The video clip of the last scene in Death of a Salesman was one that contained a lot of emotions in it. By viewing the scene, one could actually see all of the emotions of Willy and Biff Loman coming out clearer than if it was only read.
The dramamtic significance of this scene seems to be to show that Biff finally realised that the " American Dream" was not the best dream to follow or believe in. The scene further showed the audience that Biff came to understand that all of them, Willy, Biff and Happy have been lying there way in every situation for just about their entire life since it always seemed like the right way to go about doing things since that is what Willy believed, and decided to instill in Biff and Happy from their early childhood lives.
This drastic change in Biff's look on life seems to be a turning point for the drama and somewhat an ease off of Biff's life since he now knows that he has to work hard for what he wants to accomplish, and being well liked won't necessarily get him anywhere if he does not have anything of substance to be well liked or looked up to for. In addition, this change seems to catch Willy off guard and as a result he does not seem like he wants to listen to what Biff has to say since he thinks he' talking out of spite. In the end Biff forces Willy to listen and Biff cries because of the emotional conversation they are having.
This is seemingly the most powerful and emotional part of the drama and shows how strong Biff is in the end for finding out that the "American Dream" i not going to get him anywhere and that what he has been following for his entire life was not the best on look on life and how to live it successfully.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Was Willy Loman's family responsible for his demise?
I think that Willy's family contributed to his demise, but they should not be considered fully responsible for his demise. This is because Willy, himself had a great impact on him dying at the end of the novel.
Firstly, it may be said that his family played a part in his demise, but they were not fully responsible. Willy's relationship with his sons Biff and Happy seemed to break down, which consequently added to Willy's demise. This is made evident by the way in which his relationship with Biff started going downhill when he walked in on his dad and another woman in the hotel room in Boston, giving off the impression that he was having an affair with "The Woman". The relationship gradually got worse as Biff got older and went away, where Willy and Linda did not hear from him in a long time but when Biff came back the relationship continued to crack until it broke in the end. This happened when Biff went to his old manager, so to speak, only to find out that he never really worked for him and all the things he thought were true really were false. That was when Biff truly realised that the American Dream his father instilled in him and his brother from the beginning really did not make sense at all and was not going to get him anywhere. He thus broke away from his father's aspirations and Willy was hurt and thought that he did not do a good job as a father. This is made evident when Biff tells Willy at the restaurant what really happened at the meeting, as well as when Biff ran out to his father that same evening when he was in garden and they both felt like they had let down one another. Thus adding to him wanting to kill himself for letting Biff end up with a bad life and he himself being fired from the job, so he ended his worries and troubles by doing just that.
In addition, the fact that Happy was neglected from his father from such an early age, since Willy always seemed to be more concerned with Biff, Happy adopted from an early age to be less concerned with his father, and accept his position as the years went by. This caused Willy to have less love and concern from one of his family members that he should have had, but because Will never really paid much attention to him, Happy seemed not to bother to try sometimes since he knew he was not going to get the attention he wanted or deserved. As a result Willy was not able to have the love he could have gotten from Happy and Happy continued to be less concerned with him. This is made evident when Biff and Happy invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table.
Furthermore, it may also be said that Linda was considered to be a loving and caring wife to Willy, but it may also be argued that instead of always trying not to aggravate him and say the wrong thing, she should have helped him by taking to him to see a doctor when she realised he was getting crazy in his head. For example, the hose she saw in the back by the gas tank should have told her that something was wrong.
More than anything, it may be stated that Willy was the main cause of his death since he had the American Dream trapped in the depths of his mind, that he would stick with that dream even if it was not working out. Willy stuck to this dream and tried to influence his children from an early age that this dream was the way to go and the way to make things happen. He was right about one thing. It did make things happen. It made him slowly go crazy as a result of being obsessed with the dream and eventually led him to kill himself.
