American Literature After 1945 Fall 2014: Death of a Salesman

Showing posts with label Death of a Salesman. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Death of a Salesman (Dementia )

As I read this scrip and watched this video, this family had a lot going on. Well Willy was a husband in his 60s and had just lost his job. I want to say because the company decided that he was to old and they could hire a person that is fresh out of college with a degree, and much younger. Then you look at another side of this is Willy beginning to slow down his work performance do to an illness called Dementia Alzheimer.    I think that his wife Linda knows that there is something going on with him, but she is in denial about the todays society. She is still living back in the early years maybe when they said that a wife is not to pressure her husband about anything.
     Willy showed signs to me that he has dementia when he told his wife that he took the windshield out and that he drove for hours. Then when she suggested that the take a ride, and take the windshield out to get some fresh air. That's when he tells his wife that the car don't have a window that comes out. Willy also stated that he has been driving a around for hours this is what took the case for me.
Biff is his older son and he has been thinking about how he was always on top of everything he was involved in as a kid. But now that he is grown he treats Biff as if he is a disappointment to the family, he cause him to really get upset when he see him.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Death of a Salesman is a true example of the role money plays over the mind and how easy it is to lose sight of what is truly important. Willy Loman worked his life away and in the end had nothing to show for it. He thought monetary items and being socially accepted was most important, and would bring him happiness; but his funeral proved his theory to be untrue. Willy lived the American dream but was too blind to see it. He had a loving wife and two loving boys, a roof over his head and food on the table. This was never good enough for Willy though and sadly it isn’t enough for many people today. We have lost sight of what is important and have become materialistic beings. We are very much like Willy and make decisions monetarily instead of what truly makes us happy. No person deserves to spend their life wondering or thinking that they are lesser to another person because of the misconception that money brings us happiness. Have you every known anyone that worked as hard as Willy, but struggled to provide for their family?

The Death of a Salesman is a good example of the powerful influence parents have on their children physiologically and emotionally. Willy’s father left him when he was very young and when he did he took a piece of Willy with him. Willy had little confidence in himself and pretended to be something that he wasn’t to fit in, and his accomplishments never were good enough. Two examples of this is his original reason for becoming a salesman and the way he parented his sons.

Willy had no true passion for sales, but always dreamed of having the same respect that people gave to Dave Singleman and his father. He thought being good looking and well-liked was what made a man rich, and life would be easy. In a way it seems as if Willy was always trying to prove to himself that he possessed the same talents as his father and brother Ben, and maybe one day be given the opportunity to boast about it to them. Willy also manipulated his oldest son Jiff into believing this unrealistic theory. Willy never pushed Jiff or Happy to do well in school, but influenced them to do whatever they had to do to be socially accepted. Jiff wanted to make his father proud so he followed in his father’s footsteps even though it is was not what made him happy. At age thirty-four he finally realized that he needed to stop living in through the eyes of his father and pursue a career that would bring him happiness. Willy’s youngest son Happy also wanted to make his father proud, but no matter what he did Willy never gave him the same respect as Jiff. Happy used women to fill the emotional hole his father caused him to have.

Overall, Willy drove himself mad reflecting on decisions he made in the past and never stopped searching the “right” answers. He never had a father to help guide him through life’s struggles and his own parenting skills suffered because of it. Willy never thought he was good enough and beat himself up every day about the decisions he chose to make, and allowed his emotions to get the best of him. What advice would you give to Willy looking from the outside in? Have you ever met anyone that believed being popular was the only way?

