Papers on ""Death of a Salesman"" and similar term paper topics

Paper #050269 :: "Death of a Salesman"
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A look at the delusions and death of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's play.

Written in 2004; 1,277 words; 5 sources; MLA; $ 43.95

Paper Summary:

This paper illustrates how the illusions held firmly by Willy Loman eventually lead to his inevitable downfall and death. It also discusses his realization of the despair in his life and the ways in which he chooses to cope with it.

From the Paper:

"In Arthur Miller?s ?Death of a Salesman?(DoS), Willy Loman, a traveling salesman, is an example of the average blue-collar citizen who feels betrayed because he can't achieve the financial goals his society has conditioned him to strive for. He places financial success and personal image above all else. He believes that by maintaining a respectable image and good business relationships, or being ?well liked?, as Willy says, you can achieve any amount of success. But when he abruptly and brutally realizes that things do not necessarily work that way in society, all hopes and dreams cherished by him fade, and he suddenly realizes the truly despaired nature of his life. When he fails as a salesman, no other measure of success: the love of his family, his talent as a carpenter, and so on, can comfort him. He believes that a person who fails in business has no right to live. Because he doesn't want to face his failure, for years Willy has been lying to himself and to others, fantasizing and deluding himself into a false vision of his own popularity. This fallacious view of himself, or "false pride," as his boss calls it, gets in the way of Willy's relationships. When it gets to the point where it seems as though all else has failed, death becomes the only means of salvation. His delusions of success and accomplishment fall to shambles and he sees nothing else left to rely on in life. Savage 2 Willy demonstrates his obsession with being well liked by referring to those who are well liked as icons of achievement. Willy modeled himself after a fellow salesman whom he greatly revered, Dave Singleman. Willy tells the story of his decision to become a salesman through the inspiration of Dave Singleman. Willy credits his employment choice to Singleman and goes on to explain how Dave is a skillful salesman. Willy exclaims, ?And he was eighty-four years old, and he'd drummed merchandise in thirty-one states. And old Dave, he'd go up to his room, y'understand, put on his green velvet slippers-I'll never forget-and pick up his phone and call the buyers, and without ever leaving his room, at the age of eighty-four he made his living. And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want.?(DoS 1580) Willy says, "I always felt that if a man was impressive, and well liked, that nothing could stand in his way.? One critic, Stephen Lawrence, states that during his life ?Willy forms the opinion that in order to thrive in society, one must be "well liked". Willy maintains a notion that somehow there can be a link between love and success.?(Lawrence 548). But Willy?s views on what made a man successful were dictated mainly by what was depicted by the popular and prominently wealthy people of his time period. He had no other leading examples to attain the type of life he desired and didn?t realize how improbable it was that he would actually achieve such goals. One critic, Choudhuri, states that Willy "failed as millions do in a competitive commercialized society" ( Bloom 69)."

Tags: american dream

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