Free Essays on The Death Of A Salesman

The Dysfunctional Family In Arthur Miller’s drama, â€Å"Death of a Salesman† the protagonist is a sixty-year-old salesperson by the name of Willy Loman. Willy suffers from self-delusion and is obsessed with the desire to succeed. Willy’s actions strongly influence his family, which contributes to their self-delusions. Willy’s wife Linda is an enabler and is codependent upon him. Linda encourages and participates in Willy’s delusions. She is unselfish and her life revolves around Willy and their two boys Biff and Happy. The Lomans are definitely a dysfunctional family due to their lack of communication, respect, and morals. The basis for any healthy relationship is communication. Communication is something the Lomans do not practice often, and when they do, it usually ends in a shouting match. Willy has extremely poor listening skills, which is an important part of communication. When Willy goes to speak with Howard about getting a job in New York, Willy would talk over Howard whenever he would say anything that Willy did not want to hear. Howard leaves Willy in the office alone to greet people outside. Willy then notices this himself saying, "Pull myself together! What the hell did I say to him? My God, I was yelling at him! How could I!† (Miller 1350; all page references are to the class text, The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, 5 th ed.). Willy however, is not the only member of the Loman family with problems communicating. Everyone in the family has a habit of interrupting one another, this is obvious when Biff and Linda are talking about Willy’s car accidents: à ¢â‚¬Å"Biff :! ( sharply but contained): What woman? (Linda simultaneously):†¦and this woman†¦Linda: What? Biff: Nothing. Go ahead. Linda: What did you say? Biff: Nothing. I just said what woman?† (Miller 1339). This is a normal conversation in the Loman household interrupting each other, not listening to each other, and lac... Free Essays on The Death Of A Salesman Free Essays on The Death Of A Salesman Arthur Miller’s â€Å"Death of a Salesman† challenges the idea of the American Dream. Willy Loman represents a uniquely typical American figure as the traveling salesman, who realizes the disenchantment with the American Dream because it fails him and his sons. The death of this particular salesman raises the issues concerning the significance and value of the American dream of success. Miller portrays the Lomans as an average all American family. He does this with the setting of middle class suburbia as well as with the dialogue. The house is described as â€Å"small, fragile-seeming home† with the kitchen as the center of the household. It could be anyone’s home, in any neighborhood in America. Additionally, the dialogue of the play includes a lot of American slang: gee, Pop, babe, flunk and knock ‘em dead, and the dialect of â€Å"coulda†, â€Å"woulda†, and â€Å"gotta† are also typically American. This is very effective depicting the Lomans as an everyday American family. Willy and Linda Loman attempt to achieve their own version of the American Dream. Their lives are full of monthly payment to pay for possessions that symbolize achieving that dream, such as a car, (Studebaker), home and household appliances. These monthly payments become a source of heartache because of the struggle to pay for them, even though to them they have achieved success because they have them. They also believe they are an ideal American family. Their two sons are built like Adonises; are well liked and even idolized by their peers and seem destined for success. Willy’s typical American job, his â€Å"All American† sons and his commitment to achieve the American dream enhance Miller’s idea of the American ideal. For years Willy has believed that both he and his sons (particularly Biff), will one day be great successes. He thinks that natural charisma, good looks and confidence are the most important attributes ... Free Essays on The Death Of A Salesman The Dysfunctional Family In Arthur Miller’s drama, â€Å"Death of a Salesman† the protagonist is a sixty-year-old salesperson by the name of Willy Loman. Willy suffers from self-delusion and is obsessed with the desire to succeed. Willy’s actions strongly influence his family, which contributes to their self-delusions. Willy’s wife Linda is an enabler and is codependent upon him. Linda encourages and participates in Willy’s delusions. She is unselfish and her life revolves around Willy and their two boys Biff and Happy. The Lomans are definitely a dysfunctional family due to their lack of communication, respect, and morals. The basis for any healthy relationship is communication. Communication is something the Lomans do not practice often, and when they do, it usually ends in a shouting match. Willy has extremely poor listening skills, which is an important part of communication. When Willy goes to speak with Howard about getting a job in New York, Willy would talk over Howard whenever he would say anything that Willy did not want to hear. Howard leaves Willy in the office alone to greet people outside. Willy then notices this himself saying, "Pull myself together! What the hell did I say to him? My God, I was yelling at him! How could I!† (Miller 1350; all page references are to the class text, The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, 5 th ed.). Willy however, is not the only member of the Loman family with problems communicating. Everyone in the family has a habit of interrupting one another, this is obvious when Biff and Linda are talking about Willy’s car accidents: à ¢â‚¬Å"Biff :! ( sharply but contained): What woman? (Linda simultaneously):†¦and this woman†¦Linda: What? Biff: Nothing. Go ahead. Linda: What did you say? Biff: Nothing. I just said what woman?† (Miller 1339). This is a normal conversation in the Loman household interrupting each other, not listening to each other, and lac...