Willy is selfish and his reputation is his life

Willy is an incredibly selfish and shallow character. Throughout the entire play his entire motivation is driven by his reputation. He's overly concerned with being liked (as mentioned by someone else in their post), and loves his kids based on how they're a reflection of him. He never wants the outside world to know that there are issues within his family. He won't let Biff tell Bill Oliver that he was working on a farm in the west, that he was there working in business. And when Bernard asks how Biff had been doing, he stays vague and just tells him he's been working on "big things" in the west. When Biff says that people laugh at him, he comes back with a list of places to go and shout Willy Lohmans name and what kind of respect he has. Everything comes down to his reputation, because that's how he measures a man. Willy doesn't want his son's success for the sake of his son, he wants it for the sake of his reputation as a father. He thinks reputation is everything. He makes the comment that Charley is liked, but not "well liked", and is shocked at how well his son Bernard's life turned out despite neither of them being "well liked". He's even shocked when he finds out Bernard is working on a supreme court trial and didn't mention it because that's something to be proud of, and to him everyone should know when he is doing something important. (I originally had a different direction in mind for this post, but it kind of strayed away more into and expansion on the other post someone made about being liked. I think I like the points in this direction more though, they're a little more concrete and make a little more sense than where I was going).

Defining "Success"

Throughout the play, the word "success" is thrown around a lot, especially by Willy and Biff. Willy obviously wants success for himself and for Biff, but it seems like Willy has a very specific idea of what being successful means, while Biff feels like it's way more open. Willy's definition of "success" is the very conventional interpretation of the American dream, with the housewife, successful and respected offspring who's achievements he can be proud of, his son was even a big football star. It's literally as stereotypical as it gets, and this is before "Leave it to Beaver" came out which is usually the go-to example of that classic American nuclear family. Willy wants this kind of thing for Biff, but Biff isn't necessarily sure that it's even what he even wants. He enjoys manual labor and working on a farm and feels like that's what will make him happy. I'm still not sure if Biff is saying that's what they all SHOULD be doing, or if it's just another thing that should be ACCEPTED to be doing. One thing is for sure though, Biff definitely thinks that Willy's definition of successful is a shame and doesn't even exist since they've all had to fool themselves and each other into thinking that's what they have, while Willy just considers everything in Biff's life to just be straight up failure.

Cobb vs. Hoffman

Now a lot of this is mainly my opinion on the performances themselves and how I think the character should be portrayed but I'm curious to see how people feel. Vanessa brought up a good point on how different the text can be perceived by two very different actors. I know the Dustin Hoffman production is up but I hope most of you have seen the Lee J Cobb production in your travels.
The thing about Hoffman's portrayal (and a lot of this comes from being a New Yorker as well I think) is that it makes almost no sense to me. There's a weird softness to it that I don't like and I feel like playing them as this very New York Jewish family actually makes Willy a completely different character, but they don't bring that up in the production. He gives him a funny accent but doesn't use any of the consequences of what that accent means. A guy who sounded like that in 1949 would really only sell to Jewish clients. This is a post war society that has just finished fighting the Germans and the Japanese, any immigrant as suspect. You couldn't even look "too Italian". Willy wouldn't even be able to believably lie about being the top salesman and being buddies with all of those people because no one would believe that he'd be invited to mayors homes or paling around with all these different people up and down the east coast. Not a chance.
And also, Dustin Hoffman is small and he's made to look pretty old. To me, Willy has to seem like he had "Glory Days" at some point in his life, they're long gone, but he has too seem like he was Mr. Popular, or an athlete like Biff back in his prime as well. That's why a guy like Lee J. Cobb (Or Brian Dennehy or Phillip Seymour Hoffman or Rod Steiger) makes sense. These men are oxen, who even when they're older and heavier and out of shape, still look like they could take you out in a punch (maybe two). I feel like one of the reasons Willy has an affair is becase, back in the old days, he could have had any woman he'd wanted.
A short, slight guy like Dustin Hoffman looks like he's never won a fight in his life. And that, coupled with an immigrant back-story, could make for a very interesting interpretation of the character, but that wasn't explored at all in his production.

Brian Dennehy

Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Lee J. Cobb

Curious if these feelings resonate with anyone else.

Is it just me or does anyone else think that Linda knows all about Willie's indiscretions? She is just afraid to confronting the true to Willie. She is such a victim that she would probably blame herself. She wasn't woman enough for the great Willie Loman.
I think Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Willie is sympathetic but the one that I originally saw had Lee J Cobb as Willie and he played him as a poor moral corrupt man. I did not find one redeeming quality. Willie was a bully. It is amazing the same words in a play but the interpretation of the character Willie between Cobb and Hoffman are world apart.

