Loman Masculinity

Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, is a tragedy about the life of Willy Loman. This play, written in nineteen forty-nine, remains relevant in modern times. This story delves into the American way, and figures out what is really inside Willy Loman. Exploring a mentally fragile businessman’s ethics and temperament throughout leads to a better understanding of the meaning of age and morals. Arthur Miller’s ideas on masculinity and relationships are timeless, which is one reason why this play works so well in contemporary times. Dealing with insecurities and expectations, this play goes much farther than the story of the waning days of a salesman, and its ideas extend much longer than to the time when it was written. This plays views

Willy Loman’s age is depicted in his own name. Willie represents a childlike eagerness and Loman represents his fall into being a low man. Willie often times has visions of years earlier to his salad days which are much more upbeat. Willie and his children’s aging has brought upon great dysfunction and disappointment. At sixty-three years old he has lost ambition, and thinks that he has no hope to make something of himself. He even has an urge to die at this age so his “funeral will be massive”(100) and so his son will understand he was “known”(100). Although the ideas from this play remain relevant, the contemporary views of age have changed a bit. Age is less of a factor now than it used to be in America. Willie and his children seem to view it as a much more important issue than most of America today. The Loman’s have a sort of hopelessness as they age. Willy even says that “from the age of seventeen nothing good ever happened to” (71) Biff. Willie has an old school sense of buisness ethics to go along with his age. After

Willy refers to his sons like “Adonis’s” (34), really pressuring the image he wants to have of them onto them. Biff and Happy were raised in a way that led them to be womanizers who often don’t have a sense of respect. Being a masculine man was important, which was one reason why fights between Biff and Willy broke out. Willy did not want his masculinity challenged at all, and never wanted to be seen as weak. He is often yelling at his wife Linda in front of the boys to assert his dominance. When Biff begins to cry as he sees that his father has been cheating and gave a mistress Linda’s stockings, Willy yells at him to “stop crying”(94). Happy, who is not the most masculine guy, tries his best to appease his father by telling fibs. Happy and Biff both have kind of sleazy attitudes because of their views on masculinity, These ideas of ultra masculinity are still extremely relevant today. The idea of masculinity is currently being challenged, and there is a new wave of what it means to be a man being ushered in. This play gives great examples of what it used to be like and what many people still wish it was like. Masculinity is social construct, which can be built up or taken down, depending on the people who are being associated with it. The expectations and insecurities of being a masculine man are explored throughout this play, and the effects on Willie and his children can be