Firstly, it may be said that his family played a part in his demise, but they were not fully responsible. Willy's relationship with his sons Biff and Happy seemed to break down, which consequently added to Willy's demise. This is made evident by the way in which his relationship with Biff started going downhill when he walked in on his dad and another woman in the hotel room in Boston, giving off the impression that he was having an affair with "The Woman". The relationship gradually got worse as Biff got older and went away, where Willy and Linda did not hear from him in a long time but when Biff came back the relationship continued to crack until it broke in the end. This happened when Biff went to his old manager, so to speak, only to find out that he never really worked for him and all the things he thought were true really were false. That was when Biff truly realised that the American Dream his father instilled in him and his brother from the beginning really did not make sense at all and was not going to get him anywhere. He thus broke away from his father's aspirations and Willy was hurt and thought that he did not do a good job as a father. This is made evident when Biff tells Willy at the restaurant what really happened at the meeting, as well as when Biff ran out to his father that same evening when he was in garden and they both felt like they had let down one another. Thus adding to him wanting to kill himself for letting Biff end up with a bad life and he himself being fired from the job, so he ended his worries and troubles by doing just that.
In addition, the fact that Happy was neglected from his father from such an early age, since Willy always seemed to be more concerned with Biff, Happy adopted from an early age to be less concerned with his father, and accept his position as the years went by. This caused Willy to have less love and concern from one of his family members that he should have had, but because Will never really paid much attention to him, Happy seemed not to bother to try sometimes since he knew he was not going to get the attention he wanted or deserved. As a result Willy was not able to have the love he could have gotten from Happy and Happy continued to be less concerned with him. This is made evident when Biff and Happy invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table.
Furthermore, it may also be said that Linda was considered to be a loving and caring wife to Willy, but it may also be argued that instead of always trying not to aggravate him and say the wrong thing, she should have helped him by taking to him to see a doctor when she realised he was getting crazy in his head. For example, the hose she saw in the back by the gas tank should have told her that something was wrong.
More than anything, it may be stated that Willy was the main cause of his death since he had the American Dream trapped in the depths of his mind, that he would stick with that dream even if it was not working out. Willy stuck to this dream and tried to influence his children from an early age that this dream was the way to go and the way to make things happen. He was right about one thing. It did make things happen. It made him slowly go crazy as a result of being obsessed with the dream and eventually led him to kill himself.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Willy Loman and King Lear: Tragic characters? Or not?
Yes, Willy Loman and King Lear can be seen as tragic characters. This is because they both seem to br trying to make the right decisions, but in the end their tragic flaws get the better of them and they end changing in different ways, and make the wrong decisions as a result.
When examining King Lear, it may be said that his tragic flaw of always wanting to be flattered, led him to be gullible and mentally blind to the obvious events that were taking place in front of him. For example, in Act 1 scene 1 when King Lear's daughters Goneril and Regan used all sorts of flattering statements to make him believe that they loved him as much as they said they did, when in truth, they just wanted the riches and portion of the kingdom that was being granted to them.
In addition, his crave for flattery led him to shun his favourtite daughter, Cordelia, just because she was unable to profess her love for him with flattering words like her sisters.
Slowly but surely King Lear's tragic flaw of want for flattery led him to turn crazy and eventually die in the end. Leading him to have a seemingly tragic death because of all the situations he went through and caused him to go so crazy.
Furthermore, Willy Loman may also be seen as a tragic character because Willy has a lot of pride and is very ambitious. Even though being ambitious is a good quality to have, Willy seemed to be ambitious for all the wrong reasons. This would mostly have to deal with Willy's ambition to achieve the " American Dream" which causes him to lose sight of what he should really be doing, which is trying to make money to keep his family financially stable, and working hard to do so. He thinks that being well liked and seemingly known will help him attain the perfect job and family along with wealth he hopes to get, instead of working hard for it like his friend Charley. In the end, all the wrong decisions and thoughts of what he hoped to have and would have wanted to come true, comes back to haunt him as delusions in his head, and shortly causes him to end his life when he killed himself at the end of the book.
In conclusion,it may be said that Willy Loman and King Lear are considered to be tragic characters based on the various tragic flaws each character poses which leads them to go crazy and end their life in the process.
When examining King Lear, it may be said that his tragic flaw of always wanting to be flattered, led him to be gullible and mentally blind to the obvious events that were taking place in front of him. For example, in Act 1 scene 1 when King Lear's daughters Goneril and Regan used all sorts of flattering statements to make him believe that they loved him as much as they said they did, when in truth, they just wanted the riches and portion of the kingdom that was being granted to them.
In addition, his crave for flattery led him to shun his favourtite daughter, Cordelia, just because she was unable to profess her love for him with flattering words like her sisters.
Slowly but surely King Lear's tragic flaw of want for flattery led him to turn crazy and eventually die in the end. Leading him to have a seemingly tragic death because of all the situations he went through and caused him to go so crazy.
