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Death Of A Salesman Research Paper

731 Words3 Pages

Success. It is only a dream, and it will remain a dream. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is about Willy Loman, a salesman whose dream is to be successful. He lived all his older days in illusions because he could not be prosperous. He was unable to accept his failure as a father as well. His dream of success was never achieved, so his dream remained an illusion. Thus, dreams cannot become a reality by living in illusions, and having the wrong mindset. First, Willy Loman is the head of the family and lived in an illusion that he was well-liked, and his son, Biff is fated to be successful. Willy Loman contradicts himself by thinking that he was well-liked. Willy thought he was a successful salesman until he realized he was not liked by …show more content…

Willy prioritized popularity rather than virtues in becoming successful. For instance, when Biff stole a ball, Willy did not correct his action. Instead, he suggests he got away due to his well-liked personality by saying, “That’s because he likes you. If somebody else took that ball there’d be an uproar.”(Miller 19). He nailed his belief on the path to success to his son. So, Willy always praised him for any wrongdoings he got away with. Moreover, he would boast about Biff as someone who is a star. He expected that Biff would become successful since he was liked. However, he never taught him any morals, so Biff did not have a great attitude which blocked the path to his success. He was popular and had a bright future which was ruined as a consequence of his upbringing. For this reason, when Biff realized that Willy’s teaching was what prevented him from success, he confronted his father by saying, “And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That’s whose fault it is!”(Miller 98). As a young child, Billy always got away with any trouble such as stealing. However, as an adult, he could no longer do whatever he wanted. He could never achieve anything because he grew up with the idea that success comes from

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