The writer has chosen the salesman himself and his two sons to put into comparison, who at the present time of the play are visiting the salesman and his wife in their childhood home. The salesman Willy Loman, a major character and one of the main characters of the play is both the protagonist and the antagonist of the story. During the story, Willy is unsuccessful of achieving self-realization. He understand what his job (which is a major element of the play) calls for and what it requires of him, but he is incapable of realizing that he is unable to live up to and prevail with what is required of him, ultimately leading him to being unsuccessful at his job of being a salesman. Willy’s brother Ben, on the other hand, prior to his death was rich and successful due to accidentally stumbling upon a diamond during his travels to Alaska (which is where their father left to abandoning ben and Willy); on his way there he got lost at and ended up in Africa,
Abstract Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949), created its own genre: the American tragedy. In Death of a Salesman Miller demonstrated his perfect answer to critics of his earlier dramas who claimed he was incapable of producing other than a conventional play. Brooks Atkinson, calls it a generally accepted tragic masterpiece. Arthur Miller’s American dreamer Willy Lowman is an illustration of much practiced philosophy of being well liked and exemplifies America’s success myth. The tells the story of a man confronting failure in the success-driven society of America and shows the tragic path, which eventually leads to Willy Loman 's suicide.
As he progresses through the story he starts to get more and more “manly” and acts more like a man. In the beginning of the story Walter is very disappointed with the life he and his family are living. He is all depressed due to the fact that the household is run by women which gives him perception that he is failing the general idea of being a man. There are many stereotypes of men that are true and false. Some of these would be that a man has to be the worker in the family or men have to make the most money.
As one experiences the unpredictability of personal and business relationships, it becomes increasingly difficult to feel content with oneself. In Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” Willy Loman demonstrates startling similarities to Chris Gardner in Gabriele Muccino’s “The Pursuit of Happyness.” The impact that their sons have on their decisions, the level of support from their significant others, and the men that offer them a pathway to happiness are all noteworthy relationships that reinforce the similarities between these protagonists. The bond between a father and son is one of the strongest feelings known to man: a manifestation of masculinity that cannot be attained in any other form. Willy and his son Biff have that connection, and yet it does not function in the way one would expect. Indeed, Biff’s future is of extreme importance to Willy, and he does everything in his power to ensure Biff will thrive.
Miller attacks the false values of American society by using Willy Loman’s collapse. The play Death of a Salesman ultimately captures the audience’s attention not only because of its attack on social injustice but also because of its powerful portrayal of a timeless human dilemma. Miller’s play tells the story of a man who committed suicide and wants to justify his action. When he tries to fit the jagged pieces of his broken life, Willy Loman discovers that to relieve his guilt, he must face the consequences of past choices and question the values inherent in the life he has constructed for himself and his family. Willy’s struggle is finally what grips the play’s audiences around the world.
The play Death of a salesman is set in late 1940s in America. This play’s main theme is ‘American Dream’ which Willy is trying hopelessly to grasp believing that if he is well liked and personally attractive he will succeed in business in American society. This le but it also has several different themes such as betrayal, abandon, reality and delusion. These themes appear every time Willy drifts back to the past throughout the play. Willy Loman, a 60-year-old salesman with two sons, lives in his dream believing that his sons would be successful like him and is certain that a good salesman has to have a well liked personality just like Willy himself.
In the play, Death of a Salesman, Willy mentions that Bernard is not well-liked by others and that his sons, Happy and Biff, will be successful when they are older because people will like them. Later in life Willy’s sons are not very successful with Biff just bouncing around being unable to keep a job and Happy has stayed in New York and worked as a salesman, but his name is not well known yet. Bernard on the other hand graduated high school and most likely went to college. He is now a successful lawyer. This is demonstrated when Willy stops into Charley’s office and observes Bernard as he is getting ready to head out to the Supreme Court.
A family has the faculty to become a person’s most colossal adherent, pushing them to be more proficiently adept at life. Albeit this may be true, in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ Walter doesn’t feel as though his relatives fortifies his conceptions to advance himself along with the family, engendering a better life for them altogether. Walter Lee Younger is the oldest male in the household, who strives to be able to provide for his kin like his father once did, by creating his own business. Walter, at times, feels inferior in the house full of women, as they continue to shut his ideas down causing him to feel jealous of those who have succeeded. This causes him to be bitter towards the women in his life.
In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman speaks low about his sons pertaining to the fact that they are still living at home, not working in a decent paying job. In act one, we find Willy speaking to his wife Linda saying how he disapproves of Biff working at a farm because he does not make at least thirty-five dollars a week. At this moment, Linda began to say, “He’s finding himself, Willy” (Miller 5). Willy proceeds then by responding, “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty four is a disgrace!” (Miller 5). He states how Biff is such a disgrace for not finding a better paying job at his current age, thirty-four.
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.