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How Does Willy Create Sympathy In The Great Gatsby

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In many pieces of written work, one demonstrates the sentimental pity and distress towards a character’s misfortune. Throughout the course of ENG3U8, numerous pieces of written works are perused, and a few of the characters from these pieces of literature gain sympathy from the readers. For example, in Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, sympathy is most felt towards Macduff, because his innocent wife and son are executed for unknown reasons. Moreover, in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, readers show sympathy for Gatsby as his fantasy of Daisy gradually goes into despair. He spends his whole life attempting to get the girl he loves, but is unsuccessful at the end. However, the most sympathetic character is in The Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller. This character is known by the …show more content…

Arthur Miller demonstrates this in his play The Death of a Salesman, through the actions of Willy Loman. Since Willy has perpetually dreamed of his oldest son Biff being successful, he takes matters into his own hands after discovering that his son has not yet accomplished anything in life. Willy tries to “get him a job selling and make him big in no time” (16). Things for Biff turn out to become more complicated when Willy interferes with his life, along with his fantasy of fulfilling the American dream. Willy trusts that the most effective job a man could wish for is selling; however, Biff believes that “there’s nothing more inspiring or-beautiful than the sight of a mare and a new colt.” (22). Willy’s dream is broken after he discovers that his son does not wish to attempt what his father desires him to do. Willy has always considered Biff the star of the family and trusted that he would bring incredible fortune into his family after e received scholarships for football; however, is left alone with his dreams not

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In a book about a tragic love story, one would not expect to find a deeper meaning behind the dangers of jealousy or peril of lust. However, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a deeper meaning beyond jealousy and love. In The Great Gatsby, the author uses an empathetic storyline as a symbol to unwittingly give a complex depiction of the nuisance that people create that not only destroy our world but our society and gives warning to what will occur if we continue the path of destruction. With this intention, the brilliant opinionated writer, expressed his opinion through symbols such as the characters he uses, the setting the story takes place in, and the objects he uses in the book.

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Although Willy has a professional understanding of the world of sales he doesn’t realise that this idealised world full of self-deceit that he retreats into has been hampering his ability to realise his own failures both personal and to his family. As such his inability to grasp the true personal, emotional and spiritual understanding of himself as a man and not as a salesman has led to Willy being labelled as a modern American tragic hero. Each audience in the respective era

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“The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead” (33). In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller uses foil characters to elucidate Willy’s flaws that ultimately prevent him and his family from succeeding. The contrast between Charley and Willy and Bernard and Biff serves to highlight how Willy’s obsession with achieving his version of the American Dream impacts both his life and his children’s. His poor values are passed on to his children producing even more failures. ¬¬¬¬Both Charley and Willy work as salesmen, however Charley represents what Willy desired to become – successful.

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In addition to Willy, Biff also has a friend who grew up and was more successful than him. While Biff was still living at home well into his thirties, Bernard was a lawyer getting ready to present a case in the Supreme Court. For example, during his conversation with Willy, Charley talks about Bernard's accomplishment by saying, ¨How do you like this kid? Gonna argue a case in front of the Supreme Court.¨ (Miller 95) Willy was ¨genuinely shocked, pained, and happy¨ (Miller 95) and wondered why his son never grew up and made their family proud like Bernard did with his family. Similarly to the absence of a father figure, both Willy and Biff had best friends who had well paying and rewarding jobs, while they were

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In one scene, Biff admits to his father that “he is a dime a dozen”. This proves that Biff is aware of the fact that he has wasted his life chasing something that will never be. In his final conversation with his father, he attempts to make him see that he is a failure as well by saying “You were never anything put  hard-working drummer who landed in the ash van lieke all the rest of thgem! I’m one dollar an hour, Willy!”. Willy, however, never admits the fact that his son and him are both losers.

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When he is unable to get a new job where he doesn’t have to drive, his views of success crumble. Willy wants to able to achieve the success he desires only through Biff, but this changes when Biff learns of the affair. Ultimately, Willy’s view of success led him to a life in the complete opposite

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In his seminal work, Death of A Salesman, Arthur Miller portrays wretched conditions inflicting the lives of lower class people amid class-struggle in 1940s America. Miller sets the story during the great financial depression in the US , in between times after World War I and around World War II, though his characters hardly speak about the trauma of two World Wars. Miller earns an enormous success by putting an ordinary salesman as the protagonist in his play instead of putting a man of social nobility. In the play, Miller depicts his central character, Willy Loman as a destitute salesman struggling to rise up the social ladder in a capitalist society, who remains deluded by a 'dream of success ' and takes on a relentless pursuit of happiness that eventually brings his tragic demise. Though some critics speak in favor of the popular account of the cause of his death being his excessive obsession with so called the American dream and the 'capitalist oppression ' ; however, many still refuse to ascribe the cause of his death to capitalist oppression, which I will use synonymously with American dream here.

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Willy's relentless pursuit of the American Dream for himself and his sons leads to a strained relationship with Biff. However, Biff's resistance to conform to Willy's expectations creates

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