The "New Man"

If any of you are Mad Men fans some of this should sound more familiar.
The 1950's (and even more so the 60's) saw the first generation in decades that didn't have to send most of it's men to war. There was no Great Depression, their was no German Threat or FDR. This country was built by people who had lived through and seen all of those things and the young men reaping and then creating the new culture didn't understand any of it. Korea wasn't like Germany and Vietnam hadn't come yet. Men Biff's age didn't understand The Depression and what that meant to their parents to be able to provide anything for their children let alone if they could actually spoil them. I mentioned Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in my other post and Williams and Miller dealt with many similar themes. Big Daddy cannot understand why Brick could want for anything; he'd worked all his life so his sons wouldn't have to like he did. He didn't understand what more his sons (but of course mainly Brick) could want or need if they were secure and had the chance to enjoy leisure and become an athlete or take time off with their wives. He didn't understand that they needed love and affection too because when he was growing up you literally didn't have the energy or the time to care about why you felt the way you did and what led to it. You barely had the time to be sad let alone melancholy. So when Brick feels stifled and lied to - it comes as a shock, because why should it matter?

Willy and Biff have a similar conflict. In Willy's mind he has done nothing but work tirelessly so that his sons (but again, mainly Biff) don't have to struggle like he did. So when Biff throws it away, and then tends the fields because that's "real man's work" and is on a journey to find himself, it's unheard of to Loman. Not only is his son choosing back-breaking manual labor at a time when he could wear a suit and have wealthy friends, he's also modern enough to be on a philosophical journey of self? To Willy this is a slap in the face because it's something he could never in his wildest dreams think of doing. To him, who cares who we are as long as we know what we are, as long as we mean something to the people around us and the people we leave behind.

I mentioned Mad Men because it comes up early in the series (1961) that while Don Draper is in his early to mid 30s, he has more in common with the men over 45 than he does with the guys in their mid twenties simply because he served in the army and none of them ever had to think about it. Every man older than him knows what it's like to scrape by and to serve while the guys less than ten years younger than him get to watch movies about it and laugh about a war with Cuba.
This play came out in 1949 and we were just at the cusp. WWII had recently ended and we were already seeing the 50s culture take over. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is 1955, Willy would have already seemed like a dinosaur.

Death of a Salesman

“Death of a Salesman” is more than the title character, Willie Lomax. Willie Lomax had everything a man could ask for and he didn’t realize it until it was gone. He had a loving wife, two sons who idolized him. Willie was always reaching for more than he could achieve. There was no “rock bottom for Willie,” as his neighbor Charley comments. Willie’s definition of success was unrealistic and he bolsters his ego with past glories that might have existed or not. Willie is basically a shallow individual who cannot change and grow from his success and as well as his failures. He is the same man twenty years from his prime, imagining he is smarter, better looking and more successful than Charley. He has to live this fantasy or his life has no meaning. It is a tough aspect of life that everyone grows old and life is not always fair. A more self-actualized Willie would have accepted his faults and mistakes as well as his sons.

I guess I go back to the quote of Linda’s “attention must be paid.” Linda paid attention to Willie her whole married life. Acquiescing to Willie in a subservient manner and dealing with his abusive manner toward her. I saw an older version many years ago with Lee J Cobb as Willie and to me was more caustic and hateful toward Linda. It was as if Willie somehow blamed Linda for his failures. Linda was the character that represented reality. She accepted Willie for the man he was and not the legend. She acknowledges his shortcomings but does not challenge him to change. She recognizes Willie’s fragile grip on reality. At his gravesite she does not understand why Willie could not just be satisfied with fifty dollars a week.

I really did not like Biff. I guess he was the protagonist in the play but I saw him as a stunted individual who wanted his cake and wanted to eat it too. He couldn’t forgive his father’s indiscretions and from their dialogue it was clear that this was like the elephant in the room that no one mentions. Biff runs away to work on the farm but he really running away from his hurt and disillusionment of his father. Mature people comprehend that parents are people too and they make mistakes.

