death of a salesman flashback essay

Flashbacks In Death Of A Salesman

Death of a Salesman is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play follows the life of Willy Loman, a salesman who is in the midst of a mid-life crisis.

Willy has difficulty distinguishing between reality and his own memories, often experiencing flashbacks throughout the play. These flashbacks provide insight into Willy’s past and help to explain his current state.

The flashbacks are often triggered by objects or conversations in the present. For example, when Willy’s son Biff finds an old football in the attic, it leads to a flashback of when Biff was a star athlete in high school. Willy is transported back to a time when he was proud of his son and had high hopes for his future.

While the flashbacks can be positive, they also serve to highlight the failures of Willy’s life. He is constantly reminded of the ways in which he has let down his family, and how his dreams have not come to fruition. The flashbacks ultimately contribute to Willy’s downfall, as they provide a constant reminder of what could have been.

The play is replete with flashbacks. These flashbacks shed light on Willy Loman’s history and help to explain his present conduct and mentality. The play would be less successful in expressing its themes and messages without these flashbacks.

The first flashback occurs when Willy is talking to his boss, Howard Wagner. Willy tells Howard about a time when he was working on a road crew and his boss praised him for his hard work. This flashback shows that Willy is a man who values approval and recognition. It also foreshadows Willy’s later problems when he feels that he is not being appreciated at work.

Another significant flashback occurs when Willy is talking to his wife, Linda. Willy tells Linda about a time when he was working as a salesman and he met a woman who was interested in him. This woman, however, was only interested in Willy for his money. This flashback reveals Willy’s insecurity about his job and his fear that he is not truly successful. It also foreshadows the problems that Willy will have with his son, Biff.

The flashbacks in Death of a Salesman are essential to the play and provide crucial information about Willy Loman’s character. They help to explain Willy’s actions and motivation, and they also contribute to the play’s themes of success and failure.

The death of a salesman is a metaphor for memory as a time travel device in Miller’s novel The Crucible. Is it possible to determine the viewpoint of the flashbacks? Is their honesty/significance trustworthy? Give evidence. Willy Loman is re-living his past as he recounts it in flashbacks every where, including but not limited to 1948 settings. Even if Willy Loman is relating memories, the information he provides may not be entirely accurate.

It is up to the readers to determine if they believe in Willy Loman’s flashbacks and the events that took place during his life. There are three main flashbacks throughout Death of a Salesman: Willy Loman’s memory of when he and his brother Ben went on a business trip together, when he was fired from his job at Wagner’s, and when he had an affair. All three of these memories have different points of view and levels of integrity.

The first flashback is from Willy Loman’s perspective and is about him and his brother Ben going on a business trip together. This memory seems to be told with little to no bias from Willy Loman. He tells the story as it happened without adding any extra details. He even mentions how he and Ben got lost on the trip, which could be seen as a negative event, but he does not dwell on it. Willy Loman’s memory of the business trip is told in a way that seems to be mostly accurate.

The second flashback is from Willy Loman’s perspective and is about him being fired from his job at Wagner’s. In this memory, Willy Loman does add some bias. He talks about how he was the best salesman at Wagner’s and how they never should have fired him. Willy Loman also paints himself in a more positive light by saying that he left on good terms with his boss. This memory is not as accurate as the first one because Willy Loman is adding his own opinion and leaving out some details.

The third flashback is from Willy Loman’s perspective and is about him having an affair. In this memory, Willy Loman paints himself in a very positive light. He talks about how he was the one who pursued the woman and how it was all just innocent fun. Willy Loman does not mention any of the negative consequences that came from the affair, such as his wife finding out or his son losing respect for him. This memory is not accurate because Willy Loman is only showing one side of the story.

Some reasons for this belief may include his advancing age, which can cause faulty recollections as he recalls events from more than a decade ago. Arthur Miller, on the other hand, utilizes flashbacks in a distinct manner in order to emphasize their importance.

Death of a Salesman is not only about the present and future dreams of Willy Loman, but also his past. The playwright uses different methods to show how important the role of the past is in Death of a Salesman.

One method Arthur Miller employs is having Willy talk to himself. This is evident when Willy is in his backyard and he starts to daydream about his early days with Biff. In this part of the play, Miller shows that even though Willy may be talking to himself, he is still controlled by his memories of the past. He states, “I remember it so vividly” (Miller 101). What Willy does not realize is that he talks to himself more often than anyone else, which foreshadows his mental state.

