Death Of A Salesman Film Analysis

The Similarities of Willy Loman and Troy Maxson in Death of a Salesman and Fences

In the play by Arthur Miller, the main character Willy Loman is a man in his 60’s. He is dressed in a drab coloured, ill-fitting suit. Willy shows early signs of dementia, as he spends much of the play having flashbacks or incorporating the past into present day situations. Through this the viewer learns much about Willy and his past. We learn that Willy is a salesman, who is has only had minor success. Willy blames this on the fact that he is not well liked. In the beginning of the play Willy has had a car accident and his wife Linda wants him to ask his boss if he can work only in New York instead of having to travel. When we see Willy in a flashback he appears to be happy and affectionate with his sons, who seem to return the affection.

Willy Loman and Walter Lee Younger are two different people, in two different worlds with almost the same type of problems. The struggles between the Younger and Lomans is quite a twist for some people but if given a chance can be unraveled to see how much love and care is actually put into the meaning of family. First is Willy and how his life is being changed by his memory and struggle to keep up on payments. Second is Walter struggling with his drinking problem and trying to keep his temper in check to tell a certain white man to leave and that they are keeping the house they bought. Lastly is the difference in their struggles that they have to face in order to survive and handle in order to keep their family together.

Family circumstances are always different, but the american dream is always the same. Most families are two parent and two children households, maybe three, but that is it. In Death of a Salesman, the Loman family fits the american dream model precisely. The Maxson family, in Fences, fits the model in the beginning, but in their own way. Both of these families have the two parent and two children model households under different circumstances. The Loman and Maxson families go through trials with each other and the outside world. Troy Maxson being a black man and Willy Loman, a white man, both face the same trails as a man. They have to deal with their marriage and the relationship with their children. In many ways than one these two men are the same.

Iris Murdoch, a great author and philosopher, once said, "We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality" (Brainy Quote). Throughout centuries, humans have used illusions, particularly in the form of dreams and fantasy to make life more desirable or rather hopeful. While this can be a great coping mechanism, living vicariously through illusions or the past can prevent one from accepting the harsh truths of reality. This character trait accurately describes the behaviour of Arthur Miller 's protagonist Willy Loman in the play, Death of a Salesman. Willy Lowman 's method of coping with his failures is by living in a fantasy world, however, reality secondary to fantasy provokes unpleasant

Willy Loman and Walter Lee Younger are two different people, in two different worlds with almost the same type of problems. The struggles between the Younger and Lomans is quite a twist for some people, but if given a chance can be unraveled to see how much love and care is actually put into the meaning of family. First is Willy and how his life is being changed by his memory and struggle to keep up with payments. Second is Walter struggling with his drinking problem and trying to keep his temper in check to tell a certain white man to leave and that they are keeping the house they bought. Lastly is the difference in their struggles that they have to face in order to survive and handle in order to keep their family together.

Throughout the play, Willy Loman has a bad temper. One can see this when he is talking to his wife

The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is known by many Americans as an epitaph for the American dream. It is about the life of Willy Loman, an aging and failing salesman, chasing after his ambitions to become the most popular and successful individual in his field of work. Surprisingly, the story set behind the curtains also mirrors the lives of many modern Americans today. The play, performed in the 1940s, dealt with how people’s expectations for perfection were insubstantial and impractical, and how these expectations bred dissatisfaction and doubt. Unfortunately, this mentality still persists in the current American society. Similar to the skewed ambitions of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, Americans are still in an insatiable pursuit of

One of the best usage of sound design as a tool of storytelling has to be in the first sequence of The Exorcist. As a horror movie, which as a genre builds itself on the vicarious experience it provides, uses more complex patterns of sound design templates to enhance the adventure of watching the movie. Throughout the first scene, Ken Nagle lays what the audience will be the experiencing through the duration of the movie with sound design; the duel between good and evil.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller portrays the last 24 hours of the life of a common man, Willy Loman, as he reflects on the failures of his life. Loman’s success as a salesman has passed now that his old loyal boss, Howard, has died, and he now works as an unsuccessful traveling salesman, scraping by on commision from Howard’s son. Loman goes to the neighbor, Charley, often borrowing money for household payments, but refuses to take a job-offer from him. Willy Loman’s spouse is Linda and they have two boys, Happy and his older brother Biff, who are now middle aged men who live back at home and are trying to find where they belong in life. Bernard is a childhood friend of the Loman boys, and is Charley’s son. Willy Loman’s deep suffering

    In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the audience follows the dynamic between the members of the Loman family. The father of the family, Willy Loman is a self-deluded traveling salesman whose dreams of success do not match his reality. Prompted by his frustration due to the discrepancy between his unrealistically ambitious expectations and his reality, we watch as his mental health takes a turn for the worse,  and his story eventually ends in suicide. Biff, a consequence of Willy, attempts to bring Willy out of his fantasies and his see the realities of his life, but in the end fails to. The two are different in their ideas, demeanors and personas, yet have some akin characteristics.

As the old saying goes, not all heroes wear capes. This is especially true for Willy Loman in the Death of a Salesman. Death of a Salesman is a rather tragic tale depicting the fall of Willy Loman and, to some degree, the fall of his son Biff Loman. There are two ways in which one could interpret Death of a Salesman, with Willy as the protagonist, or with Biff as the protagonist. Either way, the story is not made a tragedy by its plot, but rather, it is made a tragedy by its characters. The Death of a Salesman should be classified as a tragedy since it depicts the fall of Willy Loman as respectable figure..

Tragedy can spread. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is the protagonist, however he not the only person in the play who’s story ends tragically. His view on life spreads to those close to him. Primarily, Willy teaches it to his children who look up to him while his wife simply attaches herself to him, rooting for him in blind support while really she should be waking him up to the cold and dark reality that is their life. Throughout the play, the Loman family evolves differently. Willy finds out his dream of being an popular, well respected salesman is impossible and takes his own life. Linda supports Willy despite the abuse and confusion he puts her through with his various attempts to take his own life, with his delirious ramblings and hallucinations, and with his constant deception. Happy still sees his father as a hero and Biff finally begins to grasp the truth of the “American Dream”. When Willy kills himself, all of the Loman family, including Willy, break free from the web of false dreams he spun and begin to understand Willy’s failings. They also realize their own flaws. In doing so, they show the audience how each and everyone of them was slightly to blame for Willy’s tragic fate.

A tragic hero is a literary character that makes a judgment error that leads to his or her downfall. Traditionally, a tragic hero is reserved only for the elite, or noble members of society. However, Miller believes that the common man is equally subject to tragedy as the highest kings are. In The Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller portrays the protagonist, Willy Loman as a tragic hero. Willy Loman is a financially struggling man in his sixties looking for success for him and his family. Miller depicts Willy as a tragic character in his willingness to preserve his dignity. Additionally, Willy’s dignity is tainted in the story because of his flawed philosophy of the American Dream. This along with unjust comparisons leads to Willy’s death. Based on how Willy Loman evaluates himself unjustly, he is a tragic hero because he must do anything to preserve his dignity, and his false impression of the American Dream, which leads to his downfall.

A tragic hero is someone who experiences successes and failures that eventually lead to their downfall. In Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”, Miller uses Willy Loman as a depressed and confused main character. He also leaves the question of whether or not Willy Loman a tragic hero up in the air. Miller uses the hopes and dreams of Willy Loman and turns them into failures to portray him as a tragic hero.