Death of a Salesman

A detailed Summary of Death of a Salesman

In the play, Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, different problems arise in the Loman family. It seems as if Willy can never tell the truth about his family's situations. His problem with lying to himself and his family could be a result of his past childhood.

As a salesman, Willy continuously lies to himself about being the best. He is scared to admit that he is actually a complete loser. Willy is a dreamy salesman whose imagination is much larger than his sales ability. Everyday it seems as if his problems get worse. Willy will not open up to the reality of his life, his conflicts get more out of control with every attempt he makes to deny and resubmerge them. Willy sees his job as a popularity contest; if people like him and his work, then he feels good about himself. On the other hand, if his boss' do not congratulate him on his work, then he sees it as one less friend. Willy's job is all that he has that seems to help his self-esteem anymore, but he soon loses his job and it all goes down from here. Willy is the typical working father and husband that is caught up with always being the best. He has his own strange "recipe" for a successful life. He can not accept the reality of hi

Willy Loman is not only a failure as a salesman, but also as a husband. He treats his wife, Linda, like she is a threat to him. She never does anything, but make Willy feel better about himself. Linda stands by her husband even in his absence of realism. The scene in the play when Linda tells Willy, "But you are doing wonderful, dear. You're making seventy to a hundred dollars a week", is an example of her support for him (Miller, 1651). Willy listens to her sometimes, but most of the time he cuts her off quickly. In the scene when he is talking to Biff and Happy about their plans, he never lets Linda say anything to them.

Willy has an ideological fabrication on the "American Dream" that he tries to live up to all of his life. When he sees he and his family are not going to live up to his expectations he loses it. His psychological problem is the reason he will never give up or quit lying,no matter what it does to himself or his family. All of his problems result in his need for the support he has from all of the dreams he desires. An example would be admiration from people like his older brother who died. His brother died earlier though, so he does not have the admiration he desires. This is the reason he has flashbacks and imagines he is talking to his brother about his job and his family. It is still not enough for him to be happy with his life.

Willy is suffering from the lack of attention he did not get from his father and brother when he was younger. He can never see this is the reason for his ego problems. He tries to take it out on his sons and his wife, but at the same time he wants to be the best father and husband. Biff tries to tell him something more is wrong with him, but he never listens, because deep down he knows, but does not want to accept it.

He always tries to make them sound better than what they are in reality. He has managed to make Biff, Happy, and Linda a part of his storybook life, but as Biff says in the play, "He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong" (Miller, 1706). Willy thinks his dreams are the ordi

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Approximate Word count = 1399
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English