Loman, Willy Essay, Research Paper

1 “Willy as a hero or a villain?” A large controversy that revolves around the play “Death of a Salesman”

is whether or not Willy Loman was actually a hero or a villain in the story. It certainly cannot be said that he is

really one or the other because of the evidence that is given throughout. At some times he seems the pitiful victim

of other people’s actions but at others he seems to have only himself to blame. Most don’t know whether to feel

sorry for him or to hate him. Although there seems to be evidence to support both ideas, there seems to be more

pointing in the direction of the latter. Willy’s first fault concentrates around the affair that he had. Maybe when it

first started he had only intended it to be a business relationship, but it didn’t end up that way. Somewhere along

the line he let it go further and then didn’t break it off. Many things came of that one affair, that only he caused.

First, is the fact that his son, Biff, caught him doing it, and was basically scarred for life from it. It was Willy’s fault

that Biff didn’t attend summer school and, as a result, didn’t graduate from high school. Second, is the fact that he

was cheating on his wife, therefore being dishonest with her. Along with that, was how he treated her all the time

at home, almost like she was incredibly inferior to him. Part of it had to do with the fact that he was having an

affair, which made him ashamed, the other part was sheer ignorance. He felt that he couldn’t face her because of

what he was doing behind her back. The affair that he created was a large part of why Willy could not possibly

be thought of as a hero. The second reason why Willy Loman cannot be considered a hero was that he basically

encouraged lying. He set the example by doing it himself and also by coming right out and telling his boys that

sometimes it was okay to. Willy lied to his wife about the affair, never actually saying that he wasn’t having one,

but never telling her that he was. He also lied to his whole family about his business. He bragged constantly about

all of the people he knew and the contacts that he had made throughout the years, as a salesman. When actually,

he wasn’t a great salesman and had no contacts anywhere. Willy’s habitual lying to his family was another one of

his major faults. Any man who lies to his family and cheats on his wife can certainly not be considered a hero.

Villain may be a strong word but, it fits Willy Loman much better that hero. He seemed like he want to do right

by his family but he never seemed to do it, always falling short somehow, mostly through no one’s fault but his

own. Essay #3 “flashbacks explain Willy’s motivation” Arthur Miller seems to emphasize the use of frequent

flashbacks in “Death of a Salesman” to explain what motivates Willy during his lifetime. Most of Willy’s history

was revealed through the flashbacks that he had throughout the story. Without them, Miller would have had to

find another way to tell the readers about Willy’s history. Many of them tell the reader why his sons were the way

they were and why he treated them the way he did. They also showed the reasons why Willy was as pathetic as

he was. One of the main reasons Miller includes so many flashbacks in the story is to help the reader understand

Willy’s feelings towards his sons. The very first flashback is of Willy talking to Biff and Happy during Biff’s senior

year. Biff is telling him about the touchdown that he’s going to score for his father and how proud he’s going to be

of him. The reader also sees Happy trying to tell his father about how he’s losing some weight, but Willy doesn’t

pay any attention to him, showing the beginning of Happy’s slight resentment because of Willy’s favoritism

towards Biff. During that same flashback, the reader also sees Willy telling his sons about the people he knows

and how they should try to make a lot of contacts also. This is the first time it is evident to the reader that he says

these things, but it probably wasn’t the first time he actually said it. Just in that first flashback, Miller gives a lot of

background information for the reader to go on. Another flashback that had great meaning in why Willy treated

Biff the way he did, was when the reader found Willy in the hotel with “The Woman”. The first thing evident is

that Willy is absolutely having an affair. There was question in the mind of the reader when Willy imagined her in

the kitchen with Linda a few scenes earlier, but that scene made it real. The reader comes into the picture when a

person is banging on the door, Willy doesn’t want to open it but the woman insists. Willy then goes to the door

and finds Biff standing on the other side. He comes in and all is fine until the woman comes out laughing and

saying, “Where’s my stockings? You promised me stockings, Willy!” Biff hears it all and then knows that his

father is having an affair. They then have a confrontation and Biff says that he’s not going to summer school so

that he can graduate. That may not seem that important but Willy blamed himself for Biff’s not graduating and

seemed to be trying to make it up to him for the rest of his life. That scene gave Willy most of his motivation or

lack-thereof for the rest of the story. He always tried to make it up to Biff and tried to hide it from Linda and

Happy, all the while feeling ashamed of himself. Lastly, there are many flashbacks that have to do with his

brother, Ben. It seems that Ben was the only one that ever took Willy seriously. That much the reader could see

by the way Ben always referred to him as “William” and not “Willy” as everyone else did. Through these

particular flashbacks it is learned that Willy passed up the opportunity to travel with Ben to Alaska and then to

Africa, where he made a lot of money. It seems that Willy regretted not going with him and was always trying to

do things to live up to Ben’s standards. That constant trying motivated Willy to do well throughout his life. The

purpose of the periodic flashbacks in the play is to give the reader a small look into the background of Willy

Loman and to try to explain why he was who he was. They effectively told the reader some of Willy’s personal

motivation and maybe explained some of the feelings he had towards his sons. Essay #5 “unable to practice what

he preaches” One of the main concepts that Arthur Miller wanted to get across to the readers of “Death of a

Salesman” was the fact that the main character, Willy Loman, seemed unable to “practice what he preached”.

Willy only wanted the best for his two sons, Biff and Happy, always telling them to do good, but never setting the

example himself. He always told them both to do everything they could to be the best they could and that it

always helped to know and be in good contact with a lot of people, letting on that that was the way he did things.

