-
Essay / A look at the story of Willy Loman and the tragic events that affect his life
I chose to read Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller because I believe he was a very talented American playwright and that his pieces have always interested me. As I graded the book and read the piece, I made sure to write down any symbols or images that seemed important to me and should be discussed later. I also took care to underline and highlight words whose meaning I did not know. This entire play is a tragedy played out in several acts. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Willy Loman, the story's protagonist, is not a particularly successful salesman and is struggling financially. Willy has two children named Biff and Happy and a wife named Linda. Willy is not a very good father to his children and had an affair with another woman behind his wife's back. Willy struggles to face reality and instead creates an image for himself, for his family, and for everyone around him. Linda realizes that Willy is incapable of coping with reality and advises her sons to work hard instead of being the lazy bums they are. Willy has attempted suicide several times and it is revealed that Willy wants to die "The Death of a Salesman", which basically means being surrounded by hundreds of friends and special people in his life. Willy's older son, Biff, ends up being a crook and failing math instead of going to college straight away, while Willy's youngest son, Happy, isn't really happy with his life and lies to women about his wealth. play, I made sure to write down each location depicted in the acts. The play takes place in the late 1940s; in Willy Loman's house; in New York and Barnaby River; and in Boston. Another important thing to realize is that Willy's mind also counts as a setting in the story because a lot of Willy Loman's memories and flashbacks would take place in his imagination and in his head. You can experience many major events through Willy's point of view. Since the play is set in the late 1940s, as I mentioned before, America has just come out of World War II, so everyone is struggling the same and trying to maintain or achieve the “American dream”. Towards the end of the play, tragedy ensues as Willy is fired from his job and Biff fails to obtain a loan to start his business with Happy. Biff tells Willy the truth that he didn't get the loan and has an extremely long and intense argument with his father during their dinner at a restaurant, leading to Willy ending up alone in a bathroom while his sons leave him. Willy later returns home and starts talking to himself, as he usually does, while Linda yells at her sons for being so ungrateful and useless. Biff later goes to Willy and tells him that he is "not meant for anything great" while starting to cry. Willy takes Biff's crying as a sign of love and thinks it shows that Biff truly loves him. Towards the end of the night and the end of the play, we hear Willy leave in his car – only to later discover that he intentionally commits suicide in order to give Biff the life insurance money to start his business. At Willy Loman's funeral, he ends up dying alone because his funeral is not well attended, which sets a sad and tragic tone for the play. At the funeral, Biff is certain that he doesn't want to become a businessman like his father, while Happy ends up wanting to follow in his father's footsteps. Keep..