"Death of a Salesman"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains Arthur Miller emphasizes that his play was about an average person by the way he names the central character "Willy Loman," which is pronounced "low man". The author points out Willy's tragic flaw: he has lived a simple life, raised a family, bought and paid for a home, but he didn't feel he had "accomplished something." The paper relates that, at the end of the play, Willy gets in his car, speeds off ,and kills himself in a crash; his friend Charley says, "A salesman has got to dream ... it comes with the territory."

From the Paper:

"Later in the scene, Willy shows more emphasis on superficial appearances as the way a man should define himself as a success: he sees it as important to be popular. He comments that the boys' Uncle Charley is liked, but not well liked. Willy is so blinded by superficial traits that in a flashback he tells Biff it's OK if he isn't a hard-working student and barely manages to graduate from high school because he's a football star, and popular, and has been offered three different athletic scholarships for college. A classmate of Biff's, Bernard, tries to get him to study, since he has to take important tests the next week, and Biff blows Bernard's concerns off. Willy says about Bernard."

More papers on "Death of a Salesman":

• Analytical Essay # 120692 : "Is "Death of a Salesman" a Tragedy?"
• Analytical Essay # 125007 : "Biff and Happy in "Death of a Salesman"
• Analytical Essay # 63384 : "Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman"

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