Category: Death Of A Salesman

The play Death of a Salesman has many themes and conflicts. This essay will briefly discuss the main ideas and conflicts depicted in the play.

The Theme of Confusion

This is a theme that Miller exploited so well. There is confusion all over the play; the main characters are engulfed in turmoil. It is not hard to point out the kind of awful mess that the Lomans are in. Willy is entirely unable to differentiate reality from illusion. Will is so disillusioned that he believes that he and his sons have everything to propel them to success. Willy and his sons in a real sense do not have anything that can enable them to be successful.

It is a significant confusion that Willy has thought that for one to be successful, he has to be well-liked by people. Willy quite often falls back to thinking about circumstances which occurred in the past. At the end Willy is seen more confused than ever; he claims that a person can be worth more dead than alive (Miller 2007, p. 77).

Death of a Dream

Willy had a vast dream of living the American life. He looked up to Ben as his model and wished he could live his way of life, The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle, and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and hes rich (Miller 2007, p. 32). Willy wanted his sons to be successful and live largely.

Willy used a wrong approach in trying to achieve the American dream. He wished more than he worked and as a result could not reach his goals. He is also seen using some facts in the wrong way, for example, he claims that if people like you well then you are going to successful; people liking can be used tactfully, but we do not see Willy doing that.

Conflicts in the Story

The death of a salesman is full of conflicts which are evident all over the play. Willy is living a conflicting lifestyle. He has a deep desire for recognition and profoundly wants to live as a successful businessman with a lot of money which is hard to achieve because he does not have the cash to sustain such a lifestyle.

His life generally is a significant conflict to that of his brother Ben who is rich. Willy and his sons more often than not are in conflicts. Willy wants them to adapt to his way of thinking, but his sons are not of his opinions. I view it as a significant conflict that Biff after realizing the mistakes committed by Willy he went ahead to declare that:

Im gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. Its the only dream you can haveto come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where Im gonna win it for him. (Miller 2007, p. 131)

It is evident that instead of learning from the mistakes of his father Biff instead chooses the very same path that his father walked. Most likely Biff will end up failing contrary to what his father wanted him to be  a successful man.

References

Miller, A. (2007). Death of a Salesman. India: Pearson Education.

The play Death of a Salesman depicts the American dream and the inability of a person to understand the meaning of life and family happiness. The play is often seen as tragic because of the death of the main character, Willy Loman who wastes his life searching for the American dream and prosperity. Thus, the ending of the play is not tragic as the death of the main character does not change the cause of events and remains even unnoticed by the entire community. It is a death of a small man in a small town unable to fulfill his dreams and life hopes. Thesis

The ending of the play is not a tragic one because it does not have an impact on town life and the life of the family. The awareness of what they are itself makes it impossible for them to be that image and the nature of society changes. The patterning of characters underlines this critique of American commercialism, all the figures being mirror images of Hickey, and the cross-references transform him from an individual character to the Salesman. Moral vision and extension of it into the American images of individualistic capitalism, Willy gives readers a complete picture of the salesman which is paralleled remarkably by some modern inspirational sales manuals. Side by side with this change in the salesman goes a development in the view of his customers. Nothing remains for Willy except death.

The death at the end of the play can be seen as a logical outcome of the entire play. The same development is obvious in the use made of dreams the most frequently repeated word in each play. Millers characters are defined by massive dreams or turbulent longings and they sum up their whole lives as dreams and plans. It seems to take timein the case of these examples over a decade for the subliminal impact of drama to seep through to public consciousness, and it is difficult to measure the degree of influence the death might have had if a change of vision does occur. The play deals with images and, when men come to see themselves and the type of life they lead in terms of an image, the intellectual act of recognition separates their self-concept from it. The world described is one of greedy madness in which everything is commercialized and the life struggle is no more than money-making. Another element that also determined the relative effect of death is timing, which on occasion has been known to turn very ordinary plays and even operas into rallying points for the existing revolutionary sentiment. The ending is not tragic in comparison with such tragedies as Hamlet or Othello when death is sudden and unexpected. Willy comments: Ive always made a point of not wasting my life, he tells Happy, and then confesses to him, and everytime I come back here I know that all Ive done is to waste my life (p. 139). The death of Willy does not have a great impact on his family ruined by his false dreams and ideas. Thus, the death can be seen as a revelation for his sons and the wife, and a chance to change their life.