Willy also has conversations with people who are not really there. For example, when Willy is fired from his job, he talks to his old boss Howard Wagner. Even though Howard is not actually present, Willy still speaks to him as if he were there. This technique allows Miller to show how Willy’s mind is always thinking about the past. In addition, these imaginary conversations allow Willy to relive the past and see things from a different perspective.

Another method that Arthur Miller uses to display the importance of flashbacks is through stage directions. For instance, when Willy is talking to Linda about his affair, the stage directions say that Linda “listens quietly” (Miller 122). This allows the audience to see that Linda is not judging Willy and is instead just trying to understand him. In addition, the stage directions say that Willy is “looking off” during his conversation with Linda (Miller 122). This shows that Willy is lost in his thoughts and is not really present in the conversation.

The final method that Arthur Miller uses to show the importance of flashbacks is through symbols. One example of a symbol in Death of a Salesman is the salesman’s sample case. The sample case symbolizes Willy’s memories of the past and how they are stored in his mind. Another example of a symbol in Death of a Salesman is the stockings that Linda gives to Willy. The stockings represent Willy’s hope for the future and how he wants to be able to provide for his family.

Through these different methods, Arthur Miller is able to show the importance of flashbacks in Death of a Salesman. Willy’s flashbacks allow him to see how his actions in the past have led to his current situation. In addition, the flashbacks give Willy a different perspective on his life and allow him to see things from a different point of view. Finally, the flashbacks allow Willy to relive the past and see how things could have been different if he had made different choices.

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• Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller

• Literature Notes
• Major Themes in Death of a Salesman
• Play Summary
• About Death of a Salesman
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Act I: Scene 1
• Act I: Scene 2
• Act I: Scene 3
• Act I: Scene 4
• Act I: Scene 5
• Act I: Scene 6
• Act I: Scene 7
• Act I: Scene 8
• Act I: Scene 9
• Act I: Scene 10
• Act I: Scene 11
• Act I: Scene 12
• Act II: Scene 1
• Act II: Scene 2
• Act II: Scene 3
• Act II: Scene 4
• Act II: Scene 5
• Act II: Scene 6
• Act II: Scene 7
• Act II: Scene 8
• Act II: Scene 9
• Act II: Scene 10
• Act II: Scene 11
• Act II: Scene 12
• Act II: Scene 13
• Act II: Scene 14
• Act II: Requiem
• Character Analysis
• Willy Loman
• Linda Loman
• Happy Loman
• Character Map
• Arthur Miller Biography
• Critical Essays
• Miller's Manipulation of Time and Space
• Full Glossary for Death of a Salesman
• Essay Questions
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

Critical Essays Major Themes in Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman addresses loss of identity and a man's inability to accept change within himself and society. The play is a montage of memories, dreams, confrontations, and arguments, all of which make up the last 24 hours of Willy Loman's life. The three major themes within the play are denial, contradiction, and order versus disorder.

Each member of the Loman family is living in denial or perpetuating a cycle of denial for others. Willy Loman is incapable of accepting the fact that he is a mediocre salesman. Instead Willy strives for his version of the American dream — success and notoriety — even if he is forced to deny reality in order to achieve it. Instead of acknowledging that he is not a well-known success, Willy retreats into the past and chooses to relive past memories and events in which he is perceived as successful.

For example, Willy's favorite memory is of Biff's last football game because Biff vows to make a touchdown just for him. In this scene in the past, Willy can hardly wait to tell the story to his buyers. He considers himself famous as a result of his son's pride in him. Willy's sons, Biff and Happy, adopt Willy's habit of denying or manipulating reality and practice it all of their lives, much to their detriment. It is only at the end of the play that Biff admits he has been a "phony" too, just like Willy. Linda is the only character that recognizes the Loman family lives in denial; however, she goes along with Willy's fantasies in order to preserve his fragile mental state.

The second major theme of the play is contradiction. Throughout the play, Willy's behavior is riddled with inconsistencies. In fact, the only thing consistent about Willy is his inconsistency. From the very beginning of Act I, Scene 1, Willy reveals this tendency. He labels Biff a "lazy bum" but then contradicts himself two lines later when he states, "And such a hard worker. There's one thing about Biff — he's not lazy." Willy's contradictions often confuse audiences at the beginning of the play; however, they soon become a trademark of his character. Willy's inconsistent behavior is the result of his inability to accept reality and his tendency to manipulate or re-create the past in an attempt to escape the present. For example, Willy cannot resign himself to the fact that Biff no longer respects him because of Willy's affair. Rather than admit that their relationship is irreconcilable, Willy retreats to a previous time when Biff admired and respected him. As the play continues, Willy disassociates himself more and more from the present as his problems become too numerous to deal with.

