Preview

Death Of A Salesman Argument Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
927 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Death Of A Salesman Argument Analysis
In Arthur miller’s, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, the protagonist of the play, is used as an example to show that once you lie, everything goes downhill. Willy is a salesman, that travels to far cities away from his house to make people interested in his supplies. In the opening scene, he tells Linda, his wife, that he is exhausted from driving far away from home. Willy, then continuously talks about how he is a vital asset to the company, yet they have him doing the same thing for the past thirty plus years. Once his son Biff is introduced Willy can not stop ranting about how much of a waste of talent he is. Willy and Biff have plenty of quarrels throughout the play, hence the hateful relationship they have. While Willy is away on a business …show more content…
He gets involved in a verbal argument with Biff, while at their home. The argument was moments after Biff caught him cheating. Biff was in tears yelling at Willy, “ You -- you gave her Mama’s stockings!” ( Miller 95 ). Biff could not believe he would ever cheat, so he deliberately dogged Willy about the unforgivable deed. On a separate occasion Willy had another verbal altercation with Biff. This time the argument took place close to the end of the play, which was about how the Loman’s are not meant to be leaders. Biff cries, “ Pop! I am a dime a dozen, and so are you!”, simultaneously Willy is overwhelmed with shock and disappointment. Willy was in denial, until he comprehended that his son was right. Willy had been having issues once he confronted his boss at work. He asked his boss if he could work in town, but his boss mentioned that he has been wanting to talk to him about work. His boss eventually fired him, which added a surplus amount of conflict. Willy was stressing about how he would bring food to the table, while dealing with the fact that Biff caught him in an affair. Willy had a quarrel with himself, which was about how he hated himself for being the terrible person he is. Willy ultimately had more conflicts with himself, then with his …show more content…
Willy had done bad things throughout the story, but you never expect the main character to give up when the going gets tough. However, he put himself in the predicament of hating himself enough to kill himself, because he had been repeatedly been causing stress for himself. The climax is when the family told Willy that they know he has trying to kill himself,and when Biff finally declared his love for his father. Biff reveals they know about Willy trying to commit suicide, when they are having another spontaneous quarrel. Biff puts the hose on the table, and the house gets silent. Willy then denies that he ever seen it,or even knows what it is. Biff pleads, “ You know goddam[sic] well what that is ”(Miller 104 ). Linda begs Biff to cease the unbearable questioning, because she thinks the embarrassment of the revealing will drive him to actually kill himself. Biff however relentlessly continues to rant on Willy on how he is looking for sympathy and pity from the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Willy's reversal of fortune comes right after Biff's last year of high school. It seems as if all of Willy's family and other problems develop then, and the reason being he has denied his sons fate. Willy salary is cut, and then loses his job. Willy then realizes his flaw. He experiences flashbacks, imaginary ghosts of people in his life…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A major reason for this kind of thinking is that many people think they will never be caught or will not face any serious repercussions. Willy finds out the hard way how something like cheating can severely affect a family. Biff, one day finds out that Willy has been cheating on his mom, this causes him to have deep resent towards his father, and begins to doubt everything he tells him. The reader later catches Willy in another lie, this time to his brother Ben saying, “Business is bad, it’s murderous. But not for me, of course.” (1690). Even though earlier in the story he tells Linda about his financial difficulties, and our knowledge of Willy having to borrow money from Bernard. Biff seems to be the only one aware of the Loman’s dishonorable ways. In Act 2 of Death of a Salesman, Biff tries to convey to his family that he will no longer be a part of their lying household; after finding out that Willy deceived him into believing that he had a higher position at a job than he really did, when he was a…

    • 1599 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In conclusion, “The Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller greatly examined the famous American Dream, theme of betrayal, as well as abandonment. In trying to achieve the American Dream, Willy took his life. The Dream consumed his world until he was no more. However, within the mindset of the American Dream, it did indeed have one positive aspect. Part of the Dream is to wish that your children amount to more in life than yourself and this is what Willy tries to do in the play. Though Willy and Biff have feelings of betrayal towards each other, both intended good will upon each other. The play has proven to be riddled with many human emotions.…

