Effects Of Lies In Death Of A Salesman
Ryan Jones
Ms. Dye
AP Literature
2 February 2011
Devastation, Lies, Death of a Salesman
The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is about the events leading up to the death of a man, this man is Willy Loman. Willy may have been a father to two men but these two men were not sons to this man. They were once proper sons but a fateful event changed it all. This family's history has been shrouded in the darkness of lies. Some of these lies are denial and others are deception, a common situation for families everywhere. Arthur Miller exposes the effect that dishonesty, with one's self and others, can have on any family through the lies that surround and ultimately engulf the Loman family in Death of a Salesman.
The most prevalent …show more content…
He lied about satisfaction, success, and reasons for failure. As Biff and Happy were growing up they saw Willy coming home from trips claiming to have had amazing sales; amongst these claims he told his sons that they were the perfect sons and that all they needed in life was to be well liked and that this would lead to ultimate success. During one of Willy's flashbacks he states, “The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want.” (25; act :1) Willy stresses this because his sons are well liked during their high school careers but they don't have much else going for them. Biff and Happy are both stereotypical athletes: good at sports, good with women, and not very intellectual. Willy saw himself as a failure of a salesman; he saw himself this way because he felt that he was not well liked. Willy felt as if people laughed at him because he was short and disliked him because he made too many jokes. Therefore, he felt as though he needed to make his sons as well liked as possible to make them successful; because in his eyes that is all he was missing as a salesman. Some people who fit Happy and Biff's description become successful farmers or carpenters; but many (like Biff and Happy), are strongly encouraged to work in the city by their parents. The only discrepancy is that many of these people do not fit city jobs well. Willy lies to his sons to attempt to persuade them to work in the city, where he worked throughout his life. He believed that the only real jobs that a man could have existed in the cities. Willy ignored his own longing for a hands-on job and pushed himself and his sons into the city. His family was filled with manual laborers; his father made flutes and his brother explored the wilderness, yet he decided that both the city and an office job were right for him. Willy's
Ms. Dye
AP Literature
2 February 2011
Devastation, Lies, Death of a Salesman
The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is about the events leading up to the death of a man, this man is Willy Loman. Willy may have been a father to two men but these two men were not sons to this man. They were once proper sons but a fateful event changed it all. This family's history has been shrouded in the darkness of lies. Some of these lies are denial and others are deception, a common situation for families everywhere. Arthur Miller exposes the effect that dishonesty, with one's self and others, can have on any family through the lies that surround and ultimately engulf the Loman family in Death of a Salesman.
The most prevalent …show more content…
He lied about satisfaction, success, and reasons for failure. As Biff and Happy were growing up they saw Willy coming home from trips claiming to have had amazing sales; amongst these claims he told his sons that they were the perfect sons and that all they needed in life was to be well liked and that this would lead to ultimate success. During one of Willy's flashbacks he states, “The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want.” (25; act :1) Willy stresses this because his sons are well liked during their high school careers but they don't have much else going for them. Biff and Happy are both stereotypical athletes: good at sports, good with women, and not very intellectual. Willy saw himself as a failure of a salesman; he saw himself this way because he felt that he was not well liked. Willy felt as if people laughed at him because he was short and disliked him because he made too many jokes. Therefore, he felt as though he needed to make his sons as well liked as possible to make them successful; because in his eyes that is all he was missing as a salesman. Some people who fit Happy and Biff's description become successful farmers or carpenters; but many (like Biff and Happy), are strongly encouraged to work in the city by their parents. The only discrepancy is that many of these people do not fit city jobs well. Willy lies to his sons to attempt to persuade them to work in the city, where he worked throughout his life. He believed that the only real jobs that a man could have existed in the cities. Willy ignored his own longing for a hands-on job and pushed himself and his sons into the city. His family was filled with manual laborers; his father made flutes and his brother explored the wilderness, yet he decided that both the city and an office job were right for him. Willy's