Happy is like a chip off the old block. Neither parent expects much from Happy and he proofs them right. Talk about foreshadowing I predict Happy will be unsuccessful in marriage and in business. He tries to say things his parents want to hear but do they really listen? If my son told me he was getting married. I don’t think I would have told him to go to bed.

Charley and Bernard are the two mature self-realized individuals in the play. They both comprehend the tragedy of the disintegrating family and try to help them but in the end it wasn’t enough.

Linda Loman Ultimate Betrayal

Linda Loman's misguided idea of love ultimately betrays Willy. In her version of love she wants to live in a world of denial. She is never really able to see Willy as he is-unhappy at his job. At one point Willy says people don't seem to take to me and Linda responds,"Oh, don't be foolish." She cannot confront Willy about his suicide attempts. Instead she asks the children to kind to their father. She wants them to continue to perpetuate the myths and lies that have been a part of the household for years. She has no courage or character to deal honestly with what is happening around her. She encourages Willy's distorted dream of success and contributes to his death. She is just as caught up in the desire for material goods as Willy. She needs to encourage him so he will continue working so they can afford the luxuries. Maybe, if Linda had been able to confront Willy openly about his suicide attempts there might have been an honest discussion about what was happening to Willy. But Linda chooses to turn a blind eye and not deal with reality. Could she have done more to stop the suicide? How much responsibility do the family members, of a suicide victim, hold? Can a suicide be stopped? Or will that person find a way?

The Young Adult: Parental Importance

A bed lay desecrated. Man and woman pervert the holy vow of marriage. Bang. Bang. Bang. The knocker is persistent. Willy lay entangled amongst the deprivation of his own misdoings. As sin slowly encroaches, the seemingly endless rattle of wood against closed fist is acquitted within his own thoughts as nothing more than the wrong door. After contemplation, Willy leads his forbidden mistress behind closed doors. The ominous entryway becomes his center of focus. With a slight turn of the wrist, light emanates forth into the dim hallway in which Biff, Willy’s son, is standing. The light not only illuminates the silhouette of the young man, but also the darkness within Willy’s being. The lies were suddenly put to rout. The charade is soon to disperse. Biff is the first to bear witness to the feeble attempts of his father’s delusion.

Biff confides in his father, “dad, I flunked math...the term. I haven’t got enough credits to graduate”(Death of a Salesman). With little hesitation, Willy becomes enthralled with his son’s success. He quickly dismisses his son’s angst in saying “you’re on. We’ll drive right back”(Death of a Salesman). His intent is to reprimand Mr. Birnbaum for the failure of his son. Unanticipatedly, a snicker is heeded from behind closed doors. The shapely, blonde discloses her deception within the tangled pipe dream of Mr. Loman. It is at this moment that Biff revokes his father’s dream for his own. Adolescents and young adults often times deviate from their natural course due to flaws lacking in family structure, life altering events, abuse, etc. The staple of the household has the ability to alter the existence of those they guide. With one event, an entire story can become diverted to a new conclusion. Willy altered the life of his boys and wife. Can parental figures change the outcome of a child’s success? Do they hold such a power? If so, what can be done to stop the destruction of our youth?

Happy

Happy has always been the son I've been more interested in in this play. He reminds me of Gooper in Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", the thankless job of being the "other brother", the brain instead of the brawn. Not like their fathers, or at least who their fathers used to be, but getting things done instead of being a handsome disappointment. Happy has another level to him with his interesting relationship with Linda. The parents take money from their youngest son and expect his support in arguments (which he readily gives) but Linda loudly disapproves of his lifestyle and while not as openly preferring Biff as their father does, doesn't show support for Happy. This leads to Happy taking up lying about success he's had just to get some bit of favor from his parents. No matter how much Biff screws up, Happy is told to grow up.

Many times in stories that deal with masculinity especially as it passes from father to son, the mother is frequently sympathetic or favors the son their father ignores. Happy gets no such support, despite saying home and helping the family while Biff runs away to "figure things out".

