Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Essay -- essays research papers

In Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman, the protagonist Willy Lomans inability to live in and cope with the award lastly bankrupts him. The are several constant themes and ideas throughout the play which show this. Willys inability to be successful according to his own standards is most questionable for him. The troublesome relationship between Willy and his family also leads to a great mint of stress. And the constants flashbacks and disillusions Willy goes through to deal with these problems bring him further from truth and destroy him. The feature that Willy cannot be successful is perhaps his biggest problem. In escaping this reality he lastly destroys himself. Willy says, I did 500 gross in Providence and 700 gross in Boston. No Wait a minute...that makes your commission $212, replies Linda Well I didnt figure it yet but...well I did nearly a hundred and 80 gross in Providence, answers Willy (11). To cover up for his lack of success at consummation, Willy lies about how he does. He tries to make himself seem successful when in reality he needs to find a solution to his problems. He tries to bargain with his boss to get a steady paying antic because he cannot live on the commission he is making. If I could usurp home - well $65 a week, I could swing it...All I need is $50 a week...If I had $40 a week - thats all I need, Willy begs his boss (24). His lack of success causes him to prolong bargaining and willing lead him to settle at just about anything. However the attempt to get a regular paying project turns out nothing short of failure. Failures such as this lead to Willys being fired. I dont want you to represent us, Ive been meaning to tell you for a long time now, says Howard (26). This obviously destroys his work life. These mounting problems of being unsuccessful at work build up leading to him ultimately being fired. There are several ways in which Willy avoids his problems. First, rather then deal with such situations Willy is stubbo rn and assumes things will take care of themselves. He uses this attitude when his long time peer Charley offers him a job. Charley says, I offered you a job. You can make $50 a week, and I wont send you on the road. Ive got a job,(30). Willys stubbornness wont let him deal with reality, cause him to turn down an offer to fix a major problem. He denies his problems rather then taking t... ...ot, and get right down the airfield under the ball...because it is important son...(To Ben), Ben, Where do I?...How do I? (38). This is Willy as he leaves his home for the final time. He has a final fallacy with Ben and Biff. Then he realizes he is alone, but it is too late. The reality is last realized yet Willy cannot handle it because he has avoided handling it for so long. The sleep of unsolved problems is too much and Willy is destroyed. There are many trouble issues Willy faces throughout the play. His lack of success and work and his troubled family relationships hurt him. They de stroy him literally. Rather then dealing with these issues he escapes into disillusionment, which proves costly to him. The constant flashbacks to his idealisation days and his dreams of being successful lead to his inability to settle his present problems. By the time that reality kicks in, it is too late for Willy to deal with it and instead he takes his life because his life is too far gone to fix. And scour if it is possible, years of living back and forth in and out of reality have made him unable to know how to fix his life. The inability to experience the present has destroyed Willy Loman.