He lies and lives on the road degrading himself in every way to attain the friendship with the most people. Willy’s severe dementia cements him as unreliable early on in the play, and it also explains some of the resentment his family feels towards him. Willy is so obsessed with succeeding in the business world and being “well liked” (Act 1, Scene 2) he can’t except that his life in general has been a failure. He replays moments in his life when the world brought nothing but promise and his sons were talented young athletes with their whole lives a head of him. Willy drifts fluidly in between reality and fantasy fluidly sometimes having two conversations at once.
DEATH OF A SALESMAN In the play, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is, at first, set up as the character of the tragic hero. He has had goals and ambitions that he did not fulfill, and that his sons have not fulfilled, despite the pressure that he puts on them to accomplish his opinion of what success should be. However, as the story moves along, we see Willy’s tragic hero status decreasing substantially. As he desperately sifts through his past for some sort of actualization or realization, he only proves himself a to be failure, by the standards that he himself had set. There are a great many comparisons to be drawn from this play, and compared to the novel, The Great Gatsby.
His financial struggles continue with late bills, and no payment for his premium insurance; he is going deep into debt. He ignores the problems and thinks that everything is going to be all right. Because of the booming economy, he is left behind in the dust; everybody competes for positions in their respective professions, in the world of America’s business. For, if it is true to say that in essence the tragic hero is intent upon claiming his whole due as a personality, and if this struggle must be total and without reservation, then it automatically demonstrates the indestructible will of man to achieve his humanity. (miller, common man) He worries for his family so he decidesl himself by getting in his vehicle and crashing into an object so his family could get money from insurance.
In Death of a Salesman, Willy is an older man in his 60’s and is “an American everyman, in an America where what is produced becomes ever less tangible, ever more removed from reality” (Cardullo 29). His dreams isolate him from reality which results in his struggle to stay in the present; and often times during the play his mind will wander into the past when life was better. He is a struggling salesman barely making enough money to put food on the table and does not like the fact that he cannot provide for his family. Because of his inability to give his family what they need, he fantasizes in order to avoid the realities that he cannot handle (Shockley 7). Throughout the play it is apparent that Willy’s dream is to be rich and well liked, and for his son Biff to live up to his expectations.
James Gibbons Huneker was the first to express his negative attitude towards Coney Island. He regarded it as “a disgrace to our civilization” and that “when you are at Coney you cast aside your hampering reason and become a plain lunatic” (96). What makes his review most interesting is that he thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Coney Island but was apparently astonished by the inappropriate behavior taking place. However, the critics that had a negative connotation towards Coney Island were not understanding that this was the point of it. People did not encounter the types of foolishness
F. Scott Fitzgerald uses this to describe American life as an illusion of prosperity instead of the traditional place where dreams are made. Fitzgerald’s own experience of failing to achieve the American Dream gave him a greater understanding of the American Dream as a fake, and helped him to skillfully write his greatest work, The Great Gatsby. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, carelessness results from extravagant lifestyles, and happiness is never achieved, which shows the American Dream is a fake and does not actually exist. Most of the characters in the novel live rich and expensive lives. Parties, selfishness, disdain for material wealth, and other careless aspects are what result from these lives.
17 November 2014 The Masquerade Dreams come in every shape and form, they can last moments or a lifetime. Some even become reality and a definitive detail in that persons’ life. In the search for the American dream many things can be lost; this is reflected in the novel The Great Gatsby and the play Death of a Salesman. Both of these works demonstrate the lengths some people are willing to go through to achieve the life of a rich, successful and powerful American, which can be referred to as the American dream. Nick Carraway as he appears in The Great Gatsby, dreams of a change that would erase his present status and allowed him a fresh start.
His ability to rule with absolute power is considered to be a characteristic of fascism. Many of his critics labeled him tyrant because he acted with impunity in allocating public works and government money. Huey lacked faith that the U.S. government would act in lock step with his beliefs. On numerous occasions he bypassed state laws to implement his own action plans. He believed his plans to benefit the poor were more important than restrictions imposed by federal and state legislatures.
7 October 2015 The delusional Dreamer The Great Gatsby, not so “great” of a man. The title of the book can be viewed from many different points. Gatsby, in fact is the opposite of great. Gatsby is seen as the man that follows his dreams and never gives up, but in reality he is just the delusional dreamer with immature ideas and goals. Also, all that wealth Gatsby has is from illegal business, and this would totally reduce the greatness of a man.
Decline of a Family Although it is evident that Willy and Biff Loman are related, there are also many characteristics that set them apart. They are both misplaced and seem to embellish the facts on a regular basis. However, they differ in their accountability for their action and the way they think. Willy’s misplacement can be defined by the fact that he is a truly unsuccessful salesman who is convinced happiness comes from the wrong things in life. Instead of following his true talent of building and becoming a carpenter, he went down the wrong path in life for himself.