But he really didn’t. Willy Loman always told his sons, “It’s all in who you know, boys” even though he really

didn’t know anyone. Towards the beginning of the play Willy was talking to Biff and Happy in a flashback, telling

them about the people he knew in the towns all around New England. He says, “America is full of beautiful

towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England. And

when I bring you fellas up, there’ll be open sesame for all of us, ’cause one thing, boys: I have friends.” In just that

small conversation Willy clearly points out all of the people he knows and emphasizes the fact that that will help

them out if they wanted to go there. Even though he says he has these so-called friends, the reader gets the

impression that he doesn’t really have any at all. He also asks Biff, in the flashback, how all of the people at

school were treating him, if they were acting any different now that he was captain of the team. He didn’t come

out and say it that time, but it was implied that it was important that people knew that Biff was of great

importance to the team. Meanwhile the reader knows Willy is not of great importance to his company. If it

wasn’t clear at that time it became crystal clear when Willy went to see Howard, his boss, about not having to go

on the road anymore. He told him that he was tired of traveling and asked him if he had thought of a position at

the company for him. That’s when Howard said that he couldn’t think of a single spot for him. He also said, “I

don’t want you to represent us. I’ve been meaning to tell you that for a long time now.” Showing, obviously, that

he hadn’t been doing a good jog selling in New England and hadn’t been for quite some time. Many of these

things prove that Willy didn’t have the friends and contacts that he claimed and emphasized his boys to have.

Willy Loman also told his sons that nothing was more important than being successful and making a lot of money,

preferably in something he approved of. As the story of the small family progresses the reader comes to

understand that Willy does not approve of Biff’s work on a ranch. He felt that at Biff’s age of 34, he should have

found himself and should have been settled into a good paying job. In a conversation with Linda he says, “How

can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life? A farmhand? But it’s been more than ten years now and he has yet to

make thirty-five dollars a week!” Biff says earlier that he was happy where he was but that small, seemingly

unimportant fact makes no difference to Willy. All he knows is that Biff isn’t making very much money and that

upsets him. While Willy himself isn’t making enough to cover the monthly bills, certainly showing that he’s not

very successful. Although Biff wasn’t making money, it seemed that Happy was doing very well, but Willy never

seemed to notice or if he did, he never said anything to Happy to let him know that he had noticed. Willy got

down on Biff and didn’t even recognize Happy’s success while all the while not being a successful man himself.

Willy Loman preached and preached to his sons about being successful and making a lot of money, while doing

neither himself. Also telling them to get to know many important and well off people so that they could help them

sometime. Which he never did, either. But he led them to believe that he did, so they didn’t think less of him.

Maybe in his mind he thought that he did do all of those things, but in fact he didn’t and it was extremely evident

throughout the whole story. Essay #8 “purpose of the Requiem” At the end of “Death of A Salesman” the reader

is left with a lot of loose ends about each character and what they will do in the future. If Arthur Miller hadn’t

added the “Requiem” they would have stayed slightly confused and still wondering. But it was, and the reader

found out about Biff and Happy, Linda and even Willy, himself. It was a question throughout the whole story if

Biff was going to stay at home and work with his brother or if he was going to go back to the ranch. If it

happened that he did go back, would Happy go with him or stay and continue what he was doing? These

questions were not directly answered in the Requiem but from things that the characters said the reader could

come to a pretty safe conclusion. Once Biff says to Happy, “Why don’t you come with me, Happy?” clearly

showing that he was planning on going back to the ranch. Also pointing out that he has only the best intentions for

his brother, thinking of his happiness. But in response to his question Happy replies, “I’m not licked that easily.

I’m staying right in this city, and I’m gonna beat this racket.” Happy feels that Biff wants him to run away from

any problems that he has at home, when all Biff really wants him to do is get away for awhile. The two brothers

seem to represent Willy and his brother, Ben, many years back. Ben was traveling to Alaska and wanted Willy

to join him, but he refused and seemed to regret it for the rest of his life. The reader can’t help but wonder if

Happy will regret not going with Biff and will just continue to follow in his father’s fatal footsteps. Without the

addition of the Requiem the reader would not have know what Biff and Happy were going to do and would not

have any insight as to what would happen to them in the future. Next, it is revealed how Linda was coping with

the loss of her husband. She seemed confused and distraught right after the burial. Confused, mainly because of

the lack of people at the burial service. She asked why no one had come and said, “But where were all the

people he knew?” She had not yet realized the Willy hadn’t known that many people, important or otherwise.

She seemed also to have no emotion when it came to his death, she even said, many times, “Forgive me dear, I

can’t cry.” She just kept going over the fact that she couldn’t understand why he did it and that she had just paid

off the last payment on the house. The last payment represents that he wouldn’t have had to worry about

scraping together enough money to pay that along with all the other things. His life, in other words, would have

been a little easier. Eventually, she finally broke down, sobbing about finally being free. Lastly, we find out about

the not-so-great salesman, Willy Loman. His whole life he told his wife and children about all the people he knew

and how that was the only way to be successful, when he really didn’t know anyone. It was always implied that

Willy thought if he died it would show his family how many people he knew, because they would all come to the

funeral. It was like his final push to let his sons know that it was important to know a lot of people. But that last

“wish” was not fulfilled, because no one showed up. It actually turned out to be a final humiliation for Willy

Loman. The reader knew that Willy didn’t really know anyone, but the Requiem proved it by telling what

happened at the funeral. The formal definition of “requiem” is a mournful chant. The Requiem of this story seemed

to fit that definition perfectly. Leaving Willy in final humiliation, leaving Linda an unhappy widow and leaving Biff

and Happy doomed to the life of their predecessors.