This is illustrated when the schoolteacher lists the slaves "animal characteristics," calling them "creatures" that need to be "handled" just as livestock would need to be "handled." In many ways, the schoolteacher makes the slaves seem even less than animals because "unlike a snake or a bear, a dead nigger could not be skinned for profit and was not worth his own dead weight in coin" (Morrison 172)
Willy's fantasy is his own material success as a salesman, and the hope represented by his family. The fantasy culminates in the success of his brother Ben, and in Willy's regular references to himself as being "well liked" (Miller 30)
Willy's strong focus on Biff's promise is perhaps an early indication that he was in fact aware of his own shortcomings not only as a salesman, but also as a husband and father. Indeed, Willy's tendency to bolster his stories of his own success emphasizes that fact that he cannot face the failure that he is in reality, both in the present and in the past (Krasner 46)
For instance, Willy's guilt takes the form of a flashback to the time when his son caught him with another woman in a hotel room. (Miller, 116-121) Also Willy's memories of his own successes are often exaggerated versions of the truth, as with his so-called relationship with Bill Oliver
The values, ideals, and morals of American society are portrayed in the character of Willy Loman, and as Willy examines the meaning of his life, the audience also is allowed to examine the significance of American social ideals. (Olyaie, 16) Works Cited Miller, Arthur, and Gerald Clifford Weales
In expressionist dramaturgy, this type of conflict is common as the main character must usually re-evaluate his personal beliefs and ideas, "…to discover his true self and his place in the cosmos." (Rogers, 15) In this case, what Willy Loman must evaluate is his life, his idea of what a "success" should be, as well as his expectations for those around him
This play uses the artistic mechanisms of expressionist dramaturgy to convey to the audience the personal conflicts, sufferings, and emotions of the characters, primarily the main protagonist Willy Loman. (Weisstein, 202) Willy Loman is a not-too successful traveling salesman who is at the end of his career and facing the fact that he views his life as a failure
" The policy itself is another link to Willy's impending death, for why would it be mentioned unless it was going to be used? When Willy is first introduced, he is a salesman who is "down on his luck," and immediately there is tension from his wife, Linda. "Why? What happened? Did something happen Willy?" (Miller 1021)
"Willy's failure to achieve the American Dream is a personal one, this line of reasoning goes, not an inevitable result of the American economic system. The real truth is, Willy fails because he never understands what is really needed to succeed in business, insisting to the end that 'personality wins the day,' when, as Charley says, he ought to know from experience that 'all you have is what you can sell'" (Murphy 5)
Ben, his rich brother, could have helped the family, but he ignored them. In a dream sequence, he tells Willy, "With one gadget he made more in a week than a man like you could make in a lifetime" (Miller 748)
After he yells at his boss and his boss fires him, he chastises himself and another critic finds this is the ultimate tragic act for him. He says, "My God, I was yelling at him! How could I!' That he finds himself no longer daring, no longer entitled to yell where yelling should be proper for him -- that is what makes his fading voice tragic" (Adamczewski 176)
Their own failings fail them, and that makes them all tragic and pitiable figures. Early Greek playwright and philosopher Aristotle defined tragedy as, "An imitation of action concerning the fall of a man (person) whose character is good (though not pre-eminently just or virtuous) whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity but by some error or frailty with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of these emotions" (Amsden)
Clearly, Death of a Salesman meets and even exceeds this definition of tragedy. Critic Bloom continues, "Death of a Salesman appears to imitate Classic tragedy primarily in its acceptance of the principle of the ultimate responsibility of the individual" (Bloom 11)
He simply cannot do his job as well as he could when he was younger, and he cannot face the fact that he is not as successful or as young as he used to be. He notes early in the play, "Willy: Funny, y'know? After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive" (Miller 1043)
Abbotson and Brenda Murphy note the play was an immediate dramatic success. They write, "Salesman ran for an extraordinary 742 performances on Broadway, winning the Pulitzer Prize, the Donaldson Award, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best play of the season" (Murphy and Abbotson xiii)
Late in his life he described the play succinctly, saying, "Well, it's about a salesman and he dies. What can I tell you?'" (Otten 281)
Another critic believes Linda and Happy are especially simple-minded and tragic. He writes, "Linda and Happy are repeatedly shown to be among the most deluded, obtuse, and mendacious characters in the play" (Phelps 239)
What made his tragedy unbearable was the realization that he failed to keep his family together -- that, in his desire to successfully achieve the American dream, he forgot to establish stronger relationships with his family, his wife and two sons. In effect, Willy's "inability to face himself gives rise to tragic consequences" in his personal and family lives (Otten, 2002:27)
The sudden death of Willy did not prepare Biff and Happy for the hard, real life awaiting them. This is the tragedy of Willy's failure as a father: he thought that his inefficiency as a father to them would be absolved once he committed death voluntarily, benefiting his family by his sheer absence (Shamir, 2002:172)
Miller writes, "Biff: God Almighty, Mom, how long has he been doing this? Linda: Don't, he'll hear you. Biff: What the hell is the matter with him?" (Miller 1031)