In “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, the main character, Willy Loman is an elderly man. He has come to a fork in the road of struggling with everyday life in modern America, in the late 1940’s. As constantly newer appliances and cars are being manufactured, Willy Loman is progressively tries to obtain the latest models for his family. As he slowly starts to lose his mind in this materialistic world, it becomes clear that the only thing he is really concerned about is keeping up with the people in his community. “The Salesman figure that comes through is not of a typical grunt brought down by financial failure but of an exceptional invalid, in whom the stress of business only increased existing psychological imbalances” (CJAS). Success and possessions take on a life of their own. Throughout the play, he constantly mentions the fact that he is running out of money and can no longer pay for these new appliances, and he mournfully regrets not going to Africa with his brother Ben, who struck it rich. In many cases, this modernity sets the stage for the tragic events to follow in Loman’s life. Keeping up with the “Jones” causes Willy to pervert in his daydreams of the American dream by going further and further into debt. “He exists as an insulted extrusion of commercial society battling for some sliver of authenticity before he slips into the great dark” (CJAS). Willy’s constant being lost in his past stops him from going forward and applying himself harder. This is one of those characteristics of the “American Dream” that affects many people; Hopkins 2 he dreams too much and stays stuck in the past, which stops him from stirring onward.
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Seemingly, Willy Loman’s own downfall is his inability to move forward because of his focus is always on the wrong aspects of success. One day as Willy is traveling home from work he got “a little above Yonkers and had to stop for he could go no more” (Miller) because through exhaustion and daydreaming he ran off the road. This was the turning point in Willy’s life where he come to realize that he had grown much too old to drive and, make the long trips to his work. Willy is a strong willed male and this is hard for him to swallow. Finally, Willy makes the trip home and talks to Linda about what has just happened to him on the road. She suggests that he try to get transferred where he could work in New York. Next, Willy goes down to have a conversation with Howard Wagner, his boss, about a transfer within the company. Since he has been there for a long time, he stated, “He would be willing to take a pay cut just to be closer to home.” However, Howard Wagner lets Willy know that he is being terminated and that he should retire to get some much needed rest. Additionally, his boss encourages him to allow Biff and Happy; his two sons take care of him. Happy lets his father know that he would stand behind his dad if he chooses to retire. Throughout the play, Willy constantly mentions the fact that he is running out of money and can no longer pay for their new appliances. As Willy starts to think about the bills and how this debt will affect his family he is further upset as Linda informs him that they owe “on the first sixteen dollars on the refrigerator. She further increases his anxiety over his two hundred paycheck when she says, the fan belt broke, so it was a dollar eighty, nine-sixty for the washing machine, three and a half dollars for the vacuum cleaner, and then the roof you go twenty- one Hopkins 3 dollars remaining”(Miller). These events send Willy into another hallucination about his regrets of not follow his brother Ben to Africa, “who struck it rich in the diamond mines and came out of the jungle rich at the age of twenty-one” (Miller). Willy has daydreaming thoughts of talking with Ben about how he became so successful. Willy then, wonders if Howards business does not pick up, will he lose the possessions that he has worked so hard for. Willy lies to Linda about paying the bills when actually he is borrowing money from his brother Charley. This makes his brother have less respect for Willy. With
Seemingly, Willy Loman’s own downfall is his inability to move forward because of his focus is always on the wrong aspects of success. One day as Willy is traveling home from work he got “a little above Yonkers and had to stop for he could go no more” (Miller) because through exhaustion and daydreaming he ran off the road. This was the turning point in Willy’s life where he come to realize that he had grown much too old to drive and, make the long trips to his work. Willy is a strong willed male and this is hard for him to swallow. Finally, Willy makes the trip home and talks to Linda about what has just happened to him on the road. She suggests that he try to get transferred where he could work in New York. Next, Willy goes down to have a conversation with Howard Wagner, his boss, about a transfer within the company. Since he has been there for a long time, he stated, “He would be willing to take a pay cut just to be closer to home.” However, Howard Wagner lets Willy know that he is being terminated and that he should retire to get some much needed rest. Additionally, his boss encourages him to allow Biff and Happy; his two sons take care of him. Happy lets his father know that he would stand behind his dad if he chooses to retire. Throughout the play, Willy constantly mentions the fact that he is running out of money and can no longer pay for their new appliances. As Willy starts to think about the bills and how this debt will affect his family he is further upset as Linda informs him that they owe “on the first sixteen dollars on the refrigerator. She further increases his anxiety over his two hundred paycheck when she says, the fan belt broke, so it was a dollar eighty, nine-sixty for the washing machine, three and a half dollars for the vacuum cleaner, and then the roof you go twenty- one Hopkins 3 dollars remaining”(Miller). These events send Willy into another hallucination about his regrets of not follow his brother Ben to Africa, “who struck it rich in the diamond mines and came out of the jungle rich at the age of twenty-one” (Miller). Willy has daydreaming thoughts of talking with Ben about how he became so successful. Willy then, wonders if Howards business does not pick up, will he lose the possessions that he has worked so hard for. Willy lies to Linda about paying the bills when actually he is borrowing money from his brother Charley. This makes his brother have less respect for Willy. With