Daeth Of A Salesman

Section: Theater Essays

For example, Willy is confused about success and happiness. His «solution» to these problems of committing suicide is a highly questionable one, at the least. But, Willy is planning on committing suicide for the betterment of his family, which is an admirable objective. He is willing to sacrifice everything he has, specifically his life, for his convictions, which makes him, with using Miller's definition, the epitome of a perfect tragic hero. Miller used very creative and original formats in almost all of his works. For example, he has Willy holding two conversations at the same time, which shows the problems going on inside of his head.

When Willy is reminded of the Boston hotel room incident, he relives the event and feels all the pain like it had just happened. "His language is sometimes considered banal and lacking emotional power" (Moss, 125). Some critics believe that Miller has been too negative towards American society by showing mostly only the worst of what people can do. Also, he has been criticized by saying that he only shows the inhumane, mechanical workings of a business, never the loyalty that a company shows to its hardest workers. Some critics say his "common man" heroes are «little» and in the worst case, just common people. It has also been said that his heroes are not genuinely human enough to qualify as tragic figures at all. He has also been criticized for using untraditional techniques like the Act One «Overture» in The Crucible and the «Requiem» in Death of a Salesman. Miller always tries to find new forms of style to explore new and different themes. Among these themes Miller takes into effect the vital contemporary issues of his time.

Even those who disagree with his literary, political, or social views say that he does care about society and tries to tie in morals with his works. Many also say his plays provide "good theater", that his stories effect them emotionally, as well as mentally, and that they "stir the heart". A critic who, while working for The New York Times, once called Death of a Salesman "one of the finest dramas in the whole range of the American theater" (Corrigan, Pg. 94) and John Gassner saw it as "one of the triumphs of American stage" (MacNicholas, Pg. 106). So, it can be stated that Miller's works command attention. Death of a Salesman won the Pulitzer Prize, the Drama Critic's Circle Award and many others when it opened in 1949. Symbolism, foreshadowing and conflict are 3 of the many things that Miller does best. All of these literary techniques have added a tremendous amount to Death of a Salesman and many others of his works.

The play begins when Willy Loman, a salesman over 60, enters his house unexpectedly, and tells his worried wife, Linda, that, on his way to appointments in New England, he kept losing control of his car. She urges him to ask Howard Wagner, Willy's young boss, for easier work in town so he will not have to drive as far anymore, "Willy, dear. Talk to them again. There's no reason why you can't work in New York" (Miller, Act 1, Scene 1). She also happily states that their two grown sons, Biff and Happy, are upstairs and sharing their old room. Willy is concerned that Biff, 34 years old, just quit another job out west. The entire conflict between Biff and Willy can be proven as starting at their meeting in Boston. When Biff saw his father, the man he idolized, with another woman, Biff's faith in him was shattered. To Biff, Willy was a hero, but after this scene, he denounces him as a fraud. When Biff gets home, he burns his University of Virginia shoes, which represented all of Biff's hopes and dreams. Biff no longer has feelings for Willy as Linda says, Biff, dear, if you don't have any feeling for him, then you can't have any feeling for me(Act 1, Scene 9).

Linda believes that, since she loves Willy, Biff cannot come and just see her because it would hurt Willy too much. Biff had believed in his father as being a great man, and he realizes that he was wrong. When Linda asks Biff what is wrong between him and his father, Biff recoils and says that it is not his fault. Biff does not want to tell Linda that the whole problem is because of Willy's betrayal of her, so he just keeps it to himself and becomes the object of her anger. Willy's problem with society is that modern business is impersonal. Even though business is business(Act 2, Scene 2), Willy should have been treated like a human being, not just a faceless employee. Howard, the owner of the business that Willy works for, believes that if an employee does not bring in profits, than that they are expendable. He takes no interest whatsoever in Willy's past selling records, his association with his father, or with pledges made years ago.

Howard's only concern is with the efficient operation of his firm, and he represents the cold, practical impersonality of modern business. Charley tries to tell Willy about this, Willy, when're you gonna realize that them things don't mean anything? You named him Howard, but you can't sell that. The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell. And the funny thing is that you're a salesman, and you don't know that(Act 2, Scene 6). It was hard for Willy to hang onto his personal dignity and to live with himself as being such a poor supplier of his family's needs. He was trapped in a situation and saw himself as a failure. Society forgot Willy Loman existed and did not help him when he needed it, and his mental state made it impossible for him to help himself.

Willy believed that he had to sell himself more than he had to sell his products. His whole outlook on life was wrong; he believed in attributes that a good salesman would be attractive, a good storyteller, well liked and that when he died everyone from far and wide would go to his funeral. He got this idea from the story of Dave Singleton, who represented, to Willy, the epitome of success as a salesman. Willy is having mental problems, delusions of his long-dead brother Ben, whom he has many advice-searching conversations with. Ben represented success to Willy by Ben's dignity, status and wealth, not his attributes, There was a man started with the clothes on his back and ended up with diamond mines(Act 1, Scene 4).

The lies he keeps telling other people and the dreams he has for success actually begin to convince Willy that he was a great salesman who was known everywhere he went, …'cause one thing, boys: I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England and the cops protect it like their own(Act 1, Scene 3). His deteriorating condition is exposed many times, but is most prominent when he is talking with both Charlie and Ben at the same time. Another example of the conflict inside of Willy is his repeated references to suicide. In Charley's office, Willy says, Funny, y'know? After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive(Act 2, Scene 6).

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