Happy is the son that stays and works while the prodigal leaves with the money and favor, only to return home and have the fatted calf. In the biblical "Prodigal Son" story, the father tells his older son "My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours." this is never something that is true for Happy. Despite even going into a business profession, like his father, unlike Biff who works the land in order to "find himself", Happy is a complete outcast from the world Willy has so desperately tried to create. By casting out one of his sons (and thereby "happiness") Willy creates more anguish now not only for himself, but for his younger son as well.

Biff: Shot at Redemption

Biff Loman is the only character in Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman, who is able to see the family as it truly is- dysfunctional. Initially, when he returns home and realizes how mentally unstable his father has become he falls back into the old family patterns of living in a fantasy world, the distortion of reality to suit your needs. He feels a sense of duty to help his father be "well" again. His plan in to try and borrow money from Bill Oliver, a man he worked for a long time ago. He tells himself and the family that he is do well liked by Oliver that he will certainly loan him money to start a business. He lets himself be talked into the sporting goods business by his father and gets caught up in yet another fantasy of making millions and obtaining the American Dream. By the time Biff goes to bed that night he is so caught up in the dream of making it big and pleasing his father that it seems he will be hopelessly lost to denial like the rest of the family is.

The next day, after Biff sees Bill Oliver he realizes is life has been a lie. He tells Hap "He walked away. I saw him for one minute. I got so mad I could've torn the walls down! How the hell did I ever get the idea I was a salesman there? I even believed myself that I'd been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one look and - I realized what ridiculous lie my whole life has been. We've been talking in a dream for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk."

This is point where Biff's redemption begins. He now realizes the falseness of his life and his familys' contribution to that lie. He has a desire to change the old patterns and find some new way of living. He brings all of this to the family, but they do not want to acknowledge this fact. At dinner that evening Biff says, "Let's hold on to the facts tonight, Pop. We're not going to get anywhere bullin' around. I was a shipping clerk." Willy responds by saying he is not interested in stories about the past. Later in the evening, Biff again tries to have an honest discussion and states that there has never been ten minutes of truth in the house.

Biff is willing to look at the family in an honest light to figure out who he is and what he wants out of life. The others are still in denial about the falseness of who they are. Is it possible that Willy's suicide will bring the peace and freedom that Biff is so desperately looking for? And is it possible for Biff to break away from the family and its dysfunctional behavior to become something completely different from he has always been?

The Importance of Being Liked

In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller makes many points about America and our culture. This is undeniable. However, one thing I picked up on in reading over the text again, was Miller remarking on the relationships we as people hold with one another; more specifically, how it is important to be liked, but how shallow this can truly be. You see, with Willy Loman, you have a man who considers himself to be "liked." Now, it is evident that Willy is liked by his associates, but they aren't friends of his. In fact, Willy has one friend: his neighbor, Charley. Aside from that, his relationships are based off of work. Charley is the only real connection he has, and the only person who really sympathizes with Willy. As a popular salesperson in New England, Willy risks losing those who he is "liked" by with being fired. To him, he's losing the people who, while not his friends, treated him well, and gave him their utmost respect. In losing his job, he's losing the only small connection they hold.
Now, stepping back a bit to the idea of being like; Willy is very passionate about people liking him. He believes the only way to get ahead, to succeed, is to have people like you. This is more important to Willy than any actual skill set. He lets this out early on, when describing Biff in high school: "He could be big in no time. My God! Remember how they used to follow him around in high school? When he smiled at one of them their faces lit up" (Miller). There is an example in the play of how Willy's creed has led him down the wrong path, though. Remember Bernard, from Biff's high school? He was not so well liked, yet he became a successful lawyer. I think Miller uses this to point out the importance of what to focus on in life. Being liked is great, and it is a wonderful feeling when people are kind to you as a result of liking you, but it won't get you everywhere. Hell, it won't get you anywhere. You have to couple that with hard work, dedication, ambition, and securing a set of skills which allow you to succeed.

