud of them in every way. He, at this time coached them and taught them how to be successful. The relation of him to the car even goes further with things Willy says that don't seem to be directly related to him in any way. When he says "Chevrolet, Linda, is the greatest car ever built." It can be related to him at the time. Willy had a nice piece of land, a happy
Some common words found in the essay are:
Chevrolet Linda, Death Salesman, Happy Pad, Whenever Willy, Ha Don't, Willy Willy's, Willy Lowman, willy's life, happy family, ,
Approximate Word count = 799
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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