In sum, the ending of the play is not a tragic one in comparison with classical tragedies. Willys death does not influence other people and town, but it is the death of a small man lost in his dreams and ideas. His death frees his sons and Linda from false standards and principles established by Willy.

Works Cited

Miller, A. Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition, Penguin Books; 50th Annni edition, 1999.

The essence of human life consists in achieving something that others do not have, though most people are quite persistent in denying this fact. It is hard to argue with the conviction that striving to achieve more than the others gives hope which sustains life in a dreamer. This is why this striving cannot be considered harmful or destructive; on the contrary, a dream is something that every person should have, otherwise, there is no sense in living. However, this idea is not applicable when it comes to the obsession with a dream when the life of a dreamer turns into a constant pursuit of something he/she is never going to have. This was the case with Willey Loman from Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Willy was a salesman who was obsessed with the American dream throughout his life and who never managed to achieve the desirable. Achieving the American dream at any cost is not worth it, because it rarely brings the results on which the dreamer counts; this dream destroys peoples lives, especially if they interpret it incorrectly. Willy Lomans situation proves that the American dream is not worth trying to achieve, because it brings only sufferings to the dreamers and negatively affects the lives of people who surround them; in the case of Loman, this dream was even destructive since he saw its essence in material benefits and this did not let him use his talents and abilities to the full extent.

To begin with, trying to attain the American dream is not worth it, because a failure to do so may become rather painful for a dreamer. Most of all, Willy was afraid to stay in his native town till the end of his life ringing up a zero. (1096) The American dream was the essence of his life and he felt miserable because he never managed to become the rich and famous person he thought he would become as he was younger. This resulted in his dissatisfaction with his present life, which made him envy those people who managed to attain his dream. One of such people was Ben, his brother, who got wealthy after his trip to Africa. Willy seems to have bad relations with his brother who never told him how exactly he became wealthy, being rather vague when he was asked about that. Willys dissatisfaction with his life led to his love affair as he was younger, which had almost ruined his family. It also led to his attempts to commit suicide several times; at the end of the play, Willy does kill himself by crashing his car intentionally. It seems that Willy could have been much happier if he was not obsessed with this dream. His life would not have had such a sad ending if he did not spend it in a pursuit that did not bring any results. Thus, a desire to attain the American dream is unworthy because it makes dreamers suffer and leads to disappointment with their life.

Whats more, the American dream is not worth trying to attain, because this trying influences the lives of people who surround the dreamer. In the case of Willy, these were his family members and his sons in particular. Willy belonged to those people who tried to realize his dreams through his children. This, for instance, takes place when a person who did not have a chance to visit music classes as a child tries to make musicians from his/her children. This often leads to frustrating results, as it did in Willys case. As his children were younger, Willy always admired his older son, Biff, who he believed to grow into a magnificent person. (1101) Biff was a great football player and had to live up to his fathers expectations; Willy thought that Biff could achieve his dream instead of him. At this, Willy almost completely ignored his younger son who, as he believed, had no talents and, correspondingly, no chance for realizing his American dream. In addition, Willys pursuing this dream ruined the life of his wife, Linda, who at the end of the play remained a widow only because her husband was not satisfied with his life. Therefore, trying to attain the American dream ruins the life of not only the dreamer but of other innocent people who surround him/her, which makes it unworthy to attain.

Finally, the American dream may be misleading. For example, Willy, just like several other people, believed that the American dream was all about material success. He did not realize that the real essence of the American dream is possessing liberty in which prosperity is founded. One can be wealthy without becoming a star and even without possessing uncountable sums of money. Willys mistake was that he accepted only the materialistic success of the American dream, forgetting about the fact that he had skills that could make him wealthy (he could build and repair houses). Opening his own business in this sphere could have made him much wealthier and happier than if he simply possessed the money which he never earned. Thus, the American dream is not worth achieving, because it often misleads people and makes them doubt their abilities.

Everything mentioned above testifies to the fact that it is not worth trying to achieve the American dream at any cost, because it brings only disappointments to dreamers and their close people, as well as misleads those who are obsessed with it. The American dream consists of altruism and spiritual values, rather than material welfare as such. In other words, it is more about spiritual prosperity. Willy Lomans example proves that this dream is destructive for it ruined his own life and the lives of his family members. His situation was aggravated by the fact that he, like most other people, had a materialistic perception of this dream, which did not let him use his talents and abilities.

Works Cited

Gardner, Janet E., Lawn, Beverly, Ridl, Jack, and Schakel, Peter. Literature: A Portable Anthology. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008.