American mentality

Many people in America can relate to the story of Willy's life because in so many ways there is direct correlations to the way we live, and the way our friends and family live. The direct relations people have to him could be through him or his wife or kids. He thought he was living the dream, leaving his mark on life, but after going full speed for so long he never got a chance to slow down and actually LIVE. Someone wrote in another post how success is happiness to them. Willy clearly didn't get that memo, and so many people in America in the past, present, and future have or will also not realize this.

Another part of Willy's story is how is wife wasn't treated with respect, and his kids couldn't stand him. While I didn't like the disrespect given to her, I wished the whole time that the kids would realize what Willy was trying to do for them, or at least what Willy thought he was trying to do.

Lastly when Willy killed himself he thought he was making life easier for his family by letting them receive his life insurance money. Throughout his life Willy drove himself to death, then he literally drove himself to death. While I believe in hard work and having a career, everyone needs to take the time and enjoy the truly important things.

Willy's Mental Stability

Week 2

The beginning of the play shows the Mother and father talking after work, talking about what a drive he has day in and day out. This talk turns into him reminiscing on his past, remembering good and bad, and his wife assuring him everything is alright. When he starts to talk about his kids he seems distraught and sad, complaining about being lazy, then he starts going on about how he wants great things for Biff. Once he starts reliving Biffs past, I start to realize what is going on here.
To me he is obsessing over Biffs past because he can't focus on Biffs present state of doing nothing. Even when Biff was a great athlete in school, he ignored his academics, thinking his ticket was through football.
Willy's inability to live in the present is pretty depressing. He is constantly living in the past because of denial and regret. Once his wife begins talking about his suicidal actions this just gets even darker. His mind is lost and to him his life was a failure.
This play made me uneasy because of how realistic it is. These things happen in real life and I'm sure a very high percentage of people can relate to someone in this play. I personally had a friend whose parents let him do whatever he wanted in high school because he was a good athlete, they thought he was on top of the world. Last I hear about him was that he was in and out of rehab for drugs. As far as Willy, I know that people really do work themselves to death, and by the time it's too late they wished they did things differently.
It makes me rethink how to live a balanced life. When family, friends, work, money, and stress are all taking up time, at what point does happiness need to be the driving factor in life.

Divergent Roads of Success: Happiness and Wealth

As the curtain rises, “a melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine”(Act One). As the faint sound of notes trickle through the lives of the Lomans' and those who surround them it becomes apparent that its significance is confounding. The flute has an inevitable nature to drift away. The first mention of the flute is in Act One as Willy remembers his father, the latter Loman. He was a traveling flute salesman. Willy’s dreams of success first become askew as he recalls his father's achievements. The perception of Willy’s father drives him to attain prosperity of his own, but what is the driving force of “success?” Wealth? Happiness? Willy sets to prove the correlation between the two only to find that dreams can be unattainable, but happiness is merely a choice to be made. The roads were distinct (thought derived from Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"). Willy chose the road of death as he encapsulated his life within an unattainable idea.

Willy ascends into a trance-like state “as the entire house and surroundings become covered with leaves. Music insinuates itself as the leaves appear”(Act One). He recalls fond memories with his son. In a sense, the flute assimilates the road he could have taken and the missed opportunities along the way. It appears as though Willy has difficulty acknowledging the success he attained solely within his own home. Willy ultimately drove himself down a road of destruction.

The lull of a memory once lost takes hold of Willy. “Ben’s music is heard”(Act One). Admiration pours out of Willy as he recalls his recently departed brother Ben and his profound success. Willy’s depression contorts his view of Ben. He only sees the insurmountable wealth his brother has acquired. His being is shattered as he knows he can never attain such a wealth in his lifetime.

Willy Loman allows the success of others to determine his own happiness, inevitably leading to his own demise. The dream of success cannot be defined. Willy chose a road in which he believed success was contingent on the endowments brought upon him by business. The absolute consequence of the path chosen by Willy was death. As Linda summons the courage to address the suicide of her husband, Willy, “the flute begins, not far away, playing behind her speech”(Requim). As the last flow of air transcends through the wind instrument so does the end of an era. Biff whispers to his mother, “we’re free”(Requim). The insurmountable idea of success perishes with Willy Loman. If Willy would have recognized the significance of happiness within his own life could he have been saved? What does this say for society as a whole? Does Society overlook happiness in an attempt to attain success? What is the end result?

