The Tragic Character of Willy Loman

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how the character of Willy Loman, from Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman', created a false image of himself for his family, for society and even for himself. The paper shows how Willy's deluded life also affects Biff and Happy, his two sons, because they seem to struggle with their own self identity. The paper notes Willy's positive qualities but shows how he is an incredibly tragic hero because all he really wanted was the best for his family, but he could not seem to get past what the idea of "the best" was. Emphasis is placed on how Willy didn't have to be anyone other than who he was but he preferrred to sacrifice his own existence than to question every ideal and dream that he based his life on.

From the Paper:

"The tragic hero of this play, Willy Loman, has a name that suggests "low man". Willy has dedicated his life to the pursuit of the American Dream. Willy is a traveling salesman - a metaphor for society - who betrays his life and chooses to pursue wealth and his glorified ideas of success. He believes that if you are "well-liked" and "personally attractive", you can succeed and will acquire whatever material gains you desire.
"Willy is a common man who desires much, which is why so many people have related to Willy's plight. But Willy goes about achieving in all the wrong ways. He fails on nearly every level - as a husband, as a father, and as a businessman. The contradiction therein lies that Willy wants to be a good father, he wants his wife Linda to be happy, and he wants money and material possessions - yet his actions lead him down a road to failure."

Sample of Sources Used:

• http://www.teacher.org.cn/doc/ucedu200603/ucedu20060315.pdf
• Bloom, Harold. Death of a Salesman. (Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations).Chelsea House Publications; 2 Updated edition. September 30, 2006.
• Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. The Penguin Group. New York, NY. 1949.
• Weales, Gerald. Death of a Salesman: Text and Criticism. The Viking PressNew York, NY. 1949.
• http://libertyunbound.com/archive/2005_05/stewart-loman.html

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