Death Of A Salesman Literary Analysis Essay

In the play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, the story begins as Willy Loman a traveling salesman from Brooklyn, New York is returning home from a sales trip that he could not complete. He tells his wife Linda “I am tired to the death” (963). He is an older man past sixty who is feeling worn down from the travels that he has taken over the years and is feeling enormous stress in his life. He has been demoted from a salary position to commission only and is worried about money and how he will pay his bills. He is concerned how he and his wife will survive. He is troubled by the paths that his two sons, Biff and Happy 's lives have taken. He has always expected more and cannot accept what they have become. All of this is taking a toll on Willy and has affected his state of mind. When a

Linda could not understand why all the people he knew were not there. She did not realize that part of his disconnect on reality meant that the stories he told her about knowing many people were untrue. As Linda stood at his grave, she felt as if he was away on another sales trip. Talking to him while crying, she told him “I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there’ll be nobody home. We’re free and clear” (1041). Living in a false world with unrealistic expectations can cause a person to become delusional and disconnected from what is real and can hurt loved ones. Willy Loman had flaws in his character that made him partly responsible for his misfortune. He believed that he was a well liked salesman when he was just like any other salesman. He saw his sons as well liked and that they would become their own bosses, that is not who they became. He saw himself as an honest, hard working husband and father, but was actually a fraud and a liar. He did not know a lot of people and he cheated on his wife. These flaws did not allow him to see and accept his own reality, causing him to take his own