Willy Loman's American Dream

Death of a Salesman is a play I have read many times; every time more excitedly as the last. One of the main themes in the play, which is a common theme among American Lit., is the theme of the American Dream. Yet, unlike those before him, Miller does not simply go about painting a perfect picture. Instead, he gives us Willy Loman. Willy is a 63 year old salesman, who endures a pay cut and is fired from his job all in the same day. Right off the bat, not a "usual" character to accompany this theme. The American Dream has been defined multiple time, most famously by James Truslow Adams; "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" (Adams). Willy Loman is merely a man out to live that dream. He works hard, though his payoff is small. Miller's play, instead of glorifying this dream, builds it up to show a side that isn't so much an dream, but more of an nightmare. During the play, we watch Willy Loman on a downward slope. He is so wrapped up in daydreams, so decayed by his meaningless existence, working hard with nothing to show for it. He may be able to enjoy life, but he is dissatisfied with the quality of his life, which leads him to isolation and illusion. In a way, Willy creates these illusions to get away from his real problems. Willy wants to be successful not only for himself, but for his sons, Biff and Happy. He wants to leave them with something. Once he realizes, however, that he is unable to give his boys these things, and that he is old, and has achieved so little, he begins to see how absurd life is. Thus is Miller's point, I think. Miller wants to portray how the American Dream makes life so absolutely silly. Insterad of enjoying his time alive, Willy spent it working hard towards and empire of nothing. The line that really portrays just how empty Willy has become over time, or at least that I picked up on, was: "eat the orange and throw the peel away" (Miller). Speaking of salesman, I think it goes more than that, instead describing life in a constantly losing battle; the battle for success and happiness. Miller was warning us, it seems, that the American Dream does cost us. We can work hard to achieve greatness, but at what cost? Our sanity, our happiness?

The Apple and the Tree

Parents invest a great deal of their identity in the success of their children. You see and hear it often, a proud parent bragging of their child's achievements. But for some parents that's all they talk about. Willy was fixated on his son Biff, his attention was hardly on anything else. When his son wasn't in the room he spent all his time reminiscing on a football game that brought Biff so much attention and himself so much pride. He recalled the moments in the beginning of the play, speaking to his wife in their bedroom wondering at what point did his son lose his way, what changed things for Biff to send him down the wrong path. On page 11 of the text Biff's brother Happy talks about him being lost, losing his confidence and his humor. Just being a different person all together. But as a family they live in this delusion of success that they create for themselves. Biff had success in football but after that we gave up. At first Biff makes this realization in the restaurant while talking to Happy. He can't recall who built up this delusion that he was ever a "top salesman" for Bill Oliver when in fact all along he was only a stock boy and a thief. But his family built up this idea that he was such a phenomenal employee that not only would Oliver remember him but would be willing to invest thousands of dollars in his proposal. Willy needed to believe his sons would be successful, he needed it so badly that he made up the success and distorted the truth in order to see them in a better light. Because of the Great Depression parents like Willy weren't able to follow their dreams but instead invested themselves into their children, their hopes and dreams were in their children and seeing his children as bums was too much for Willy to handle so instead he created an image of them that he could better stand. I see parents do this often. They ignore the flaws of their children but celebrate their achievements to such a degree that it's seems almost as if they themselves are taking credit for their degrees, for their awards and nominations. Parents often define themselves by the success of their children and for Willy seeing his children lead such minimal lives without a work ethic or drive to achieve was too much for him to handle. But should parents do that? Should a parent take credit or feel they are due any type of commendation for the achievements of their child? What about the other side, should parents then feel responsible for the mistakes of their child? Should they bear some type of shame for raising an unsuccessful individual?

American Literature After 1945 Fall 2014