The third major theme of the play, which is order versus disorder, results from Willy's retreats into the past. Each time Willy loses himself in the past, he does so in order to deny the present, especially if the present is too difficult to accept. As the play progresses, Willy spends more and more time in the past as a means of reestablishing order in his life. The more fragmented and disastrous reality becomes, the more necessary it is for Willy to create an alternative reality, even if it requires him to live solely in the past. This is demonstrated immediately after Willy is fired. Ben appears, and Willy confides "nothing's working out. I don't know what to do." Ben quickly shifts the conversation to Alaska and offers Willy a job. Linda appears and convinces Willy that he should stay in sales, just like Dave Singleman. Willy's confidence quickly resurfaces, and he is confident that he has made the right decision by turning down Ben's offer; he is certain he will be a success like Singleman. Thus, Willy's memory has distracted him from the reality of losing his job.

Denial, contradiction, and the quest for order versus disorder comprise the three major themes of Death of a Salesman . All three themes work together to create a dreamlike atmosphere in which the audience watches a man's identity and mental stability slip away. The play continues to affect audiences because it allows them to hold a mirror up to themselves. Willy's self-deprecation, sense of failure, and overwhelming regret are emotions that an audience can relate to because everyone has experienced them at one time or another. Individuals continue to react to Death of a Salesman because Willy's situation is not unique: He made a mistake — a mistake that irrevocably changed his relationship with the people he loves most — and when all of his attempts to eradicate his mistake fail, he makes one grand attempt to correct the mistake. Willy vehemently denies Biff's claim that they are both common, ordinary people, but ironically, it is the universality of the play which makes it so enduring. Biff's statement, "I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you" is true after all.

Previous Miller's Manipulation of Time and Space

Death Of A Salesman Flashbacks

This sample essay on Death Of A Salesman Flashbacks offers an extensive list of facts and arguments related to it. The essay’s introduction, body paragraphs, and the conclusion are provided below.

Is it Impossible for a Director of The Flashback Scene in The Restaurant, pages 73-93 of ‘Death of a Salesman’ to Show Willy as a Tragic Hero? Discuss. In Your Answer You Must Discuss how the Scene Could be Played and Base Your Answer on Textual Analysis of Character, Plot and Stage Direction Commenting on The Context of The Play.

The play ‘Death of a Salesman’ was written in 1949 by Arthur Miller and is one of his most successful plays. At Millers’ time, America was deemed to be a ‘land of opportunity’ and all Americans had the right to be successful.

However his father’s prosperous living as a clothing manufacturer had been ruined by the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The play examines the cost of blind faith in the American Dream, closely related with the theme of manifest destiny.

There was much belief in the American Dream, and this would be achieved through hard work, courage and determination by every American. ‘Death of a Salesman’ is based around the main protagonist, Willy Loman an elderly man. He is an insecure, self deluding travelling salesman.

Mr Loman is “past sixty years of age” and “dressed quietly”, nonetheless he is a man with “massive dreams”, a “mercurial nature” and “turbulent longings within him”. He never comes to terms with reality for the reason that he is lost in an illusion and false hopes, for example Willy cannot see who he and his sons, Biff and Happy, are and he just believes that they are great men who have what it takes to beat the business world and be successful.

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“ Amazing writer! I am really satisfied with her work. An excellent price as well. ”

However, he is mistaken. In reality, Willy and sons are not, and cannot ever be successful.

Willy’s Flashbacks In Death Of A Salesman

Mr Loman is unable to see through his own delusions of the American Dream, which he perceives as the ability to become ‘great’ by obtaining enormous material wealth without any apparent effort, to ‘wander into the jungle’ and ‘walk out’ a few years later unspeakably ‘rich’. As a result to this, he is trapped in distortion of the American Dream promoted by a capitalist, materialistic modern society. In the play, although Willy does seem to show love and care towards his wife, Linda and two sons, he often becomes confused and angry unnecessarily.

