Masculinity In Death Of A Salesman Essay
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." This quote by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard speaks to the idea that when the past is understood it can help to navigate the present; however it must move forward and be appreciated to get the most out of it. This quote by Søren Kierkegaard encapsulates the central idea of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman." The film looks into the fading mind of an older man by the name of Willy Loman. While he experiences the present he is also getting brought back into his past living through his own failures and inadequacies. Since Willy cannot deal with his past he struggles with his future, this untimely leads to his downfall. Willy Loman's inability to deal with his past issues of masculinity as well as his dream for success leads this impulsive man to death. …show more content…
Throughout the film, Willy struggles with his own idea of being a man, which is directly tied to his profession as a salesman; the insecurity of his sense of masculinity is reflected in his relationship with his family, specifically with his two sons Biff and Happy. When Willy is invited to a dinner by his sons he is overjoyed but when he arrives he starts to talk to his son Biff about his meeting with a big boss. While this discussion gets heated Willy yells to Biff “You don’t want to be anything do ya.”(Death Of A Salesman 1:49:48) This act may be seen as displacement¹ however it can also be interpreted as Willy seeing how he has not fully fulfilled traditional male roles like providing his son with the inspiration to pursue and be successful in a job; since he himself has only barely gotten by while being a salesman. Willy also takes out his feelings of not being man enough on his wife, by not only using her as a
Examples Of Masculinity In Willy Loman
540 Words | 3 PagesWilly 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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656 Words | 3 PagesAs Willy develops his ideal view on the world, he begins to expect his sons to live up to his standards. He critiques his sons for not having jobs or a family or a house, but he is truly deflecting his emotions on them while continuing to live in his make believe world. Arthur Miller furthers his argument that ignorance is not bliss by showing how Willy’s ignorance doesn't make the other characters happy. Biff and Happy agree to follow their mother’s toleration towards Willy, but it comes with a cost. When Biff discovered that Willy cheated on Linda he desperately wanted to tell her, but this would uncover his father’s inner world.
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What Is Willy Loman Mental Illness
633 Words | 3 PagesWilly realizes that no one is paying him any mind and that people always looked down on him. He has to work ten times harder than the average man, just to put food on the table. People do not respect Willy and do not acknowledge him. It explains how his dreams will not ever come true and how he was never going to be successful as he hoped to
Death Of A Salesman Literary Lens Essay
963 Words | 4 PagesWilly Loman was a troubled man who didn't have respect for his wife and degraded his children every chance he got when it came to their failures, especially with his son Biff. He only cared about achieving the American dream which he did not succeed because of all his problems that stood in his way. His constant obsession with achieving the American dream only made his family distance themselves from him more only due to the fact that he believed that achieving this would lead him to happiness and success. This also leads to the other major theme which is resilience. Willy came from a poor socioeconomic background and he is making all the efforts to pull himself out of his current situation through whatever he can do in hopes for something better that will make him feel like he's achieved his
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2147 Words | 9 PagesIn order for Willy to be a successful father, he needs to feel that his kids are respected and accomplished. However this shows that Willy is such an outsider, because Biff is quite the opposite, as the Bill Oliver that is references has no idea who Biff is. Another example that shows how Willy’s goals and dreams turn him into a misfit is when he asks for a promotion “ Well, tell you the truth, Howard. I’ve come to the decision that I’d rather not travel anymore.” ( Miller 59).
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1735 Words | 7 PagesIn the play, it shows Willy is soft and insecure not just a crazy man. Biff, Willy’s son had caught his father cheating on his mother and that made him feel angry at his father. Willy did not know how his son felt; Willy says [directly to Biff] “what’re you doing? What’re you doing?” Biff says [crying, broken] “will you let me go, for Christ’s sake?
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499 Words | 2 PagesHe has a Job, two kids, and a wife. Willy is a salesman who dreams to be like his role model, Dave Singleman. Singleman - in Willy perspective- had the ultimate successful life, as expressed in this quote: "Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?" [Act 2] Willy believed that success, was equivalent to how well liked he was. Willy's 'flaw' was his foolish pride, his persistence of achieving "his rightful status".
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794 Words | 4 PagesThrough this quote, it throughly demonstrates their one sided relationship. Linda loves Willy more than he can even fathom disregarding all the negative traits Willy holds, signified by her development of an "iron repression". With willy caught in his chase for success, the American Dream, he does not recpricate any love back towards Linda. These feelings of insecurity and aimlessless following the war and great depression, explains the delusion he has in believeing he can reach the American Dream. Soley focused on his dream, he is unable to return any of the love received from Linda.
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The American Dream-Death Of A Salesman
1826 Words | 8 PagesHis willful hopefulness and exaggerated expectations betray him in the end by rendering him incapable of accepting himself or his children for who they are (Nadine). In this play, Willy would be a representation of failure to the American dream. Willy believes that personality, not hard work and innovation, is the key to success. Throughout time, Willy wants to make sure his boys are well-liked and popular. In the story Willy has said,” You and Hap and I, and I’ll show you all the towns.
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