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Examples Of Masculinity In Willy Loman

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In author Arthur Millers’ play Death of a Salesman, the idea of masculinity is something that is very broad. Throughout the duration of the play, most of the characters cannot seem to agree on the true definition of masculinity. The result of this is the strain of several characters' relationships, and this also causes several disputes between the characters. One relationship the idea of masculinity has ruined is the relationship between Biff Loman and Willy Loman. Biff Loman is Willy Loman’s son, and he is always pushing Biff to become something that he is not since the beginning of Biff’s life. For example, when Biff wanted to go work in the country, Willy shut the idea down due to his idea of what true masculinity is. Willy believes that true masculinity is a businessman, who gets a lot of money and raises a family off of business. But, Biff does not entirely agree with this statement. Yes, Biff does agree that a man can be considered masculine if he is a businessman, but he also considers a man who raises a family off of a farm is also considered masculine. This heavy debate between the two stubborn characters caused a large strain in their relationship. …show more content…

Willy clearly had a very serious mental illness throughout this whole play, but never did anything about it. In Willy’s mind, the idea of having a mental illness took away from his masculinity, and he took out his mental illness on his wife as opposed to working on himself. This caused Linda to ultimately be mentally abused by him, and often having to compensate for his rude words and actions even though she never deserved any of it. All she did was care for Willy, so the treatment she received throughout this play was unfair and she was often left taken advantage of. In conclusion, The idea of masculinity strains the relationship between Linda and Willy throughout this depressing

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