He works long hours at a job he’s not good at and doesn’t truly enjoy, and he expects this kind of life for his sons. As Biff continues to not live up to his expectations, they clash constantly Biff’s failure to live his father’s dream life causes Willy to express constant disappointment in the man he’s become. Willy raised him to grow up sailing through life, believing that he can get by on being well-liked and admired. When this never culminates in the life Biff wanted, he has no idea of the direction he needs to go in. He can never hold down a job and develops a kleptomania habit.
Delusions of Grandeur – An Expository Essay Death of a Salesman Willy Loman’s greatest weakness – and the reason of his unhappiness lie in the facade he has created within himself. Without a father figure to instill reason in him and leave a legacy of any kind, he fixates himself upon the only character that will leave him a lasting impression – his enigmatic brother Ben. As a result, the ideals imbued in young Willy – money, recognition, and ambition, lead him to accept a warped version of The American Dream: the belief that being well-liked and respected warrant success. However, when he fails to sell these values to his young son Biff, he discovers just how disparate dreams and reality are, and brings down his entire family along with himself. Willy’s beliefs and actions stem from his fear of being alone.
In both plays Death of a Salesman and True West can be both in contrast to the conditions of their visions of the American dream. Both of these plays focus on characters that spend their lives pursuing this dream while they fail at happiness as a result. In Death of a Salesman Willy Loman is a unfortunate, man who is so obsessed with trying to live up to an ideal that he has become disillusioned and has developed a loose sense of reality. Willy, spends his lifetime attempting to become a salesman, only to find in the end that he had failed. True West also focuses on the dysfunction of the American Dream.
Willy cheats on Linda out of loneliness and he wants to feel like an important salesman because he cannot face the fact that he’s not. Willy’s pride (Biff), left him, and this shatters Willy, the guilt is overwhelming, unbearable. “Will you stop
Willy associates Ben with qualities that he himself severely lacks Realtiyvs Illusion Willy has dreams of material success, notoriety and has a misguided notion of the American Dream. These hopes dwarf the other aspects of his mentality and ultimately result in a psychological descent. He is then unable to distinguish his wild dreams and unattainable goals from the harsh reality of the present. Willy attempts to convince his sons that he is well-liked: ‘... and know me,boys, they know me up and down New England…’ This demonstrates that he is discernibly delusional, as he is neither well-liked nor known. The pressure
However, for Willy to live by his ideals necessitates building or telling many lies, and these illusions replace reality in Willy's mind. He tells lies about how well liked he is in all of his towns, and how vital he is to New England. At times Willy even believes his own lies and becomes enthusiastic when he tells his family that he made more money than he actually did. Willy then fills his sons so full of this concept of being well-liked that when Biff flunks math he goes to Boston to search for his father. He thought that since Willy is so
Willy wants to prove himself through successes a salesman, but as he fails, his own life destroys him. 'I'm the
Billy Pilgrim is traumatized, stressed and seems to be a very pathetic individual. He is neither likeable nor sympathetic. He portrays an aura of weakness and uselessness that gives off the sense of failure. He appears to have given up on himself, the world around him, who he was, and who he could be. Vonnegut partially explained why he chose the name “Billy.” He probably wanted the character to be more likeable and for readers to sympathize with him.
He does not understand the concept of time and is blinded by his desperation and naivety. To those around him, Jay Gatsby is the epitome of the American dream; he is wealthy, successful, and has a name for himself. Yet no one really knows or tries to understand who he really is. Jay Gatsby is a hopeless but hopeful dreamer, lost in deception and stuck in a fantasy that blinds him from living his life in the present and will eventually even lead to his death. Jay Gatsby not only believes he can relive the past but he also believes he can rewrite it.
The first important theme is denial where each character showcase their denial of certain aspects of their lives. Willy has denial against himself and what he is because he wants to be big and known which he isn't but he thinks he is and so he denies the fact that he is just an ordinary human being. Also, throughout the play the characters keep contradicting themselves and it is seen a number of times especially with Willy. For example, in the first scene he states that Biff is lazy but then he goes on a line or two later to state that he is a hard working lad and that he is not lazy. This behavior is why he can not accept reality in order to ignore the present and re live the past.