In 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).
Willys take on the american dream is fed by his visions of being well liked and known while also making a good salary. While manipulating his
To Willy, success is heavily represented by his brother Ben, who “walked into the jungle” at the age of seventeen and “walked out” at the age of twenty one (52). With this unconventional sense of prosperity, Willy seems to develop the idea that it is possible to achieve
While Linda enabled him, Willy could not help himself too keep ruining the good opportunities he had and turning them into some factious reality. At Willy`s funeral Biff comes to the realization that his father had all the wrong dreams and visions of success. Willy`s only dream was the fake “American Dream” that people believe will happen overnight. Willy`s failed attempts and happiness bonded into one and played a part into him creating this false reality and persona that he was the best salesman and that he was well loved by everyone around him.
It is incredible the way two pieces of work on the same topic can have such varying effects and purposes. Moises Kaufman’s play, The Laramie Project, is dedicated to delivering a message about social inequality and injustice through its dialogue with witnesses and members of the town during the murder of Matthew Shepard. The article from The New York Times, Gay Man Dies From Attack, Fanning Outrage and Debate, by James Brooke, is specifically dedicated to conveying the news from an unbiased viewpoint. There are definitive differences found in both writing pieces that arguably make the play more effective at serving it’s purpose than the news article. The play, The Laramie Project, was a two year process that started immediately following the death of Matthew Shepard.
Willy conducts his whole life based on the belief that any man who is good-looking, charismatic, and “well-liked” deserves success and will naturally achieve it (1.30). He attempts to make his mark by working as a salesman because, according to him, “selling [is] the greatest
Linda defends Willy and insists that Willy, as a traveling salesman, merely exhausts himself rather than become crazy. Even if Willy’s financial reality reveals the fact that he can never come true his American dream, Linda still refuses to break his fantasies and see through his lies. Instead, she supports Willy’s American dream and believes in Willy’s idea that success is possible for anyone. Even though Willy is often rude to her and ignores her opinions, she protects him at all costs. She loves Willy, so she can accept all of his shortcomings.
True West was initially performed at the Magic Theater in San Francisco, where Shepard was the inhabitant dramatist. It had its reality debut there on July 10, 1980. It was initially coordinated by Robert Woodruff and included Peter Coyote (Austin) and Jim Haynie (Lee). On March 2, 2000, a Broadway recovery of True West opened at the Circle in the Square Theater including Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly, who exchanged assuming the lead parts. This widely praised generation earned Tony Award designations for best-performing artist (both Hoffman and Reilly), best chief, and best play.
This “false” American Dream made him have issues in his life and didn’t have strong enough support to sustain in his life. He depended on his family to support him but they didn’t. As they always say, it comes down to family support when one struggling, but in this case, he didn’t get any support hence Willy’s
The relevance of this play increases with each passing decade. Although it is set in a specific time and place, it remains universal and timeless. Indeed, Miller proved to be prophetic in his dark view of the future facing the common man. Miller had forecast the coming changes in which workers would be treated as being disposable, loyalties to and from employers and employees would become a thing of the past. A lot of things that Arthur Miller was concerned about have gotten a lot worse today.
Despite his flaws, Willy’s goal is to protect and do what is best for his family. He insists that there is some place better for
In 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?
All Willy Loman ever desired was to be successful. He defined success by having money, prosperous children, and becoming well-liked; however, his interpretation of success led him to his own destruction.
He says that the “common man” is instead the perfect medium for tragedy. Miller says that the reason tragedies shake us so deeply is that we all experience the inevitable fear of displacement that comes from challenging the very nature of our existence, and that this fear is strongest in the “common man”. He proves this with his own “common
In doing so, they show the audience how each and everyone of them was slightly to blame for Willy’s tragic fate. Of Willy’s two sons, Happy is still infatuated with Willy’s dream. As he says, it’s the dream of being number one. Willy was never number one, nor did he ever really get close to being number one. In fact, for someone in Willy’s position this goal was quite impossible.