Furthermore, Willy Loman may also be seen as a tragic character because Willy has a lot of pride and is very ambitious. Even though being ambitious is a good quality to have, Willy seemed to be ambitious for all the wrong reasons. This would mostly have to deal with Willy's ambition to achieve the " American Dream" which causes him to lose sight of what he should really be doing, which is trying to make money to keep his family financially stable, and working hard to do so. He thinks that being well liked and seemingly known will help him attain the perfect job and family along with wealth he hopes to get, instead of working hard for it like his friend Charley. In the end, all the wrong decisions and thoughts of what he hoped to have and would have wanted to come true, comes back to haunt him as delusions in his head, and shortly causes him to end his life when he killed himself at the end of the book.
In conclusion,it may be said that Willy Loman and King Lear are considered to be tragic characters based on the various tragic flaws each character poses which leads them to go crazy and end their life in the process.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The cause of Willy and his sons relationship to break down
In the drama Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, in the beginning of the book, seemed to have a fairly good relationship with his sons Biff and Happy. They all spent time together making fun of Charley's son Bernard because he was not very well liked and always seemed to be into his books. In addition, Willy got along with his son Biff because Biff was well liked and had male friends, was favoured by the girls in his high school amongst other places and he was a star football athlete for teh school. Willy as well as Biff believed that he had quite a future ahead of him and were working towards that together, which seemed like they were quite close. Even though Willy did not seem to pay much attention to Happy at times, and was more concerned with Biff, Happy never really seemed to mind, but instead went with the flow. But this was just the way it was before things seemed to go downhill for the seemingly content family.
Firstly, Willy's relationship between his son Biff seemed to be going downhill slowly but surely as he got older. This damage in the relationship first started out with Biff seeing his father with another woman in a hotel, giving off the impression that they were having an affair and he was cheating on his mother. This never recking sight caused Biff to change his mind about going to summer school to enhance his math grade and thus ruined his chances of attending the university of his dreams- University of Virgina.
In addition, after Biff left the house and was not heard from in a while, his absence led to even further damage to the relationship especially when he came back and lied about what he was doing and where he has been why he couldn't keep in contact. He was not really goign from job to job and always on the go in the way that Willy and Linda thought, but instead he was stealing and spent time in jail why they could not get through to him.
Moreover, the factor that really seemed to end the relationship between Willy and his son Biff was the mere fact that in the end Biff realised that lying to people, setaling and being well liked by people was not getting him anywhere and the idea of the "American Dream" that his father instilled in him and Happy from an early age was not going to get him anywhere. Biff thus broke away from what his father's aspirations for him were, and wanted to work hard and get somewhere in his life on his own by making an effort instead of being like his father and waiting for this big job offer to come and make his life a lot better. Biff was no longer clouded by the idea of such a dream.
When it comes to Willy's youngest son Happpy, their relationship it one that was quite interesting from the start. In the beginning Willy never really seemed to be concerned with Happy as much as he was concerned with Biff. Happy was therefore never really pressured or expected to do much since Willy was not focused on him as much and just went with the flow in life. This lack of attention from the beginning started making their relationship go down hill.
Furthermore, even though it may be said that Happy continued to have similar views as his father when it came to being well liked and making people think that you were doing well in the specific job that you were in, the lack of attention from early caused Happy to be even less concerned with his father as the years went by. This is made evident in the late stages of Scene 2 when Biff and Happty invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the lovely ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table. The lack of attention from the beginning ended up to be a major cause in the break down of Willy's relationship with Happy.
in addition, when focusing on Willy alone, it may also be argued that Willy's tragic flaw of have delusions and believing in the "American Dream" also had a part to play in the break down os the relationship between him and his sons. For him having delusions led to him slowly breaking down emotionally now and then and caused him not to think straight at times, and only hear what he wanted to hear. This caused problems for his relationships with his sons. For example, when Biff was trying to tell Willy the truth about him not being known by Oliver and not getting a job deal from him, Willy persisted to make it harder for him by telling him all the things he thought Oliver would have done when he saw him, instead of istening to what Biff had to say.