    • 116 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Willy would go on business trips very often in Boston, but he would actually be cheating on his wife. While he was staying at a hotel at two in the morning,he was with the character The Women, there was a knocking on the door. After telling The Woman to go in the bathroom and hide. He answered the door to see his son Biff standing there. He was upset about failing his math test by four points and his teacher being unwilling to change his test score because Biff had made fun of him, before, in front of his class. Willy was not going to just let Biff fail and he did not want him in the room longer than he needed to be, due to the fact that he had a woman other than his mother in the room with him. He explained to…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of Willy’s largest flaws is hubris. His pride gets in the way when he tries to teach his sons the ways of life. He teaches them that they are better than everyone else because they are Lomans. He inflates their egos so they have problems working for people: “Biff: And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That’s whose fault it is!...It’s goddamn time you heard that! I had to be boss big shot in two weeks”(1494). Biff and Happy dealt with this inability to take orders in different ways to get back at their bosses. Happy started having sex with all of his boss’s wives or girlfriends. That is how he dealt with his inability to take orders. Miller shows this when he says, “Happy: That girl Charlotte I was with tonight is engaged to be married in five weeks…Sure the guy’s in line for the vice-presidency of the store… And he’s the third executive I’ve done that to…And to top it all, I go to their weddings”(1437). Biff dealt with his blown up ego by stealing items from his employers. He started this back when he was in high school playing football. He stole a football from the coach and the way Willy reacted to it set him up for a life of thievery: “Biff: Did you see the new football I got? Willy (laughing with him at the theft): I want you to return that…(to Biff.) Coach’ll probably congratulate you on your initiative”(1439-1440).…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    To Linda’s considerable chagrin and bewilderment, Willy’s family, Charley, and Bernard are the only mourners who attend Willy’s funeral. She wonders where all his supposed business friends are and how he could have killed himself when they were so close to paying off all of their bills. Biff recalls that Willy seemed happier working on the house than he did as a salesman. He states that Willy had all the wrong dreams and that he didn’t know who he was in the way that Biff now knows who he is. Charley replies that a salesman has to dream or he is lost, and he explains the salesman’s undaunted optimism in the face of certain defeat as a function of his irrepressible dreams of selling himself. Happy becomes increasingly angry at Biff’s observations.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Willy Loman Dishonest

