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Comparing Mama Johnson And Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

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Mama Johnson from Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” along with Willy Loman from Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman endure the true hardships of life. Both characters reside on the lowest level of the socioeconomic status chart. They are very poor individuals that only want the best for their families. As parental figures, Mama and Willy have to act as role models for their children. This requires sacrifices and compromises. On top of being role models, both Mama and Willy have to encourage their children to be all that they can be. Where Willy is an idol in the eyes of Biff and Happy, his sons, Mama sacrifices her finances to send Dee, her eldest daughter, to a great college. Through the strength of Linda, Willy’s wife, and Charley, Willy’s best …show more content…

He is actually very stubborn in his ability to acclimate to the changes around him. Willy even says himself, “I don’t want a change” (1.1.143)! This key statement is in the opening scene of the play. The playwright foreshadows through that one line the intensity of Willy’s character trait. Willy becomes very upset with anyone that tries to change his way of life. Even with the simple things, like the changing of cheeses, Willy refuses to change his normal way of life. His inability to adapt to the changing times ultimately leads to the death of a salesman. Willy Loman does not want to accept that times are changing. He desires a well-respected life, but the times now call for much more than a friendly smile. Willy sells merchandise based on his personality, not skills. Now, the workforce calls for skills over personality, and Willy cannot accept the changing workforce. “Willy, when’re you gonna realize that them things don’t mean anything? The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell” (2.2.763-6). Charley tries to explain to Willy, not successfully, that the only thing of importance in this world is the skills that one has. However, Willy says, “I’ve always tried to think otherwise…” (2.2.768). Willy announces the problem in his character, but he does not attempt to amend the flaws in his habitual way of behaving. This leads to his tragic

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In addition to being contradictory, Willy is also very insecure. In fact, when Willy confesses to Linda that business is not doing well, he expresses his insecurities by saying, “I’m fat. I’m very-foolish to look at, Linda.” Lastly, another trait that Willy possesses is suicidal.

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He wanted to be successful so badly, that when he doesn’t get it, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. When Willy was younger, he had great connections in the areas he would sell. The people respected him and he took great pride in the fact that his name held value with those people. However, as he aged, so did the people he used to sell to. When he isn’t able to make the amount of sales he used to, he doesn’t know

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Willy's refusal to change made it hard For him to get along with his peers. He wanted to stay with what he had, even if he didn't get anywhere in life. Willy tells Linda “I don't want a change!” (Act I). Linda tries to help him at first, but then she proceeds to make excuses for him his whole life.

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1015 Words | 5 Pages

We learn that Willy is a salesman, who is has only had minor success. Willy blames this on the fact that he is not well liked. In the beginning of the play Willy has had a car accident and his wife Linda wants him to ask his boss if he can work only in New York instead of having to travel. When we see Willy in a flashback he appears to be happy and affectionate with his sons, who seem to return the affection.

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1530 Words | 7 Pages

It all boils down to Willy fundamental flaw in his thinking that makes him the tragic hero that he is. He is always preoccupied with his fantasy and desires, so much that he denies and ignores anything that goes against his own beliefs. Willy thinks that the amount of a man’s success is how much wealth he has amass and that this wealth is obtained by being well liked. He is convinced that popularity is enough to lead to success and this would then lead him to his demise. When Willy makes the decision on committing suicide by intentionally getting into an auto accident this doesn’t show that the Willy has recognized his fatal flaw.

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1082 Words | 5 Pages

Willy tries to make himself feel better by lying to himself. Although Willy’s death is unfortunate, if one closely examines his pride, bad temper, and his lies, one can see that these flaws will eventually bring him to his demise. Throughout the play, Willy demonstrates his sense of pride while talking to his family and friends. In this quote one can

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633 Words | 3 Pages

From the beginning, Willy found it hard to succeed in the business world. Money was a struggle to obtain, therefore his career kept going downhill. This led Willy to doubt himself and made him go into a deep depression. He was supposed to be a role model for his family and especially for Bif and Happy, but in reality, he is not. His depression reaches the point where he tries to kill himself with a rubber tube: WILLY:

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482 Words | 2 Pages

Whilst reading the last two pages of Act One in, “Death Of A Salesman”, one cognizes Willy’s deterioration in mental health. Willy is crestfallen, contemptuous, and mercurial, which leaves the reader with no sense of bewilderment when he/ she finds out that Willy is suicidal: “He’s dying, Biff… he’s been trying to kill himself” (42). Willy’s mental instability leaves everyone in his family on edge, especially Linda.

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This helped lead Willy to his own downfall because he was always lacking and felt unwanted and

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However, pursuing this goal came with a price. Since he was highly motivated to becoming a successful salesman, he rarely stayed at home. Instead, he spent most of his time travelling around the country to conduct sales. He became a workaholic, forcing himself to make sacrifices in his family life in order to seek his own ambitions. Therefore, Willy’s perfectionistic ideals led to his demise.

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Death of a Salesman follows the main character, Willy, an elder, unsuccessful salesman, who is slowly losing his sanity. Often through the play, he confuses the past for the present, reminiscing about the good-old-days when his boys were in high school, a bright future ahead of them. At the start of the play, Willy arrives home from a canceled business trip. His wife, Linda, suggests that Willy ask his boss, Howard Wagner, for work closer to home, giving his instability and recent car crash.

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Death of a Salesman In Death of a Salesman, failed salesman Willy Loman, 63, strives to succeed by being “very well liked,” as he feels a salesman must be in order to achieve success. Knowing he is at the end of his career, Willy places all his hopes on his son Biff, a former high school football star who once had the sort of popularity Willy believes essential for making it in America. Biff, however, is still traumatized by an event that occurred in his high school years: his discovering his father in a hotel room with a woman. Willy, perhaps correctly, sees Biff’s becoming a ne’er do well as Biff’s deliberately spiting Willy for his infidelity. When Biff’s petty theft at his big job interview becomes known to Willy, Willy retreats

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1537 Words | 7 Pages

Tragedy can spread. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is the protagonist, however he not the only person in the play who’s story ends tragically. His view on life spreads to those close to him. Primarily, Willy teaches it to his children who look up to him while his wife simply attaches herself to him, rooting for him in blind support while really she should be waking him up to the cold and dark reality that is their life. Throughout the play, the Loman family evolves differently.

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As Mr Peterson wrote "A helpless victim is never a tragic hero. There's nothing to be learned by watching the deer approach its death; there's an enormous amount to be learned by watching Hamlet bring about his own destruction. " We learn a lot from watching how Willy interacts with his sons, his wife, and how he handles his job. We learn from his mistakes, and his lies. Making Willy a modern tragic hero.

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1658 Words | 7 Pages

The soul of a “workman” in Willy longs to build “a little guest house” only if he could get a “little lumber and some peace of mind” (Miller 56). Throughout the play Willy on many occasions exhibits his leanings towards manual work right in the vicinity of nature. Indeed, it is surprising why he chose to become a salesman, instead of becoming an explorer like his elder brother Ben. Willy himself acknowledges that life changing moment when he met Dave Singleman, a salesman in the Parker House, who made him believe that “selling was the greatest career a man could want” because it offers an opportunity to “be remembered and loved and helped by so many

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