Shaun Orr
English 1020
November 18, 2007
Death of a Salesman Essay
“I don’t know the reason for it, but they just pass me by. I’m not noticed,” Willy says (1792). Willy Loman is the main character in the play “Death of a Salesman.” In the play Willy seems to be delusional. He talks to himself and sees things that are not there. “Arthur Miller…” the writer of “Death of a Salesman” “is a moralist” (Clurman). He writes the facts and in turn the audience sees the real meaning of the play. The play tells the story of a man desperately wanting to not only feel good about himself, but also to take care of his family. This is the story for most people. There is a sense of reality in the play and the way it is written. Willy Loman could be anybodies neighbor, grandfather, or dad. Not only the challenges that Willy goes through in his life, but also his relationships with the people that are dearest to him make the audience feel his pain or at least realize that it is there. The play “stirs us by it [‘] s truth” (Clurman). “Death of a Salesman” could be the story of a person’s life and death. The events that happen in a person’s life contribute to the way their life continues and eventually ends.
Willy’s relationship with is two sons are very different. Biff the oldest, is Willy’s favorite and seems to always be in the spotlight, while Happy the youngest is starving for his fathers attention. Biff is the big football star and can do little wrong in Willy’s mind, but Happy is barely noticed and does every thing from sleeping with countless numbers of girls to lying about his job just so someone will notice him. Ardolino believes that happy is obsessed with sexuality but is that the case (Ardolino). What if Happy is just seeking attention? In the play happy points out that he is loosing weight on more than one occasion, probably because he thinks his dad will love him if he is thinner. Biff doesn’t seem to want as much attention, but he gets it any way. We later...