Death of a Salesman

Willy Loman, from Death Of A Salesman, is a very unsettled character. He’s unsettled because his life is not that great. He works up to twelve hours a day and is only making seventy dollars a week. He does not think too highly of himself and others do not think highly of him. He is getting by in life but is not happy. However, he tells his sons how well respected he is. Willy tells is sons that buyers love him and always ask for him right away. Willy talks so highly of himself to his kids that he almost believes everything he says is true. In reality it is not. Despite that he tells Biff and Happy that they need be masculine in order to make it in life. Willy buys them a punching bag to get them big. Willy basically applauds Biff for stealing the football from his school and praises him for girls falling for him. This is not what Willy should be teaching his sons. He should be telling them to chase their dreams. Instead Willy is telling them to chase his own dreams. He wants his sons to have the dreams that he never had and for this Willy is failing at being a father.

Willy has a lot of inconsistencies. He is always contradicting himself. The truth behind the matter is that Willy is going crazy. It is very sad but nothing can be done about it. Linda, Willy’s wife, acts as if nothing is even happening. She just aims to please her husband. If Willy ever says anything strange Linda just says otherwise. In a way she is fueling Willy’s craziness. She makes his talking to himself seem almost normal. Over and over again she tells Biff to not go near him and just let him be. Linda is harming the man she loves the most. Instead of helping him see reality she lets him relive his past life. This is unsafe and is damaging to his health. Willy cannot continue to live in this false reality and Linda has to sow him that. With her help things could start to get better.