In conclusion, it may be submitted that there were many causes of the break down of the relationship between Willy and his sons. Willy's high expectations for Biff as well as him seeing his dad cheating on his mom and later realising that the "American Dream" was not the way to make it in life caused the relationship between Biff and Willy to breakdown. Secondly, the lack of attention from Willy to Happy played a part in breaking down their relationship, and lastly, Willy's tragic flaw of having delusions and believing whole heartedly in the "American Dream" also added to the break down of the relationship between him and his sons.
Firstly, Willy's relationship between his son Biff seemed to be going downhill slowly but surely as he got older. This damage in the relationship first started out with Biff seeing his father with another woman in a hotel, giving off the impression that they were having an affair and he was cheating on his mother. This never recking sight caused Biff to change his mind about going to summer school to enhance his math grade and thus ruined his chances of attending the university of his dreams- University of Virgina.
In addition, after Biff left the house and was not heard from in a while, his absence led to even further damage to the relationship especially when he came back and lied about what he was doing and where he has been why he couldn't keep in contact. He was not really goign from job to job and always on the go in the way that Willy and Linda thought, but instead he was stealing and spent time in jail why they could not get through to him.
Moreover, the factor that really seemed to end the relationship between Willy and his son Biff was the mere fact that in the end Biff realised that lying to people, setaling and being well liked by people was not getting him anywhere and the idea of the "American Dream" that his father instilled in him and Happy from an early age was not going to get him anywhere. Biff thus broke away from what his father's aspirations for him were, and wanted to work hard and get somewhere in his life on his own by making an effort instead of being like his father and waiting for this big job offer to come and make his life a lot better. Biff was no longer clouded by the idea of such a dream.
When it comes to Willy's youngest son Happpy, their relationship it one that was quite interesting from the start. In the beginning Willy never really seemed to be concerned with Happy as much as he was concerned with Biff. Happy was therefore never really pressured or expected to do much since Willy was not focused on him as much and just went with the flow in life. This lack of attention from the beginning started making their relationship go down hill.
Furthermore, even though it may be said that Happy continued to have similar views as his father when it came to being well liked and making people think that you were doing well in the specific job that you were in, the lack of attention from early caused Happy to be even less concerned with his father as the years went by. This is made evident in the late stages of Scene 2 when Biff and Happty invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the lovely ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table. The lack of attention from the beginning ended up to be a major cause in the break down of Willy's relationship with Happy.
in addition, when focusing on Willy alone, it may also be argued that Willy's tragic flaw of have delusions and believing in the "American Dream" also had a part to play in the break down os the relationship between him and his sons. For him having delusions led to him slowly breaking down emotionally now and then and caused him not to think straight at times, and only hear what he wanted to hear. This caused problems for his relationships with his sons. For example, when Biff was trying to tell Willy the truth about him not being known by Oliver and not getting a job deal from him, Willy persisted to make it harder for him by telling him all the things he thought Oliver would have done when he saw him, instead of istening to what Biff had to say.
In conclusion, it may be submitted that there were many causes of the break down of the relationship between Willy and his sons. Willy's high expectations for Biff as well as him seeing his dad cheating on his mom and later realising that the "American Dream" was not the way to make it in life caused the relationship between Biff and Willy to breakdown. Secondly, the lack of attention from Willy to Happy played a part in breaking down their relationship, and lastly, Willy's tragic flaw of having delusions and believing whole heartedly in the "American Dream" also added to the break down of the relationship between him and his sons.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Analysis of Willy's character to King Lear
The character Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, and the character King Lear in the book King Lear may be said to poses both similar and different qualities when looked at in a critical manner.
Firstly, when it comes to similarities, it may be said that both King Lear and Willy seem to be arrogant and pride themselves quite a bit. King Lear seemed to think very highly of himself and felt that he should be flattered a lot by people which is made evident in Act 1 scene 1 when he asks his three daughters to profess their love for him in the best way that they could. He also never seemed like he wanted to be told that he was wrong or making the wrong decisions. This was made evident in Act 1 scene 1 when Kent was trying to let King Lear realise that he was making some wrong choices and maybe he should reconsider his decision and Lear instead of taking what Kent said into consideration, banished him from the kingdom instead. Similarly, Willy seemed to believe that he was well liked by many and had too much pride in himself that he did not even want to take the job his friend and neighbour, Charley, had offered him. He felt as though he was not suppose to ask his friend for a job or work for his friend because he had a job of his own. Even if that present job was not giving him money for him to fairly live.