Introduction

The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller depicts life and destiny of an American family which dreams about prosperity and high social position in society. in this play, Fundamental in this play is the fact that Miller does not mask the analysis of social values and low morals. The play vividly portrays that the past is no longer forced into open conversation by a dramatic conflict; the main character of Willy Loman is no longer portrayed as master of the past to satisfy a formal code when in fact he is its helpless victim. Thesis Using a dramatic point of view, Miller creates a theme loosing hopes and tragedy as a result of false ideals and inability to achieve the American dream.

Main body

The dramatic point of view helps Miller to speak about the tragedy of Loman and depict him as the American dreamer and loser who fails to find its place in this life. The main hero of the play is Willy Loman, an elderly failing salesman whose salary has been taken away. Devastated and without money, Willy Loman is returning home from his unlucky trip. He is rather tired of this life. Upon returning home he saw his grown sons, Biff and Hap have returned home to visit their father. Biff has lost his way in life and decided to return home. The other son is living in his own apartment. The play enables the author to distinguish between reality and illusion, particularly in term of Willy. This is a major theme of the play. Along with that this, the above mentioned topic serves to be a source of conflict. The conflict can be seen through the analysis of Willys comments. The main protagonist believes that his sons are successful. However this belief has nothing to do with the reality. In other words, Willy is mistaken. The play shows that both of the sons and Willy himself are not successful. They even cant be successful. Certain lines in the novel are used to point to flaws of the main the character. According to Willy, a man can be worth more dead than alive. (Miller 22) Charlie, who faces the voice of reality tells Willy, A man isnt worth anything dead. (Miller 13). The above mentioned thing can be explained by persons inability to see reality.

Skillfully using a point of view, Miller reflects ideas and feelings of the family members and allows readers to understand opinion differences and worldviews of Linda, Biff and Happy. The play depicts that the past achieves representation in the same way that it appears in life itself. Thus, for all characters the past remains a painful experience and can create no deceptive bridges between the family members and Willy whom the analysis brings together the family members whom it had left in lifelong separation. Therefore, instead of an interpersonal action that would call forth representation of the past, the present conversation generated by the family members overpowered by memory. Once Linda mentions:

Linda: Remember I wrote you that he smashed up the car again? In February?

Biff: Well?

Linda: The insurance inspector came (Miller 32)

This remake proves total indifference between sons and a father, and their inability to understand and perceive pain and sufferings of Linda.

The family has recently begun to notice that Willy has problems. In fact, he is actually talking to them, not in the real present but in the past Willy remembers, which no longer leaves him alone. The present of the play is constituted by the forty-eight hours that follow unexpected return from a business travel. The conversation is more emotional and moving as it reflects real life feelings of the three characters. These scenes in turn create a means (flashbacks) of introducing the past into the space beyond conversation. The play scene shifts constantly towards negative representation of Biff and Happy. The personal crusade is no longer free characters; they emerge as references to the central role of the past, in the same manner as do the character reflections in dramaturgy. One can readily grasp the dramatic nature of this scene in the play of memory, which presents the imagined ideals ad values in order to impress the audience.

Conclusion

The conclusion draws from all this, Willys lack of control over his world and dreams, his lack of moral strength, his victimization, his faith in what is for him a misguided definition of wealth and the American dream, his ensuing lying and self-delusion is that Willy is pathetic. The skeptical point of view dramatizes the conflict and differences between Linda, the bots and wily and criticizes principles of the Loman family and the setting that, in boxing them in, seems to assist their crusade. The scene under analysis shows Linda asserting too late. The play depicts life and destiny of ordinary family involved in social and economic problems. The family dreams about prosperity and high social position in society but fails to achieve this dream.

Works Cited

Miller, A. Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition, Penguin Books; 50th Annni edition, 1999.

Arthur Miller, the author of Death of a Salesman, is a well-known American playwright of the twentieth century. Through his works, he depicted characters that showed certain personal weaknesses due to their awareness of social realities. Death of a Salesman (1949) is considered one of his best works. It presents a tragic hero, who does not succeed in fulfilling his American dreams and, therefore, lives peculiarly in thoughts about his past. The play won him international fame and came to be counted as a real achievement.

