Death of a salesman
Willy Loman is a tragic hero in the drama by Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman. He has a problem differentiating reality from fantasy. No one has a perfect life; people deal with their personal conflicts differently. Some insist on ignoring the problem as long as possible, while some attack the problem directly. In Willy's case, he deals with his life as a general failure, which leads to his dismay, and relationship with everyone around him. Willy never really faced his problems; in fact instead of confronting them he just escapes into the past, whether intentionally or not, to those happier times. Willy is like an impetuous child who uses dilutions to escape his problems. The first time Willy is seen reminiscing is when he encounters Biff, his son, after arriving home from work. The conversation between Willy and his wife Linda reflects Willy's disappointment in Biff, and what he has become, which is for the most part a bum. , Willy ("Biff is a lazy bum" (act1,pg 1317, ln 37)). After failing to deal adequately with his feelings, he hallucinates into a time when things were better for his family. In his refusal to accept reality he is transported back in time to his happier days; where n
Without the escape of his dilutions, we see will for what he truly is, a failure. The way he overuses his vivid imagination is sad because the only thing it's good for is enabling Willy to go through one more day of his distressing life. Full of bitterness, confusion, depression, false hopefulness, and a feeling of love which he is trying very hard to express to his sons who are reluctant to accept it. The only thing Willy ever wanted was to be a successful role model for his sons and that he was not. At least not in the practical way, and that is exactly why the abstract can have a way of taking people to a high that they could not reach on their own. Charley said it best when he said to Willy, " When the hell are you going to grow up" (Act 2, pg 1353,ln 31). Willy never did and that is why he is such a tragic hero, with mind of a child and soul of a father he was certainly headed for impending doom. Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." The Compact Bedford Introduction To Literature. Ed Michael Meyer. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000 1313-1377. o one argued, when he and Linda were younger, and financially stable, and Biff and Happy enthusiastically welcomed him home from his road trips. Willy's need for his dilutions is satiated and he is reassured that everything
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Approximate Word count = 869
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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