Secondly,it may also be said that Willy and King Lear were slowly going crazy in their old age. King Lear was getting older and was also being tormented by his daughters Goneril and Regan which added to him slowly getting crazy. With his old age and all the overwhelming situations and changes to deal with, he slowly lost his mind. Willy Loman was also slowly going crazy since he continuous had delusions about the past and tended to hear things that he wanted to hear, and not what was really being said. Among other things, he kept trying to kill himself, which is made evident in numerous parts of the book, until he actually does kill himself in the end.
In addition, Willy and King Lear seemed to be mentally blind. King Lear was mentally blinded by the flattering words he craved and received from his daughters Goneril and Regan. Because of these flattering words, he was unable to see their true personalities clearly and ended up doing something he regretted in the end. Willy Loman was also mentally blind. He was blinded by the reality of what achieving true success was, and failed to realise that he had to work hard for what he hoped for and wanted. The idea of the American Dream- that you have to be well liked with a good job and easy success- clouded him from realising that he had to work towards getting where he wanted to be, and yes it had to do with knowing people, but it deals more with helping yourself to move forward the best way you can with effort.
Lastly, it may be said that both King Lear and Willy Loman died as a result of their own faults. Lear's tragic flaw can be considered to play a part in his death. For since his flaw was being arrogant and seemingly conceited since he liked to be flattered, that resulted in him being gullible and prevented him from growing mentally. His want for flattery led him to believe the sweet but false words of his daughters Goneril and Regan and caused him to gradually get into a crazy state, leading to death. Willy let his delusions and the American Dream get to him which combined put too much strain on him and resulted in him losing his reasonable mental state and eventually led to him killing himself.
On the other hand, even though there were quite a few similarities, a few differences maybe also be found. Firstly, in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman's character had a wife named Linda who was mentioned in the book and also played a significant role within the drama. In King Lear, Lear did not seem to have a wife, since knowledge of him having a wife was never mentioned, so it was assumed that a wife was not present.
Furthermore, another difference was that Willy Loman was quite poor, which was made evident several times in the book. For example, when Willy was unable to pay his bills and had to ask Charley for $50 a week just so that he could get the essentials for his family, and when he was not getting any money in the job that he had and eventually lost his job. Even the name Lo-man, hints that Willy was of low class standards. King Lear on the other hand was rich and because he was in the upper class, held a high status in the kingdom because he was "King". King Lear was by far more well off and better equipped when it came to wealth, riches and status than Willy Loman was.
In conclusion, it may be respectfully submitted that King Lear and Willy Loman's Characters have similar traits, such as them being arrogant and having too much pride and well as both of them slowly going crazy and being mentally blind. On the other hand, they did have a few differences which involved King Lear being very rich and Willy Loman being poor and King Lear not having a known wife and Willy having a loving wife named Linda. These two characters are crucial people within their various books and help to make the drama just a little bit more interesting.
Firstly, when it comes to similarities, it may be said that both King Lear and Willy seem to be arrogant and pride themselves quite a bit. King Lear seemed to think very highly of himself and felt that he should be flattered a lot by people which is made evident in Act 1 scene 1 when he asks his three daughters to profess their love for him in the best way that they could. He also never seemed like he wanted to be told that he was wrong or making the wrong decisions. This was made evident in Act 1 scene 1 when Kent was trying to let King Lear realise that he was making some wrong choices and maybe he should reconsider his decision and Lear instead of taking what Kent said into consideration, banished him from the kingdom instead. Similarly, Willy seemed to believe that he was well liked by many and had too much pride in himself that he did not even want to take the job his friend and neighbour, Charley, had offered him. He felt as though he was not suppose to ask his friend for a job or work for his friend because he had a job of his own. Even if that present job was not giving him money for him to fairly live.
Secondly,it may also be said that Willy and King Lear were slowly going crazy in their old age. King Lear was getting older and was also being tormented by his daughters Goneril and Regan which added to him slowly getting crazy. With his old age and all the overwhelming situations and changes to deal with, he slowly lost his mind. Willy Loman was also slowly going crazy since he continuous had delusions about the past and tended to hear things that he wanted to hear, and not what was really being said. Among other things, he kept trying to kill himself, which is made evident in numerous parts of the book, until he actually does kill himself in the end.