Willy Loman, the protagonist of the play, is strange because he does not realize that he has failed in life and conveniently continues to live in lies. He lies to everyone including his family and to himself. It was his dream to fulfill his American dreams and thus act as an example to his sons, whom he wished would succeed the same way. Ultimately, he fails in it but finds it impossible to accept this fact. He does not realize what his condition as reality is, and entertains delusions in his mind. Im the New England man. Im vital in New England. (Death of a Salesman, Act I, Scene I). He, in his mind, also believes that he is still a very good salesman, successful and important. This way, he deceives himself and his wife by telling her that it is impossible for them to shift from New York because he is inevitable in his company. The reality is that he is financially not at all stable and the familys condition is pitiable.

Due to his problems, his mind works in an erratic manner and often he talks contrasting ideas. There are occasions in the play when he makes a certain comment and then no sooner, he contradicts it. His confused mind is presented through this behavior. His mind decides what he must say according to the psychological feelings at that very instant. He changes his opinions with his unstable thoughts. Theres one thing about Biff-hes not lazy. (Death of a Salesman, Act I, Scene II). This is an example of his unstable mind. At first, he says sadly that Biff, his elder son is lazy and that is one big problem with him. A few minutes later, he changes his comment and says that Biff works hard. Similarly, he tells Linda that his car is the best one, but immediately contrasts it by saying that the manufacture of the car must be banned from making any more automobiles. This again shows his state of mind and how he always makes statements that contradict one another.

Willy keeps having hallucinations and he constantly talks to himself. Often, his mind wanders from one illusion to another, which are as deceiving as any other, yet he believes in them. He lives thinking about his past and ironically tells Biff that he has not grown up yet. In fact, it is Willy, who refuses to move on with his present life, recognizing its realities, and holds on to his past. In the play, Willy frequently talks about his rich brother, Ben. The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle, and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and hes rich!. (Death of a Salesman, Act I, Scene III). It is not clear if such a brother actually existed. This might be another image of his hallucinating mind. It is probably due to his failed dream of becoming rich that makes him think that he has a brother who is very rich. Similarly, he still thinks of Biff as a great basketball star and talks to him about sports and his coach.

Besides, Willy attempts suicide because of his desperation. He comes to know about the insurance money which his family would receive on his death. He even mentions it in the play. He says that it would be beneficial to Biff, who, like him, is on the verge of failing in life. He purposefully creates accidents in his attempts to suicide. He rather acts as a tragic hero, though all his character traits are not good. He has never remained loyal to his wife throughout his life. In the past, he had another affair, and thoughts about that irritate him. His attempt at suicide, however, proves that he loves his family and especially his son, Biff. The play makes the audience think about the lost, unfulfilled dreams of thousands of people in America, who find it difficult to cope with the realities of life and accept failure.

References

Death of a Salesman. Act I, Scene I.

Death of a Salesman. Act I, Scene II.

Death of a Salesman. Act I, Scene III.

In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller manages to masterfully show how dreams, combined with pride and stubbornness, are able to destroy a persons life. In the play, Willy Loman, the main character, is fighting to face the reality and abandon the haunting illusions. Eventually, Willys dream of materialistic happiness and the obsessive desire to be the most successful salesman lead to a collapse, but the readers should not be too quick to judge the main character for it.

Death of a Salesman is widely associated with the American dream. However, Miller uses this play to show how shallow and damaging some interpretations of it can be. Willy Loman seems to want everything that the term stands for: attainable prosperity, acceptance, other peoples respect. Loman believes that one can achieve all these using only a charming personality and charisma. This is the reason why Willy is so disappointed by Biffs inability to find a meaningful occupation: In the greatest country in the world a young man with suchpersonal attractiveness, gets lost (Miller 6). The father cannot understand the sons values, and certainly does not want to. The main character may be considered too proud to see how destructive obstinacy is. When all the dreams and hopes for Biff fall apart, Willy becomes devastated and restless. Until the end, the father does not accept the sons aspirations, and it becomes one of the major factors that contribute to Willys breakdown.

Another reason why Lomans dream fails is that while relying on personality far too much, Willy disregards the process of achieving success. On many occasions the main character claims that being well liked is much more important than studying hard as Bernard (Miller 23). Willy tells Ben that contacts and attractive personality are much more likely to help people get success than actions (Miller 65). However, when Bernard becomes a successful lawyer and Willys sons do not live up to the expectations, the mans pride is hurt again, and Willy becomes even more frustrated and angry. The only vision of success never overlaps with ideas of self-fulfillment and non-materialistic happiness: they are merely not considered to be worthy goals.

