Death of a Salesman1

A detailed Summary of Death of a Salesman1

Do we have the ability to control our destiny? The truth is this, one can set their goals and try to attain them and one can dreams their dreams and try to live them but the difference must be known. The character Willy Loman, in the play Death of A Salesman, seems to be a person who is not aware of the difference in reality and dreams. Willy's choices throughout his life undeniably lead to his own demise.

Willy Loman is a tragic hero. His fear is that he wants to be viewed as a good, decent human being. He wants to believe that he's a well-liked, decent person who doesn't make mistakes. The truth is that he makes mistakes, many that haunt him, and that he is human. Willy does not consider this normal and severely regrets such failures such as raising his children poorly, as he sees it, not doing well in business, though he wishes he were, and cheating on his wife Linda, showing her to be a commodity of which he takes advantage. Linda has a true, pure love for her husband. Linda stands behind him through it all, through his dreams and broken promises, she still believes in him.

"The quality in such plays that does shake us... derives from the underlying fear of being displaced, the disaster inherent in be

" I don't say he's a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing has happened to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall into this grave like an old dog. Attention must be paid to such a person."

Willy, even at an early age, had a chance to change and become like his brother Ben, but chose not to. He saw the life of a salesman and refused to do anything else. He had decided what he wanted to be. In the end, because of his unwillingness to change and submit passively to the established world, Willy dies at the hands of his tragic flaws.

Indeed this is the case with Willy. He decides to take action rather than complacently become outdated. Willy continually argues with those around him in order to try to keep his personal dignity. These include his argument with Howard that he can still sell, his arguments with Charley over the card game and the job, and his argument with Biff about not being "a dime a dozen." "I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman and you are Biff Loman" (Miller, Death... 132)!

"Howard, and now I can't even pay my insurance! You can't eat the orange and throw away the peel! A man is not a piece of fruit" (Miller, Death... 82)! He, however, refuses to change his view of the world and continues his struggle upstream. What makes this tragic, though, is that he does not change. It is his "tragic flaw" that brings this failure about him. His unwillingness to submit passively to the established order and values takes him down. He has a set idea in his mind about how he wants to be and the way he wants his children to be. He is a salesman and refuses to be anything else. <

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Approximate Word count = 1195
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts