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Reality In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

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Do you agree with the statement,” real happiness can be found only in truth”? How can hiding from the world affect your satisfaction with life? The answer is, significantly. The play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller has several examples that provide insight into the validity of this statement. The main character, Willy Lomman, is consistently denying reality, both inside his mind and outside of it. The first point I want to bring is how Willy pretended to be someone else his whole life and how this affected his well-being. The second point is how those beliefs, instilled in his two sons, affected their well-being. The last point is how Willy's denial of reality made him miserable. One of the key points of the story is, without a doubt, …show more content…

When reality confronts him, he goes deeper into his desperation and his illusions. Of the many situations that expose Willy to reality, Biff appears to be the most significant. Simply by existing outside of Willy’s “American Dream”, Biff is challenging his father’s false beliefs. Instead of accepting his son, Willy is constantly trying to control and, ultimately, change him. This creates a myriad of negative emotions and frustrations for both of them. When the situation escalates between them, Willy reverts to a time when Biff was young and full of potential. Consequently, Willy does not deal with the real problem he has in his relationships and his life, he simply closes his eyes and suffer more as a result. Ultimately, Willy’s refusal to accept the truth has not only separated him from himself, it also pushed him further from everyone else. His wife is simply comforting and enabling him consistently while he and Happy possess no substantial relationship outside of the lies they both share. Understandably, Biff cannot stand his father. This isolation from those who loves him most is making him more miserable, although he seems unaware of it. In the end, Willy failed to see the happiness and fulfillment his family could

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