Nevertheless, although Willys behavior makes the whole family unhappy, the question of guilt might need further consideration. Despite all the flaws and wrongdoings, it is difficult to blame Willy Loman for who Willy Loman is. Confusing reality with what the troubled imagination creates, the main character is seen as a profoundly unhappy man. Instead of facing all the problems and accepting the fact of failing the family, Loman gives in to dreaming, as it is described in the play (Miller 7). He constructs these scenes and dialogues as a child who tries to win in an argument. As Miller puts it, these scenes appear to serve certain present needs (Miller 3). As if living in two worlds, Willy often seems to genuinely think that life is unfair, and is haunted by many reminders of how it has been spent in vain. Not being able to implement a personal idea of happiness, Willy eventually decides to end it all.

This allows the conclusion that dreams are what leads Willy Loman to downfall. It is hard to say if this character would act differently in other circumstances. However, the circumstances are difficult and, while selfishly desiring to become the best salesman, Willy does try to provide for the family. Seeing a dream, however shallow or unworthy, falling to pieces, Willy simply does not manage to change.

Work Cited

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Dramatists Play Service, 1980.

Seeds can be discussed as the most intriguing image presented in Arthur Millers play Death of a Salesman because seeds symbolize the hope of the main character Willy for the best future and, at the same time, the characters frustration because of lost opportunities. Willy understands that his idea of planting seeds is rather controversial, but it is his way to change the life for better.

Willy states: Ive got to get some seeds, right away. Nothings planted. I dont have a thing in the ground (Miller 61). Willy has nothing, but he uses a chance to receive something while planting seeds. The importance of this image is in its complex nature because Willy is preoccupied with the idea to plant seeds as the way to cope with the life issues and certain financial and moral difficulties in spite of the real perspectives to change the life of Willys family.

Miller concentrates on the image of seeds because it is associated with the growth and prosperity, and Willy suffers from the lack of these aspects in the life of his family because his sons, as well as Willy himself, cannot realize their potential and achieve higher goals. From this point, the image of seeds with the meaning of growth and prosperity and as the reflection of the main characters hope for the better future and for the positive results of his actions is closely linked to Willy.

Thus, the image of seeds is presented clearly in the play when Willy discusses the idea of planting with his wife. Willy states, on the way home tonight Id like to buy some seeds (Miller 50). However, the response of Willys wife provides a reader with the idea that Willys plans cannot be successful. Linda states in response to Willys idea: Thatd be wonderful. But not enough sun gets back there. Nothingll grow any more (Miller 51).

Referring to this dialogue, it is possible to note that the image of seeds can play different roles with references to the main characters vision of the future perspectives. Thus, frustrated Willy hopes to find some relief in planting seeds and in providing some food for the family when Linda focuses on the ideas loss.

The image of seeds is related to the idea and symbol of the American dream shared in Willys family. Willy is seeking for relief in planting seeds because it is his response to Biffs lost possibilities to become the prominent athlete.

Willy wants to plant seeds in order to see the real results of his activity because his focus on the American dream did not provide him with any observed outcomes (Murphy 48). While planting seeds, it is possible to hope for the future compensation because Willy feels guilty due to impossibility to change the life of the family for better or to change the results of the childrens upbringing.

It is possible to state that Miller relies on the image of seeds as the representation of Willys hopes through the object belonging to the tangible reality which can be manipulated as well as money which Willy lacks. The image of seeds provided in Millers Death of a Salesman is important to be chosen for the discussion because all the main themes and problems of the play can be analyzed with references to this complex image.

Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. USA: Heinemann, 1994. Print.

Murphy, Brenda. Miller: Death of a Salesman. USA: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print.

Introduction

In his play the Death of a Salesman, the author narrates a story of Willy Lomans desperate searching for happiness and recognition. Though aiming for self-realization and professional success, the protagonist, undergo neither spiritual transformation nor liberation as the plot progresses. Instead, readers observe the personal failure of the character as he betrays his family, becoming a victim of his artificially constructed concept of happiness. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of Willy Lomans personality, appearance, interactions, dynamics, and significance in the Death of a Salesman.

Appearance, Interactions, Relationships, Motivation

As a representative of an average middle-class American, Willy Loman does not exhibit unique appearance traits. Symbolically, Miller uses his average height, weight, and facial expressions to demonstrate the banality of the character. While Loman considers himself a great salesman, everyone in his family realizes his professional failure. The characters story is perceived through the eyes of his immediate family (wife and two sons) and neighbors. Willys wife Linda says that a small man can be just as exhausted as a great man (Miller 37), denying his husbands perceived greatness.