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Willy Loman’s moral compass often does not point true North in his life and the series of dishonest statements over many years eventually lead to his demise and detriment of his family. When his boys were young, Willy makes many promises of great riches and achievements for them, something he lives for, but never really has. While Willy continually puts Biff on a pedestal, setting him up for failure, he barely pays attention to his younger son, Happy, who simply desires respect and affirmation from his father. Further, Willy is frequently dishonest, in particular to his wife, Linda, about his income, his actual stature, and his faithfulness. It finally culminates when he is caught cheating on his wife by Biff, and goes so far to get his son to keep quiet about his indiscretion.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this particular story, the protagonist - Willy Loman - is on the surface elevated no higher than a psychotic liar who often manipulates even those he loves the most. However, when looked upon through a harsher lens, the only thing that truly becomes obvious is that Willy himself is the archetype of a tragic hero. Lying to his family in friends, while in part cowardly, also questions the way in which a family could be defined as successful. Willy’s affair with another woman, while gross and unforgivable, allow others in the story to demonstrate the perseverance of love. In fact, it is throughout the entirety of Death of a Salesman that Arthur Miller uses his characters to question society, and then demonstrate their unwillingness to fall to adversity. Willy Loman, while indeed a pathetic man, falls through no weakness of his own…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Most of his family members don’t even see this because they are just as delusional as Willy is. However, his son, Biff, is not quite as delusional and sees the “phony” in his father. Biff continuously tries to bring this up to Willy but Willy continuously tries to avoid this inconvenient truth. For example, when Biff and Happy, Willy’s other son, meet Biff at the bar to discuss Biff’s situation with Bill Oliver, Biff’s previous employer, Willy thinks everything went great and that Biff is going to have great new job with Oliver. Biff is trying to tell Willy that this is not how the meeting went at all. However, because Willy doesn’t want to hear it, he doesn’t let Biff finish many of his sentences. Willy is very ignorant to reality. He does not want to believe any of the truths his son is telling him and the only way he knows how to cope with that is by rudely interrupting Biff. The old saying of “ignorance is bliss” really pertains to Willy because he is mostly a jolly old man who ignores all the troubles, even though they may be true, that surround him. Although, it is hard to be ignorant of the troubles around you, especially when someone close to you is trying to remind you of…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    He finds himself in a hotel room with a woman. She is telling him how much she loves his sense of humor. Then knocking is heard at the door, and at first Willy refuses to answer it. As the knocking continues, Willy tells the woman to hang around in the bathroom. He opens the door and finds Biff there. Biff tells Willy that he has flunked math and asks that Willy talk to his math teacher about it. Biff explains that his teacher doesn't like him since he once caught Biff imitating him in class. Biff shows Willy the imitation and they both start laughing. The woman hears them laughing and comes out of the restroom. Willy hurries her out of the room, but not before the woman demands the stockings that Willy promised her. Willy tries to explain the circumstances, but Biff won't pay attention. He accuses Willy of giving away Linda's stockings and calls him a liar and a fake. The waiter at the restaurant then brings Willy out of his illusion. Willy asks if there is a seed store in the neighborhood and then…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One major flaw of Willy is his reliance on false hope. This can stem from his son, Biff. As seen in imaginings, adolescent Biff looks up to Willy as a great man, causing him to seek for his approval. In high school, Biff has many athletic achievements and is well liked. His awards cause for Willy to have high hopes in what he can conquer later in life. This developed vastly and became an influence in Willy’s mood. When he has a sense of hope to hold onto, he is liberated of his daily pressures. When Biff and Happy are at the restaurant with…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Then willy starts to worry and he talks out his feelings with ben not ben has been dead for a couple of weeks or so which doesn't really matter but ben was willy's older brother in willy’s eyes ben was a big symbol of success because ben found diamonds in africa he got extremely wealthy and that is the life willy wanted to live but most of all that is the life willy wanted biff to live now lets fast forward further into the story willy finally was finally convince biff to go and try to find a job of some sort to make a living and to do something with his life so biff went to go see an old friend named bill oliver someone he used to work with and at the same time willy got convinced by linda to go and try to get a job where he does not have to go and sell in many states where he can stay near home so he set off to see howard but before he went off to see howard he was told by linda that biff and happy wanted to invite him to a dinner later that day after he heard that willy felt happy and motivated Howard wagner when he did go see his boss howard showed willy his newest product which was a recording system and howard showed willy how it worked and in the audio on the recording system was howard's family it heard a recording of his son and daughter along with his wife and willy is sitting there thinking that that is the life that he wish he had where he could come home to see his family after work now when willy was trying to give his…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biff started to try to bring his father to his senses, with no luck. Willy needed professional help and saw Biffs trying, as his being spiteful. Biff made it very clear when he had enough and was telling his father exactly what he had done to them both when he stated “There’ll be…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Willy Loman Suffering

    • 1731 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In Arthur Miller’s play, “Death of a Salesman,” Willy Loman’s delusions made Biff Loman his oldest son, suffer the most by Willy not being a proper parent since the start, thinking success revolves around appearance, and Biff looking up to his father, and wanting to be just like him in the future. Since the start of the play, Willy lacked in parenthood, causing Biff suffer by not knowing which actions he could proceed in and in which he cannot. Furthermore, Biff was taught by Willy the success formula which consists of; if a person looks good and is well liked, they will be provided with one hundred percent guarantee on becoming successful in life and pursuing the American Dream. In addition, Biff wanting to be like Willy and believing his false statements about how well recognized and well liked he is made him, at the age of 34, to fall in a trap with no future ahead of him. In Willy’s imaginary world, he was successful; therefore, he wanted his sons to follow his dreams and not theirs. Yet, he did not understand that his life, in reality, was not successful at all. He thought, with all the knowledge he gave them, and with their incredible appearance they will for sure become successful, but in the end, both sons were the opposite of successful. Have you ever wanted something so badly, but in the end, that something came out to be the complete opposite of what you really wanted? Well that is the story of Willy’s…

    • 1731 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Willy Loman

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages

    He realizes he is no longer respected by Biff, mainly because of his affair. Due to these circumstances, Willy recollects memories from his past to satisfy him. One these memories is when Biff would try and impress Willy through football; “...just for you, I’m going to break through for a touchdown.” (p.1223). This is significant as Biff is ignoring the fact that he is “supposed to pass.”(p.1223), just so he can impress his father. Picture yourself in Willy’s shoes. For instance, my Dad was once, in essence, in denial, for being laid off. He reconciled through memories to appetize him, though he did not let it take him over as he used it as motivation to successfully find a new job. This is completely contrasted from Willy’s case. Is Willy’s actions and behaviour…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays