Willy Loman Reality

1371 Words6 Pages

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 …show more content…

Secondly, Willy’s refusal to accept reality that he is with his hands is doing cases him to do injustice to himself. In Willy’s conversation with Charley he boasts about his work around the house when asks “Did you see the ceiling I put up in the living-room?” (Miller 44) Willy is unwavering in his belief that he can only be successful by being a salesman and that a salesman is what he is meant to be. One can speculate that although he secretly enjoys working with his hands, he feels a labour-intensive job is beneath him and demeaning, which aligns with his lack of humility. This stubbornness allows him to maintain the fantasy in which his true talents do not exist as he continues to convince himself that he is satisfied being a salesman. Although Willy’s talents are unappreciated by himself, they are still noticed by others. In fact, during Willy’s funeral …show more content…

Unfortunately in the end Willy receives appreciation for his inner talents rather than his skills being a salesman. This goes to show how one will never get attention from others by pretending to be who they are not. Furthermore, the author reinforces Willy 's talent with his hands when he plants seeds in his garden prior to committing suicide. The planting of the seeds can be considered a form of symbolism and Willy 's acceptance that life would go on without him. The seeds Willy plant also represent the legacy he leaves behind as a handyman rather than a salesman. While planting the seeds Willy says, "A man can 't go out the way he came in, Ben, a man has got to add up to something" (Miller 125). Essentially, he is telling Ben that a man has to become something, which is his way of indirectly telling others the man he has become. However, due to Willy 's illusion, he is unable to come to terms with the fact that he is happy working with his hands as opposed to

Open Document