In addition to viewing himself as a successful salesman, Loman also believes that he is well-liked both by his colleagues and acquaintances, mentioning Im the New England man. Im vital in New England (Miller 35). As he interacts with a multitude of people, the man lives under the apprehension of having a profoundly attractive image of strength. However, as his younger son Biff notices, hes liked but hes not well-liked (Miller 47), suggesting that Lomans efforts to pretend to be popular, recognized, and respected by others do not bring positive results.

Willys motivation to receive the admiration of the crowd and popular recognition is closely related to the concept of the American dream. Interestingly, the author uses the characters first and last name to describe his inner conflict. On the one hand, Willy is associated with willfulness to reject reality, creating an alternative illusion where the man is loved and respected. On the other hand, Loman refers to low man, symbolizing the true status of the protagonist when he engages in lying, self-deception, and delusions.

For Willy, success is defined by recognition and wealth: the man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle and comes out, the age of 21, and hes rich! (Miller 53). Loman is motivated to pursue a career in sales because he believes that it truly is the only possible way to become successful, rejecting all other professional paths as inferior.

Dynamics

Unlike most of the tragic heroes, Willy Loman does not undergo transformation by the end of the play. Some literary critics suggest that the resolution of the characters conflict happens when he commits suicide. However, only the partial truth is shown after the incident. While Loman recognizes the true nature of sales and his professional failure, the man does not see his personal fall as he betrays his moral principles. Willy exclaims at the end of the play that he realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been (155), meaning that other individuals did not remain sincere to him in their judgments. The protagonist fails to change, however, his own self-concept, disregarding personal flaws and continuous mistreatment of ones family and friends.

Significance of the Character

Play Without the Character

Since Loman is the protagonist of the play, it is difficult to imagine the story without his actions, words, and, most importantly, inner conflict. Simply speaking, Millers Death of a Salesman would not exist, lacking the main character and background for the narrative. Willy plays a critical role, distinguishing the main points of the plot and contributing to all storys turning points. The only possible alternative for the author would be to focus on Biffs story, presenting a contrary vision about the American dream.

Different Choices of Loman

Lomans series of morally unjustified choices lead to his suicide at the end of the story. By changing the reasoning and accepting the unconditional love offered by his family, Willy could avoid the sad ending and invest in more suitable career options. Also, if abstained from delusions throughout the plot, the man would not commit adultery and spoil relationships with Biff, preserving a trustworthy atmosphere in the family. Finally, choosing to listen to his sons advice, Willy would not assume that life insurance could fulfill Biffs American dream and bring him happiness.

Conclusion

The main character of Millers play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, fails to acquire self-realization or self-knowledge common for the tragic heroes. Engaging in persistent delusions, lies, and self-deception, the character lives under the apprehension of being liked and recognized by a crowd of colleagues and friends. Despite the strong belief in ones success, the man does not fulfill his potential, neither in professional nor personal dimensions, spoiling the relationship with his family and failing to succeed in sales. Nevertheless, Willy plays an essential role in Millers play, initiating the discussion of the American dream.

Work Cited

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Penguin Books, 1996.

Since its first play in 1949, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is still recognized as one of the greatest dramatic pieces of the 20th century. The play was performed many times, collected a significant number of awards, and has ten cinema adaptations. The plot centers around the tragic yet ordinary life of Willy Loman, a 63-year-old salesman, and his family. This paper will focus on the aspect of the story where the main character loses his job and analyze three of the most prominent issues that contradict current understanding and practices in human resources (HR).

The story takes place in 1940s New York, and the plays central theme relates closely to the concept of the American dream. In brief, the story emphasizes the influence of capitalism and the idea of success on people, their lives, relationships with friends and family, and work ethics. The play adds a modern sense to the classic tragedy of a mans suicide from the frustration of not fulfilling his goals. Through a series of events, Willy, whose mind is slowly degrading, decides to commit suicide to contribute insurance money from his death to the future success of his children.

Willy is sure that his sons, predominantly Biff, are destined for success yet prefer to spend their time on unnecessary things instead of pushing to the American Dream. The character states that in a salesman job, looks are the most vital part, and in his mind, Biff should have great success as a salesman because of his appearance. In his illusions, Willy ignores that Biff decided to quit sports due to Willys mistake when Biff discovers that Willy cheats on his wife, Linda. The situation is not good with Willys second son either, as he makes up lies solely to get his parents attention and recognition. Although the main characters of the play are Willys family, a significant part of the play and the plot is Willys work, the working culture, and the environment of the salesman job.

