Willy Loman’s Obsession to Accomplish a False Dream
Chantall Bernuil
Alex Tavares
ENC1102-32007
11/04/12
Willy Loman’s Obsession to Accomplish a False Dream
Accomplishing a dream or a goal is one of the most important achievements in anybody’s life. In Arthur Miller’s story, Death of a Salesman, becoming a successful (well liked and wealthy) salesman, seems to be the one and only dream that defined the purpose of Willy Loman’s life. In order to accomplish his lifetime dream, Willy should have taken certain aspects into consideration, he should have identified himself with the dream he wanted to pursue, he should have given importance to the talents and gifts of his own, and he should have realized that he was not successful as a salesman like Biff was able to in the Requiem.
Willy’s dream was to become a successful, well liked salesman. Unfortunately, he never identified himself with that dream. He just wanted to be like a man he once met, and he told Linda about it, “His name was Dave Singleman… and he’d drummed merchandise in thirty-one states. And old Dave, he’d go up to his room… −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” (Miller, 81; act 2). By this, Willy states that meeting Dave gave him the idea that being a successful salesman would be easy and he created his view of success based on this man that he idolized; Willy thought that being a salesman would be a simple task, and that it would bring him nothing but great things such as wealth, social status, recognition and idolization. Willy was blinded by the image of Dave and other wealthy successful men. He wanted others to feel about him the same way he once felt about his father, his brother and Dave. He thought that if all those men could do it, he could do it too. Willy believed that if he became a salesman, by the time he was an older man, he would be just like his brother and Dave; he assumed he would be wealthy, idolized and recognized by his
Alex Tavares
ENC1102-32007
11/04/12
Willy Loman’s Obsession to Accomplish a False Dream
Accomplishing a dream or a goal is one of the most important achievements in anybody’s life. In Arthur Miller’s story, Death of a Salesman, becoming a successful (well liked and wealthy) salesman, seems to be the one and only dream that defined the purpose of Willy Loman’s life. In order to accomplish his lifetime dream, Willy should have taken certain aspects into consideration, he should have identified himself with the dream he wanted to pursue, he should have given importance to the talents and gifts of his own, and he should have realized that he was not successful as a salesman like Biff was able to in the Requiem.
Willy’s dream was to become a successful, well liked salesman. Unfortunately, he never identified himself with that dream. He just wanted to be like a man he once met, and he told Linda about it, “His name was Dave Singleman… and he’d drummed merchandise in thirty-one states. And old Dave, he’d go up to his room… −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” (Miller, 81; act 2). By this, Willy states that meeting Dave gave him the idea that being a successful salesman would be easy and he created his view of success based on this man that he idolized; Willy thought that being a salesman would be a simple task, and that it would bring him nothing but great things such as wealth, social status, recognition and idolization. Willy was blinded by the image of Dave and other wealthy successful men. He wanted others to feel about him the same way he once felt about his father, his brother and Dave. He thought that if all those men could do it, he could do it too. Willy believed that if he became a salesman, by the time he was an older man, he would be just like his brother and Dave; he assumed he would be wealthy, idolized and recognized by his
Cited: Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin Books, 1986. Print. Witalec, Janet."Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Vol. 179. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 144-244. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. LINCC, Library Information Network for Community Colleges. Web. 27 Oct. 2012. http://galenet.galegroup.com.db11.linccweb.org/servlet/LitCrit/lincclin_hcc/FJ3543300161