He shows trouble distinguishing his past and present, or his ideal life and reality. Due to this, many parts of the play are transcribed to the audience by the insertion of flashbacks, which show us some of the most significant moments in Willy’s confused life that have happened in his past. These flashbacks, each of which do somehow relate to the present, show an inability for Willy to see his reality. The flashback Willy experiences in the Restaurant scene, which I will be studying, is extremely significant in view of the fact that at this point, the illusions Biff has about Willy and his lies, come to an end.

The use of this flashback depicts Willy’s affair with the Woman and Biff then comes to know about it. By using this scene, this essay will discuss whether Willy is that of a tragic hero or not. In Shakespearean tragedy, ‘tragic heroes will be men of rank, and the calamities that befall them will be unusual and exceptionally disastrous in themselves’ (taken from http://global. cscc. edu/engl/264/TragedyLex. htm). In other words, Shakespearean tragic heroes should be of noble birth, have a fatal flaw, learn from their mistakes and lastly due to their flaw, this will lead to their downfall.

However, the initial idea of the tragic hero had originated in Greek tragedy and it was outlined by Aristotle, who once said ‘a tragic hero must be one of noble character and must fall from power and happiness’ (taken from http:// www. ccd. rightchoice. org/lit115/poetics. html). In Arthur Miller’s ‘Tragedy and the Common Man’, Miller argues that the common man could also be regarded to that as a very highly placed king and noble man.

If this is the case and that the common man could be a tragic hero, I should be able to answer a simple question: Can Willy Loman be considered to be a tragic hero or not? To begin the first part of this essay, it is impossible to represent Willy as a tragic hero in the traditional sense. As I mentioned above, there are patterns into which Shakespearean or Aristotelian tragic heroes should fit into, and clearly Willy does not fit into these principles in one important way- he is not of noble birth or aristocracy.

Willy is just a common man. According to the Collins English Dictionary, the word noble has three meanings: 1showing or having high moral qualities, 2impressive and magnificent, and 3member of the nobility (which again, according to the Collins English Dictionary, means either 1quality of being noble or 2a class of people holding titles and high social rank). ‘Oedipus Rex’, a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles, and ‘The Oresteia’, a trilogy of tragedies written by Aeschylus, both contain protagonists whom are of aristocracy and nobility.

This too follows in Shakespearean tragedies. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’ both protagonists originate from high, aristocratic upper class families, as do the protagonists in ‘Macbeth’, ‘Hamlet’, ‘Richard II’ and ‘King Lear’. As an audience, from the flashback Willy undergoes in the Restaurant, we learn that he is having an affair with The Woman in the Boston hotel room and therefore he is cheating on his wife, Linda. ‘Come on inside, drummer boy. It’s silly to be dressing in the middle of the night. ‘ (Act Two. Page 88. The Woman)

Then once knocking is heard, Willy orders The Woman to ‘stay in the bathroom’ as he ‘thinks there’s a law in Massachusetts about it’ (‘it’ being adultery) and he finds Biff standing at the door. Biff has come to tell his dad that he ‘flunked math’ and does not have ‘enough credits to graduate’. Just as Willy promises his son that he will speak to Birnbaum, and Biff is about to leave the Hotel room, he discovers The Woman and knows instantly that Willy has been having an affair. Biff becomes increasingly more saddened knowing that Willy has given The Woman ‘Mama’s stockings! ‘ ‘Where’s my stockings? You promised me stockings, Willy!

‘ (Act Two. Page 90. The Woman) It is at this point that Willy’s mercurial nature becomes evident. He threatens to abuse his son if he does not follow his orders to apologise, before Biff refers to his father as a ‘fake, a phoney little fake! ‘ However it is not only just at this moment in the scene where Willy does not coincide to being that of a tragic hero by abusing his son. In reality, when Willy and his sons are in the Restaurant talking about Biffs meeting with Bill Oliver, Willy presumes that Biff spites him, so he then ‘strikes him’ and carries on downgrading his son by calling him a ‘rotten little louse! ‘

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Death of a Salesman

Arthur miller, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

105 Death of a Salesman Essay Topics & Examples

Death of a Salesman is Arthur Miller’s multiple award-winning stage play that explores such ideas as American Dream and family. Our writers have prepared a list of topics and tips on writing the Death of a Salesman thesis statement, essay, or literary analysis.

"The flashback scenes in 'Death Of A Salesman' are the most useful sections of the play for the director to present Willy Loma

“The flashback scenes in ‘Death Of A Salesman’ are the most useful sections of the play for the director to present Willy Loman as a tragic hero to the audience.” Discuss this statement with reference to some of the key themes and character developments in the play, explaining how a director might present these so-called ‘flashbacks’.