The author implies that work plays a dominant role in Willys life. To demonstrate it, the author starts the play with Willy arriving earlier from a business trip, which the character cannot handle due to health issues. Willy complains that he cannot go on long road trips anymore as he finds himself going sixty miles an hour without remembering the last minutes. At the beginning of the 20th century, traveling salesman was a common profession, and they also were frequently met as characters in literature. Due to the nature of their job, salespersons had to act and pretend to do business, so the salesmens job was more of a public position than it is now.

Because of the publicity of the job, Willy supposed that a salesman job is a respectable profession. Willy admits that he tries to always look his best and dresses to impress other people and make them notice him. Willys work makes him self-conscious as he feels hurt when another person makes fun of his looks and compares Willy to a walrus (Miller, 1998, p. 24). It was common for salespeople to pass their position to their children, and Willy was hoping that Biff would eventually take his place.

To understand the work culture of that time, one should pay attention to issues in social norms of that period. As the character spent his whole life working in the same company, Willy constantly fears that business will go bad and he will be unable to provide for his wife and family. The main characters boss, Howard Wagner, advises Willy to rest and rely on his sons for a while, but Willy feels ashamed of thinking about the offer and states that he is not a cripple (Miller, 1998, p. 63). The characters opposition to retirement emphasizes that at that period, even older people could not rely on help from their children to avoid being mistaken for a disabled person. The fact that Willy deliberately ignores his mental state and hallucinations emphasizes how much he is afraid to be disabled and in need.

Most issues that directly speak to essential points in HR fundamentals emerge during the plays segment, where Willy finally conveys his concerns to his boss. At the beginning of their conversation, Wagner ignores the employees intentions to talk and focuses on a voice-recording device while forcing Willy to admire the new device. As a boss, Wagner was not necessarily obliged to performing work-related tasks at his workplace at that time.

However, nowadays, he would be violating workplace policies and ethics by focusing his attention on a device instead of a work-related discussion with an employee. Wagner could solve a significant part of Willys problems but failed to pay attention to one of the core employees that helped establish the company. Alternatively, Willys employer needed to fulfill Willys request to find him a job that does not require traveling or should have offered him at least one-time pension compensation.

One of the fundamentals of modern HR strategies implies respectful relationships among both employees and managers. Further in their dialogue, Wagner calls Willy a kid several times, and despite the familiar kind of relationship between the two, the calling seems unfitting and disrespectful regarding the age gap (Miller, 1998, p. 61). The language that Wagner used sounds humiliating and belittling and contradicts the current understanding and fundamentals of HR.

To avoid the humiliation and gain back some respect, Willy had to remind Wagner about the contribution Willy made to the company. Moreover, according to Mayuuf and Mohammed (2020), Wagner remains cold even when Willy points that it was him who proposed Howards name to his father. Wagners open disrespect and pressure negatively affect Willys mental health and triggers Willys dementia, causing a hallucination episode.

Death of a Salesman presents a significant example of one of the most prominent issues that emphasized the need in HR policies and regulations. In an article on managing mental health and dementia, Samantaray (2020) points that Wagner represents how money damages human responses within America. Many businesses throughout the rise of capitalism used their employees as assets. Wagner decided to fire Willy regardless of his previous success working with his father, Willys health state, and financial requests. Current businesses implement the concept of social responsibility and care for the employees by providing them benefits in compensations for healthcare services to prevent problems similar to Willys.

In conclusion, each of the issues in HR fundamentals negatively affected Willys life and contributed to his final decision to take his life. The boss rejected Willys requests and failed to provide enough attention to his employee when he could have tried to fulfill the request of the core employee of the company that significantly contributed to the companys establishment. At least the employer could have offered a one-time compensation for Willy and save him from willing to exchange his life on insurance money. The undeserved disrespectful tone of the employer that violates current HR policies and ethics triggered Willys mental health and caused a hallucinating episode. Wagner saw Willy at his lowest point ad still fired him, making the mistake of treating his employees as an asset. Although employer mistakes rarely end with tragic consequences in real life, the play emphasizes how work culture and working conditions could affect an individuals life.

References

Mayuuf, H. H., & Mohammed, A. A. (2020). A comparative study of density of directive and commissive speech acts in Death of a Salesman. PalArchs Journal of Archaeology of Egypt / Egyptology, 17(7), 15638-15652.