In addition, Willy and King Lear seemed to be mentally blind. King Lear was mentally blinded by the flattering words he craved and received from his daughters Goneril and Regan. Because of these flattering words, he was unable to see their true personalities clearly and ended up doing something he regretted in the end. Willy Loman was also mentally blind. He was blinded by the reality of what achieving true success was, and failed to realise that he had to work hard for what he hoped for and wanted. The idea of the American Dream- that you have to be well liked with a good job and easy success- clouded him from realising that he had to work towards getting where he wanted to be, and yes it had to do with knowing people, but it deals more with helping yourself to move forward the best way you can with effort.
Lastly, it may be said that both King Lear and Willy Loman died as a result of their own faults. Lear's tragic flaw can be considered to play a part in his death. For since his flaw was being arrogant and seemingly conceited since he liked to be flattered, that resulted in him being gullible and prevented him from growing mentally. His want for flattery led him to believe the sweet but false words of his daughters Goneril and Regan and caused him to gradually get into a crazy state, leading to death. Willy let his delusions and the American Dream get to him which combined put too much strain on him and resulted in him losing his reasonable mental state and eventually led to him killing himself.
On the other hand, even though there were quite a few similarities, a few differences maybe also be found. Firstly, in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman's character had a wife named Linda who was mentioned in the book and also played a significant role within the drama. In King Lear, Lear did not seem to have a wife, since knowledge of him having a wife was never mentioned, so it was assumed that a wife was not present.
Furthermore, another difference was that Willy Loman was quite poor, which was made evident several times in the book. For example, when Willy was unable to pay his bills and had to ask Charley for $50 a week just so that he could get the essentials for his family, and when he was not getting any money in the job that he had and eventually lost his job. Even the name Lo-man, hints that Willy was of low class standards. King Lear on the other hand was rich and because he was in the upper class, held a high status in the kingdom because he was "King". King Lear was by far more well off and better equipped when it came to wealth, riches and status than Willy Loman was.
In conclusion, it may be respectfully submitted that King Lear and Willy Loman's Characters have similar traits, such as them being arrogant and having too much pride and well as both of them slowly going crazy and being mentally blind. On the other hand, they did have a few differences which involved King Lear being very rich and Willy Loman being poor and King Lear not having a known wife and Willy having a loving wife named Linda. These two characters are crucial people within their various books and help to make the drama just a little bit more interesting.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Character Sketch on the characters in Death of a Salesman
There are many characters within the drama, Death of a Salesman, where different character traits are found. Some of these characters and their traits include:
Willy- This is the main character within the play who seems to be losing his mind and tends to contradict himself quite a lot. For example, when he first says that his son Biff is a lazy bum, and a couple minutes later, he contradicts that statement by saying that one thing about his son Biff is he's not lazy. It is also evident in the book that Willy starts having dillusions and is not able to focus well. He is always distracted by remembering passed events or saying things that he expected or wished to happen, that in the end never really happened as how he pictured it. Above other things, Willy Loman is a man if big dreams, or more specifically, the "American Dream". He wants the finer things in life and believed that for him to gain great opportunities and move up the ladder of success, he had to be liked and known by the big shots in society. Willy is slowly losing himself, when in the end he kills himself because he doesn't want to go through anymore of the stress.
This character is very significant within the book because he seems to depict what some persons believe the "American Dream" is, which would be the perfect family and job and to be liked and known by many persons. Willy's character seems to show how a person suffers as they fail to realise the reality and understand that anything one gets in life has to be achieved especially if you are a poor person, as the name " Loman" suggests, making his name symbolic since it shows that he is poor.
Linda - She is Willy's loving and devoted wife who seems to be an easy going woman that just goes with the flow and tries to calm down Willy whenever he gets upset. Even though she is a loyal and loving wife, Linda seems to take a lot of yelling and bad treatment from Willy at times. For example in the book where Linda would say something and Willy would automatically stop her from talking and tell her to be quiet. One might argue that she does not get upset with him for doing so because she loves him and realises that he is slowly breaking down emotionally, or she might be afraid of Willy and this does not answer back when he interrupts her speech.
Linda seems to have a significant role within the book because she seems to represent some what of an emotional core in the Loman family. This is because Linda is the one who always seems to try to keep everyone together in the family and avoids conflict. She is also more realistic and levelheaded than the others in the family where she keeps her emotional life in tact and tries to reason situations out.
