Death Of A Salesman Rhetorical Analysis

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Professor Morgan English 204 EA 1 November 2011 Death of a Salesman Bernard: Well, just that when he came back, I’ll never forget, it always mystifies me. Because I thought so well of Biff, even thought he’d always taken advantage of me. I loved him Willy, you know? And he came back after that month and took his sneakers, remember those sneakers with the “University of Virginia” printed on them? He was so proud of those, wore them every day. And he took them down in the cellar, and burned them up in the furnace. We had a long fist fight that last at least half an hour. Just Biff and I, beating the life out of each other for at least a half an hour, crying through it. I’ve often thought of how strange it was that I knew he’d given…show more content…
Willy’s reaction symbolizes his betrayal to his family, and his failure of the American dream. Willy never acknowledges his failures to others. Charley offers him a job, but he refuses because of personal pride. Accepting a job from Charley would establish personal failure. Even when asking for a raise, he lies to his boss and say’s his boys are doing well knowing they cannot provide for him. He fails Biff in Boston and it is ironic that Biff eventually recognizes that he and his family are “average joes” but Willy never wants to accept that reality. Willy Loman is no…show more content…
Success in the business world would lead to a comfortable life filled with materials. This is Willy Loman’s depiction of the “American Dream”. In this section, Willy gives a brief depiction of his version of what he wants the American dream to be, “That’s why I thank Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets head. Be liked” (Miller 20.21). Willy claims how he has all these friends in Boston, how he can park his car on any street, but needless to say no one attends his funeral. His outlook of the American Dream is the reason his sons never succeeded. Willy never preached hard work, seemingly okay with his son failing math. In the text Willy asks if he Bernard didn’t give him the answers, basically condoning for his son to cheat (Miller 92). An American dream is not achieved by cheating, it’s achieved by hard work, something Willy Loman never taught his sons. Appearance and being well liked have nothing to do with success and the American

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