The central character in Arthur Miller’s play ‘Death Of A Salesman’ is Willy Loman. Willy Loman is an elderly salesman who has lost himself within his false hopes. He is working for a sales firm, which has ceased to pay him his salary, and he is struggling to bring home enough money to support his family in the city. Willy’s two sons Biff and Happy are following in his footsteps and are also failures in the business world, however Willy refuses to come to terms with this fact and lives in a web of lies. He wants his sons, especially Biff, to succeed where he has not, even though he himself will not admit the fact that he is not a success due to his sense of false pride. Willy believes that his boys have great potential, and cannot come to terms with the fact that they are not ‘big shots’ in the corporate world. This is a key cause of conflict throughout the play. Willy is elderly and occasionally has trouble distinguishing between past and present - between his ideal life and his reality - and is often lost in flashbacks where much of the story is told. Biff however is more realistic than the rest of his family, and eventually refuses to live a lie. This is shown in Biff’s statement "We never told the truth in the house for ten minutes."

Throughout the play the character of Biff develops and comes to terms with his and his father’s shortcomings. This is shown when Biff states, "Pop, I'm a dime a dozen and so are you." This shows that the Loman family are not meant for the business world, and are never going to be anything special. Biff has realised that there is nothing wrong with being an ordinary, common man however Willy refuses to believe that he isn’t the well respected businessman that he once thought he would be. This is one of the key themes throughout the play, the falsity of the American dream. Willy has worked relentlessly all his life and has believed that he can live the American dream to be completely self-sufficient. However the business world has ruthlessly used Willy like a ‘piece of fruit’. This is illustrated when Willy states, "You can't eat the orange and throw the peel away. A man is not a piece of fruit." Willy has put all the work in, and is yet to reap his reward. The American dream is outdated and has lost its promise.

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Another key theme throughout the play is the idea of a tragic hero. Arthur Miller demonstrates that it should be possible for everyone to be able to relate to the tragic hero. Miller redefines tragedy as more common occurrence than what might happen in such tragedies as portrayed by Shakespeare. In Shakespearean works, a tragic hero has a fatal character flaw. For example in Romeo and Juliet, Romeo falls in love too quickly. The tragic hero dies as a result of this character flaw. In Shakespeare a tragic hero was of some sort of nobility, usually an aristocrat. Whereas Willy Loman is a common man and is of no such aristocracy. Does a tragic hero have to be a noble man? What is meant by the word noble? There are several arguments that can be put forward based on the idea of a tragic hero.

The play is divided into three main parts, Act I, Act II, and the Requiem. Within Act I and Act II, the story is presented through the use of Willy's flashbacks. It can be argued that the flashbacks are the most useful sections of the play for the director to convey his image of Willy Loman. This use of flashback is fundamental to the structure and understanding of the play. The story starts at present-day and Willy then lapses in and out of the past. Each flashback is somehow related the present. These flashbacks are very skilfully staged during the play.  The use of lighting and music is integral. The opening stage direction is "a melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon.” The flute is an instrument associated with nostalgia can be heard playing when Willy begins to imagine a happier life in the past. Blue lighting is on during Willy’s idealistic dreams, giving the stage a cold and gloomy feel. The orange lighting and the “gay and bright” music of reality, which conveys an image of angry surroundings, oppose this. This contrasting lighting is symbolic of the contrast between the American dream and reality.  Life in the city is a struggle, and the city itself is a place of conflict.

Very often, the contents of the flashback offer essential background knowledge for understanding why the present-day problems in the Loman family are occurring. For example, when Willy is thinking about Biff's problems, Willy is transported to the summer of Biff's penultimate high school year, which can be seen as the root of all Willy’s problems. The events that took place in the past expose for the reader the situations that have led up to the present-day boiling point in the Loman household. Events of Willy’s past are set on the same stage at the same time as his current life, meaning that the past is not something that is behind us. This is an important message that is conveyed by Arthur Miller as well as the director of the play. During one of Willy’s flashbacks, Ben’s remarks, the flute music, and the voice of the Woman can be heard all at the same time. This illustrates Miller's concept that everything exists at the same time - at least within the human mind.