Charley- This is Willy's bestfriend, next door neighbour and rather successful business man. He has a son named Bernard that Willy and his sons Happy and Biff tend to make fun of from time to time since he is always in his school books and is not well liked. Despite Willy making fun of Charlie and his son all the time, Charlie shows that he is a true friend by helping Willy out when he has financial problems later down in the book and even offers Willy a job that he refuses on numerous occasions.
Charley is significant within the drama because he seems to represent hard work and achievement as a result of that hard work. Willy envies and is jealous of Charley's success but fails to realise that Charley achieved such a position by working hard for it and not just being well liked. Charley's character seems to show success that is achieved.
Ben- This is Willy's wealthy older brother who lived in Africa for a couple years and after searching for a long time found diamonds and treasures. Even though Ben is now dead, he appears in Willy's "day dreams" where Willy speaks to him freely as though he was really there.
Ben seems to be significant within the drama because he represents riches and wealth as well as the dream that Willy is trying to achieve. He is the opposite to Willy when it comes to wealth and success and Willy is desperately craving what his brother has achieved for both himself and his sons.
The Woman- This character only comes up a few times within the book and seems to be a girl Willy has an affair with while still married to Linda. This is made evident on pages 91-94 where Willy is seen with her in a hotel room and Biff intrudes and see's them in their frolic.
She is significant within Death of a Salesman because she seems to represent both confidence and loss of faith. In Willy's eyes, she is someone who boosts his ego by telling him sweet things and giving him a lot of attention which as a result excites him and builds up his ego. When Biff see's her on the other hand, he is crushed and loses all faith in his dad and what he says, as well as losing faith in himself and passing math which kills his enthusiasm for attending a college.
Biff- This is Willy's favorite son who seems to be frustrated and pressured by the high expectations of his father. Biff, in his younger years, was a great football player who had scholarship prospects and was well liked, so he had good male friends and many female admirers. His life started to go down hill when he failed math and was unable to graduate this leaving him without any grades to attend the college of his dreams- University of Virginia.
Biff is very significant within Death of a Salesman because he represents the truth about life and is the exact opposite of his brother Happy and his father. For they believe in being well liked and lying to get their way into and out of everything but Biff realises after a while that lying and stealing won't get him anywhere and tries to change as a result. This happens after he visits Billy Oliver's office where he now tries to break awa from all the lies and wants to come to realistic terms with himself and his life. Biff acknowledges his failures and tries to confront them instead of lying about them and making situations worse. He wants to make something out of himself and unlike his brother and father who WILLfully and HAPpily delude themselves Biff realises self- deception.
Happy- This is Willy Loman's younger son who has lived in Biff's shadow all of his life. He is not as pressured as Biff is to succeed since Willy does not seem to be too concerned with his whereabouts. This is made evident in the book where Happy mentions on several occasions that he is going to get married to Willy but Willy just brushes it off as though he did not hear a word Happy said. In his older years, he is an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department store and a very big flirt with the ladies who lies about quite a number of things and does not seem to think doing so is wrong. He is one who seems to enjoy himself no matter what atmosphere he's in or the manner in which he is having his fun.
This character in Death of a Salesman is significant because Biff represents Willy's sense of importance, ambition and blind servitude to societies expectations which thus makes him trapped in Willy's worst character traits. He is static throughout the entire book and as a result remains trapped in an unrealistic world where he believes, like his father, that being liked will get him far, as well as lying through his teeth about everything will make things better in the end.
Willy- This is the main character within the play who seems to be losing his mind and tends to contradict himself quite a lot. For example, when he first says that his son Biff is a lazy bum, and a couple minutes later, he contradicts that statement by saying that one thing about his son Biff is he's not lazy. It is also evident in the book that Willy starts having dillusions and is not able to focus well. He is always distracted by remembering passed events or saying things that he expected or wished to happen, that in the end never really happened as how he pictured it. Above other things, Willy Loman is a man if big dreams, or more specifically, the "American Dream". He wants the finer things in life and believed that for him to gain great opportunities and move up the ladder of success, he had to be liked and known by the big shots in society. Willy is slowly losing himself, when in the end he kills himself because he doesn't want to go through anymore of the stress.
This character is very significant within the book because he seems to depict what some persons believe the "American Dream" is, which would be the perfect family and job and to be liked and known by many persons. Willy's character seems to show how a person suffers as they fail to realise the reality and understand that anything one gets in life has to be achieved especially if you are a poor person, as the name " Loman" suggests, making his name symbolic since it shows that he is poor.
