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Mental Health In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

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Emily Major Mrs. J. Bastedo English 11.3 13 April 2018 Mental Health, Family Values, and Tragic Flaw in Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller’s use of mental health and the problems that go along with that, the importance of family, and hamartia are all important can seen in his literary work Death of a Salesman. Mental health was and has never been treated socially and physically for what it actually is. If it had been taken control of in recent years, it would realistically not be an area to study in a postwar era. It is a topic that although is very important did not receive enough attention in the late 1940’s. In this play, the reader can see the impact of mental health not only to the main character Willy Loman but …show more content…

Willy was a firm believer of the American dream in which he worked his whole entire life to try and become successful through his drive, ambition and work ethic. This however does not work out for him. The reader can see this through a conversation between his wife Linda and son Biff, where Linda tells him, “Remember I wrote you that he smashed up the car again? In February?...The insurance inspector came. He said that they have evidence. That all these accidents in the last year---weren’t---weren’t accidents” (Death of a Salesman Act 1. 58). This shows that when Willy was out driving or just out in general he was not thinking properly about the consequences his actions made. His illness made him not only delusional but suicidal as …show more content…

Willy sees himself as a well-liked and very successful salesman. This can be seen when Linda talks to Biff and Happy and says, “Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived...And what goes through a man’s mind, driving seven hundred miles home without having earned a cent?”(Miller Act 1. 57). This proves that Willy was never the man he wanted to be but painted a different picture in his own mind. His family and everyone else can see there is something wrong with him but no one knows what to

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Willy Loman was a troubled man who didn't have respect for his wife and degraded his children every chance he got when it came to their failures, especially with his son Biff. He only cared about achieving the American dream which he did not succeed because of all his problems that stood in his way. His constant obsession with achieving the American dream only made his family distance themselves from him more only due to the fact that he believed that achieving this would lead him to happiness and success. This also leads to the other major theme which is resilience. Willy came from a poor socioeconomic background and he is making all the efforts to pull himself out of his current situation through whatever he can do in hopes for something better that will make him feel like he's achieved his

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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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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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In my opinion, the person who suffers the most from Willy's delusions is his wife Linda. It might look as if Linda does not seem to complaint but she is the true victim of trying to help her husband mentally. If anything, she defends Willy and even goes as far as challenging her own two sons to be better and more polite to him. According to Linda, Willy is just "lost, confused, and wants to give his sons a great life.

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Willy finds out his dream of being an popular, well respected salesman is impossible and takes his own life. Linda supports Willy despite the abuse and confusion he puts her through with his various attempts to take his own life, with his delirious ramblings and hallucinations, and with his constant deception. Happy still sees his father as a hero and Biff finally begins to grasp the truth of the “American Dream”. When Willy kills himself, all of the Loman family, including Willy, break free from the web of false dreams he spun and begin to understand Willy’s failings. They also realize their own flaws.

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