Dr. Harald Sala once said, “Understanding yourself is a step towards inner peace, and a step nearer achieving your unfulfilled ambitions.” This quote is seen throughout the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, however there are characters in the play that know the meaning of understanding yourself and the happiness of success. Ben in the play is Willy’s older brother and is a form of guidance in Willy’s life, so he has a major impact on Willy and unlike his brother, he is very ambitious. Willy is a main character in the play. He is very self centered and prideful, which causes his life to fall apart. Charley and Bernard are Linda's brother and nephew, unlike Willy and his boys. These two men are very goal oriented. By studying these characters
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Since their father left at such a young age, Ben has always been a father figure to Willy. Due to their father leaving at such a young age. Only one was turning out to be successful. “I was going to find father in Alaska.. At that age i had a very faulty view of geography, William. I discovered after a few days that I was heading due south, so instead of Alaska, i ended up in Africa,” (33). Before Ben left to go on his voyage to seek his father, he was a major influence to Willy. This shows shows in all of Ben’s appearances in Willy’s mind. He seems to keep Willy sane enough to stop him from fully killing himself up until the last appearance when he says to Willy. Being the successful brother, Ben went out to do something with his life and made something out of it. He was outgoing and adventurous. He wasn't happy with his life at home and went out to search for his dad to work with him. By doing so he accidently heads in the wrong direction and ended up in Africa. Ben did not waste this opportunity to make something out of a little mistake. He did the work to be successful later in life, “Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle and when I was twenty-one I walked out. and by God, I was rich!”(pg 33). By being so outgoing, adventurous and hands on, Ben was able to make something big and live the American dream like Willy always wanted. They were both determined to find their …show more content…
His concept of the american dream is being successful and is a given right, and can be done by Exerting little to none effort. Willy is one of the main characters in the play, He always had this idea of not chasing the american dream, but the american dream chasing him instead. He strongly believes there is only one profession in the world that can make you a great man and it’s a salesman, but he isn’t fit for such a profession. During scenes throughout the play, Willy is bragging about all the things he has built with his own hands and is very proud of it. His family knows the truth about how good he is with tools. They know that he is much better with his hands than being a Salesman but he is so naïve, he fails recognize it due to the fact that it isn’t a popular job amongst men in that era. By the time Willy got to his old age, his life was a mess. Happy, one of his sons, was basically just like him, all talk. Now near the end of his career as a salesman, Willy realizes his whole life was just a joke, and the hopes he placed in the American Dream were misguided. At the end of the play, his only hope is to leave something for his family. He thought the best way to do so would be taking his own life and leaving his family the insurance
Since their father left at such a young age, Ben has always been a father figure to Willy. Due to their father leaving at such a young age. Only one was turning out to be successful. “I was going to find father in Alaska.. At that age i had a very faulty view of geography, William. I discovered after a few days that I was heading due south, so instead of Alaska, i ended up in Africa,” (33). Before Ben left to go on his voyage to seek his father, he was a major influence to Willy. This shows shows in all of Ben’s appearances in Willy’s mind. He seems to keep Willy sane enough to stop him from fully killing himself up until the last appearance when he says to Willy. Being the successful brother, Ben went out to do something with his life and made something out of it. He was outgoing and adventurous. He wasn't happy with his life at home and went out to search for his dad to work with him. By doing so he accidently heads in the wrong direction and ended up in Africa. Ben did not waste this opportunity to make something out of a little mistake. He did the work to be successful later in life, “Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle and when I was twenty-one I walked out. and by God, I was rich!”(pg 33). By being so outgoing, adventurous and hands on, Ben was able to make something big and live the American dream like Willy always wanted. They were both determined to find their …show more content…
His concept of the american dream is being successful and is a given right, and can be done by Exerting little to none effort. Willy is one of the main characters in the play, He always had this idea of not chasing the american dream, but the american dream chasing him instead. He strongly believes there is only one profession in the world that can make you a great man and it’s a salesman, but he isn’t fit for such a profession. During scenes throughout the play, Willy is bragging about all the things he has built with his own hands and is very proud of it. His family knows the truth about how good he is with tools. They know that he is much better with his hands than being a Salesman but he is so naïve, he fails recognize it due to the fact that it isn’t a popular job amongst men in that era. By the time Willy got to his old age, his life was a mess. Happy, one of his sons, was basically just like him, all talk. Now near the end of his career as a salesman, Willy realizes his whole life was just a joke, and the hopes he placed in the American Dream were misguided. At the end of the play, his only hope is to leave something for his family. He thought the best way to do so would be taking his own life and leaving his family the insurance