Linda - She is Willy's loving and devoted wife who seems to be an easy going woman that just goes with the flow and tries to calm down Willy whenever he gets upset. Even though she is a loyal and loving wife, Linda seems to take a lot of yelling and bad treatment from Willy at times. For example in the book where Linda would say something and Willy would automatically stop her from talking and tell her to be quiet. One might argue that she does not get upset with him for doing so because she loves him and realises that he is slowly breaking down emotionally, or she might be afraid of Willy and this does not answer back when he interrupts her speech.
Linda seems to have a significant role within the book because she seems to represent some what of an emotional core in the Loman family. This is because Linda is the one who always seems to try to keep everyone together in the family and avoids conflict. She is also more realistic and levelheaded than the others in the family where she keeps her emotional life in tact and tries to reason situations out.
Charley- This is Willy's bestfriend, next door neighbour and rather successful business man. He has a son named Bernard that Willy and his sons Happy and Biff tend to make fun of from time to time since he is always in his school books and is not well liked. Despite Willy making fun of Charlie and his son all the time, Charlie shows that he is a true friend by helping Willy out when he has financial problems later down in the book and even offers Willy a job that he refuses on numerous occasions.
Charley is significant within the drama because he seems to represent hard work and achievement as a result of that hard work. Willy envies and is jealous of Charley's success but fails to realise that Charley achieved such a position by working hard for it and not just being well liked. Charley's character seems to show success that is achieved.
Ben- This is Willy's wealthy older brother who lived in Africa for a couple years and after searching for a long time found diamonds and treasures. Even though Ben is now dead, he appears in Willy's "day dreams" where Willy speaks to him freely as though he was really there.
Ben seems to be significant within the drama because he represents riches and wealth as well as the dream that Willy is trying to achieve. He is the opposite to Willy when it comes to wealth and success and Willy is desperately craving what his brother has achieved for both himself and his sons.
The Woman- This character only comes up a few times within the book and seems to be a girl Willy has an affair with while still married to Linda. This is made evident on pages 91-94 where Willy is seen with her in a hotel room and Biff intrudes and see's them in their frolic.
She is significant within Death of a Salesman because she seems to represent both confidence and loss of faith. In Willy's eyes, she is someone who boosts his ego by telling him sweet things and giving him a lot of attention which as a result excites him and builds up his ego. When Biff see's her on the other hand, he is crushed and loses all faith in his dad and what he says, as well as losing faith in himself and passing math which kills his enthusiasm for attending a college.
Biff- This is Willy's favorite son who seems to be frustrated and pressured by the high expectations of his father. Biff, in his younger years, was a great football player who had scholarship prospects and was well liked, so he had good male friends and many female admirers. His life started to go down hill when he failed math and was unable to graduate this leaving him without any grades to attend the college of his dreams- University of Virginia.
Biff is very significant within Death of a Salesman because he represents the truth about life and is the exact opposite of his brother Happy and his father. For they believe in being well liked and lying to get their way into and out of everything but Biff realises after a while that lying and stealing won't get him anywhere and tries to change as a result. This happens after he visits Billy Oliver's office where he now tries to break awa from all the lies and wants to come to realistic terms with himself and his life. Biff acknowledges his failures and tries to confront them instead of lying about them and making situations worse. He wants to make something out of himself and unlike his brother and father who WILLfully and HAPpily delude themselves Biff realises self- deception.
Happy- This is Willy Loman's younger son who has lived in Biff's shadow all of his life. He is not as pressured as Biff is to succeed since Willy does not seem to be too concerned with his whereabouts. This is made evident in the book where Happy mentions on several occasions that he is going to get married to Willy but Willy just brushes it off as though he did not hear a word Happy said. In his older years, he is an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department store and a very big flirt with the ladies who lies about quite a number of things and does not seem to think doing so is wrong. He is one who seems to enjoy himself no matter what atmosphere he's in or the manner in which he is having his fun.
This character in Death of a Salesman is significant because Biff represents Willy's sense of importance, ambition and blind servitude to societies expectations which thus makes him trapped in Willy's worst character traits. He is static throughout the entire book and as a result remains trapped in an unrealistic world where he believes, like his father, that being liked will get him far, as well as lying through his teeth about everything will make things better in the end.
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