However it can also be argued that the flashbacks are useful, but there are scenes during the play that are set in the present that are more useful for the director to convey Willy Loman as a tragic hero. A prime example of this is in the restaurant after Biff has gone to meet Bill Oliver to seek assistance in his quest for a job in the business world to satisfy his father. Willy and Happy are also present, and Biff is trying to emphasise to Willy the fact that he is never going to be a businessman. He believes that he would be better off in the countryside somewhere being a labourer. Willy is very stubborn and refuses to believe what Biff is saying. Willy leaves the room and Biff states that Willy is a “fine, troubled prince” who would do anything for his boys. This brings in the idea of a tragic hero being noble; in this case he is described as a Prince, describing nobility as royalty. However this is ironic, as Willy Loman is not a prince, he is a common man. The word ‘noble’ can also be seen as a way of stating that someone is a dignified, honest, hard working human being. This is what noble means in the case of Willy Loman.

This leads me onto my next point, which is debating whether Willy Loman is a tragic hero at all. Willy is from no aristocratic background, however he is a nobleman in the way that he is a man who works hard for his honest living. Miller argues that being a tragic hero is not restricted to Kings and Queens. The common man can be seen as a tragic hero. It can also be argued that Willy is not noble in his behaviour because he cheated on his ever-supportive wife Linda. Willy Loman can be seen as a tragic hero. Willy wants to be accepted as a well-liked, decent human being. These may be important values in everyday society but they are of no significance in the business world. Willy doesn't have just one fatal character flaw, he has many as he is disloyal, stubborn, short tempered, has false pride and so forth which eventually lead to his downfall. He has been treated cruelly by the world and is part of an ongoing struggle to live the American dream.

Willy realises his failures in life, from his failure to raise his sons to be a success in the business world to the fact that he has betrayed his wife with another woman. The common man, indeed, can relate to Willy Loman. He is struggling with the pressures of twentieth century life: of money, of the city, of the family, of the job, while his weaknesses are those which ordinary humans share. Miller’s idea of tragedy is ‘The result of an individual's quest for personal dignity which occurs when an individual attempts to evaluate existence justly.’ According to this statement, Willy Loman is in fact a tragic hero. The truth is that being well liked will not earn you money and assist you in acquiring material goods in the corporate world. Willy thrives on this, as he believes that a man can be assessed on his possessions. Corporate America is not ideal, it is a ruthless environment, and one in which Willy Loman cannot succeed.

Willy is somewhat misguided on his quest to be a great businessman. His brother Ben is Willy’s idealistic view of himself. Ben is a top businessman, and so is his son Bernard. The difference is, Ben and Bernard were willing to work hard, and realised what it takes to be a success in corporate America. Whereas the Loman family, especially Happy and Biff talk about going out there and getting a job just to fulfil their fathers dream of having successful sons. However Biff and Happy know that they are not going to get jobs as businessmen. This is summed up when Willy is talking to Ben. Ben talks about all the great things that his son is accomplishing, and Willy is astonished. Willy states, “Why didn’t he tell me?” Ben goes on to say that his son does not need to talk about it; he just goes out there and does it. That is the cutting edge that the Loman family is missing, after all actions speak louder than words.

In another conversation with Ben, Ben states, “ A diamond is hard and rough to the touch.” Diamonds represent concrete wealth and, for that reason, they are both justification of a man’s work, and a man’s ability to pass wealth and inheritance onto his children, two things that Willy desperately craves. Diamonds, the unearthing of which made Ben a fortune, are symbolic Willy’s failure as a salesman. Despite Willy’s belief in the American Dream, a belief steadfast to the extent that he passed up the opportunity to go with Ben to Alaska, the Dream’s promise of financial security has eluded Willy. At the end of the play, Ben encourages Willy to enter the “jungle” finally and retrieve this elusive diamond. By this he means for Willy to kill himself for insurance money in order to make his life meaningful.

Which brings me to my conclusion that Willy Loman is in fact a tragic hero. He is not the idealistic, romanticised, Shakespearean view of a tragic hero, but his life and his death are tragic nonetheless. He is a hard workingman, who is too naive to see that his way of life will not lead him to success. To see a man effectively wasting his life and going senile because of it is tragic in itself. His death is not as tragic as his reason for dying. He died for his boys, hoping that the money they receive would set them a strong foundation to build themselves a business empire. The tragedy in this is that he never learned the truth that his sons were never going to be ‘big shots’. He was stubborn in life, and just as stubborn in death. The tragedy is summed up by the fact that nobody attends Willy’s funeral, despite his claims to have been so well like and respected by his peers and colleagues. Effectively, his life was a lie.

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• Word Count 2095
• Page Count 4
• Subject English

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