Miller, A. (1998). Death of a salesman. Penguin Classics. London, England.

Samantaray, S. (2020). Managing mental health and dementia: A critical appraisal of Millers Death of a Salesman. Journal of Critical reviews, 7(13), 2859-2863. Web.

Introduction

Death of a Salesman takes place a few years after World War II has ended. America is enjoying a postwar economic boom, but the war has caused a shake-up in American society, changing the way people view business, leisure, themselves, and others. The Lomans live in Brooklyn, a busy suburb of New York City. Miller creates contrasting characters of Willy and his wife Linda in order to depict and demonstrate different social and personal values typical for his age.

Essence

In spite of the fact that Willy and Linda live together for many years they have different worldviews and values. Linda is a loving and sympathetic woman, warm hearted and kind. Linda is a sympathetic and patient wife who does everything possible to support her husband: Its changing, Willy, I can feel it changing! (Miller 45). Linda Lomans central importance seems to be as a voice of protest and outrage against what is happening to her husband. While dreams, illusions, and self-deceptions feed the action of this play, Linda, in contrast, seems very much planted in reality with her concerns over house payments, mending, insurance premiums, and her husbands care. In contrast to his wife, Willy is depicted as a cold man who values money and personal success more than family happiness and family relations. For instance, Ben tells Willy that their father was a very wild-hearted man who would toss the whole family in the wagon (Miller 35) and drive right across the country. In contrast to Willy, Linda is a realist and materialist. Linda is a positive representation, and sometimes an ideal, of the nurturing wife and mother.

Willy and Lind have different family and parental duties. Linda is a housewife whose duty is to look after children and her husband. While a mother raises the children, they also need a fathers input. So little do many men understand their role as a father and so little do they take that role seriously that many a father has experienced some difficulty in thinking of himself as such, except in the narrow technical sense. Instead, with the best of intentions, such fathers often think of their children as pals, buddies, friends. As a father, Willy does not an active part in upbringing paying more attention to his work and personal ambitions. Miller does not give a picture of an ideal, romantic father figure who acts as his childrens friend, model, and provider. In contrast to this, Willy is a portrayal of ambitious father who cares about social recognition and personal image knowing nothing about his sons. While Willy sees his son as a hero, loved and admired by everyone because of his athletic prowess, and unquestionably destined to succeed because of this, the play suggests another reality, in which, in sports as well as the rest of American life, business is definitely business (Miller 28) and Biff the discarded athlete will wind up on the ashheap, just like his father the discarded salesman, as soon as he fails to make the grade. Death of a Salesman underlines with deep irony the faith in athletics as a means to a better life that Willy articulates: Without a penny to his name, three great universities are begging for him, and from there the skys the limit, because its not what you do, Ben. Its who you know and the smile on your face! (Miller 49). In contrast, Linda is aware of the problems faced by her sons but can do nothing to change their false values and unachievable dreams. As Willy says, Today, its all cut and dried, and theres no chance for bringing friendship to bearor personality (Miler 47). Willy misses the respect, comradeship, and gratitude that had been a vital part of the business relationships. Willy acts as the family provider, while Linda takes a subservient back seat, and Hap and Biff struggle to make it big.

The main similarity between the characters is that they do nothing to change their family life and false hopes and values. Yet despite Lindas clear sight she allows her familys dreams to flourish; she even encourages them. It is possible to blame Linda for collaborating in Willys unrealistic fantasies and for remaining passive as her family is being destroyed around her. The character of Linda in the daydream scenes, viewed through Willys remorseful idealization of her, is quite different from the Linda in the scenes of the present, who is protecting her young when she defends Willy from the boys. The death of Willy at the end of the play is a dramatic act which shows that dreams ruin family happiness and life of all family members. Ive always made a point of not wasting my life, and everytime I come back here I know that all Ive done is to waste my life (Miller 23). In contrast, Linda is alive but she is unable to live without support of her husband.

Conclusion

In sum, Miller depicts two different types of people: Linda, who is a housewife and a keeper of home values, and Willy, a salesman who believes in false values and importance of social recognition but fails to achieve them. This contrast allows Miller to depict a typical American family and criticize the basic elements of the American dream showing that people like the Lomans believe in dreams and ideals created by the society and unable to evaluate and predict possible consequences of their actions or inactions.

Works Cited

Miller, A. Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition, Penguin Books; 50th Annni edition, 1999.