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Daniel Paredes

AP English Literature

10/28/2010

Death of a Salesman

What is the purpose of a father? A father is the individual that sets the example inside the

household; it is the role model to his children. More than anything a father’s duty’s go above and

beyond. A father’s only desire is to provide his wife and children a better future, where they have

the opportunities to excel and succeed. What type of human being is one that gives his all for his

family? Willy Loman is a father. His noble and honest actions to safeguard his family and direct

them in the path of success ultimately are endless, but end in failure. The cause of this failure

derives in not being able to achieve the high standards of competitiveness and materialism

imposed by society’s pressures. These pressures ultimately create a character flaw in Willy, the

need to pretend something he isn’t, to suit the standards of society, which in turn make him

highly insecure. All of this however, feeds his determinedness to provide his family a fair

chance. This leads to him making the ultimate sacrifice- to take his life away – in attempt to

leave them money. And any individual who his willing to give his life for his families’ welfare is

a tragic hero, and that’s exactly what Willy becomes.

Throughout Death of a Salesman, we are presented with Willy, a noble individual whose

actions and decisions aim to direct his family on the path of success. Willy is marked by his own

insecurities to become very successful in order to be acceptable in the eyes of society and in the

end failing at it. He believes becoming salesman is the easiest way towards success. Willy

believes that with minimum effort and people liking you, you will make a lot of money and be

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able to provide for your family. This is showed when Willy says, “The man who makes an

appearance in the business world, the man who creates a personal interest, is the man who gets

ahead. Be liked and you will never want." (p. 21) Thus, Willy becomes a salesman and works

hard, traveling each week to towns trying to make a living. The reality is he isn’t as successful as

he says. We can see this when Willy comes from a trip and he is talking and he says to Linda that

he had made 150 dollars on commission and it would be enough to cover the bills. (p.3) In reality

he has barely made 75 dollars. Later on, we learn in the requiem that, "There's more of [Willy] in

that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made."(p. 110) This quote means that Willy was

always lying when he said that he made a lot of money as a salesman. Although he did say a lie,

his actions and efforts are for the only purpose of being able to provide stability to his family.

We are able to see that his intentions are noble.

Willy, if carefully examined is a very determined individual to the point that it might be

considered stubbornness. This persistence of Willy is because he is determined to provide for his

family the best opportunities there is to his sons, especially Biff. His relentless quest to provide

the image of the perfect father and successful salesman forces him to resort to lies to mask the

truth lies that will provide a false reality to his sons and in the end, himself. This can be seen

when Biff angrily retorts, “[W]e never told the truth for ten minutes in this house." (p.107) His

constant pressure to force success on Biff will give him a wrong perception of the world, where

looks and talk will bring money. In the end, Willy was afraid of being a failure to his family; his

main goal was to provide to the best of his ability the best opportunities to his sons. In his case,

he fell short on the latter and covered it up with lies, unintentionally doing more harm than good.

"When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked

out. And by God I was rich." (p.33).This quote is perhaps the perfect representation of what

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Willy firmly believed and wanted for his family. His failure to leave something tangible forced

him to make the ultimate sacrifice, take his life away and leave his family the insurance money.

Thus, his motive is not coward, but noble. Willy is prepared to give everything for his ideals-

especially when it comes to his family. His intentions are pure and noble. In the end, we discover

that the life of a salesman is tragic and sacrificial, the people you sell to will eventually forget

you. His sacrifice and his willingness to give his most prized possession, and his failure to

achieve his goals, is what makes Willy Loman a tragic hero.

This book is perhaps an inside look into the reality of the American family, where the

father will typically want the best possible opportunities for his family but fall short. Willy went

above and beyond the call of fatherhood; his determinedness to provide for his family sets him

on a path of lies whose only destination is the welfare of his family. His failure, which stems

from the dissatisfaction of not being successful as society imposes, leads him to constantly

question himself as both a salesman and a father. This insecurity will make him take his life, in

order to complete his goal of success set upon the by the insatiable standards of society. We

often do not see the sacrifices our fathers do in order for us to enjoy the opportunities we now

have. Willy failed to see that success lies in the imperfection of being a father. By telling your

children the truth, you prepare them to face the difficulties the world will challenge them with.

Finally this tragedy has a hero in Willy because his intentions were sincere and his sacrifice

made him a martyr.

References

Miller, Arthur. (1977). Death of a salesman. New York City: Penguin Plays.