Who Is Willy Loman's Loss In Death Of A Salesman

Released in 1949, the play “Death of a Salesman,” was that of a well-written and well-portrayed tragedy. Willy Loman is a traveling salesman, and father of two. He strives for the American Dream for his family, as to make up for the greatly implied abandonment he experienced from his own father. From the opening scene of the play to the ending scene, it is made clear of Willy Loman’s slow descent into mental instability. Given the signs Willy shows throughout the play, he very likely had Alzheimer’s or Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s website, common symptoms of DLB are “memory loss and thinking problems common in Alzheimer's, but are more likely than people with Alzheimer's to have initial or early

Willy repeatedly experiences delusions of talking to his late rich brother, Ben, often talking to him as if he were alive. His father abandoned him early on, then Ben, his great brother who truly found the American Dream in Willy’s eyes. Later on in his life, Willy’s own son’s abandoned him. In a study posted by Alzheimer’s Research UK, depression has recently been linked to a higher dementia risk in those over 55. Willy being 63 at the time of the play, along with having heavy implications, almost outright said multiple times in the play, having depression, it is not a surprise he likely has a form of dementia as severe as it

He showed almost every symptom of DLB, from his personality changes, his sudden aggression, depression, unconscious self-contradiction, possible sleep deprivement, and vivid visual hallucinations. His past experiences of abandonment led to his passion to achieve the American Dream, and the failure to achieve this false dream led to his severe depression. Depression, being linked to raising the risk of dementia in those over 55, very likely can be linked to Willy’s DLB. While dementia is by no means curable, preventatives can be taken to greatly lower the risk of gaining a form of dementia past the age of 50. Willy Loman’s story is a great example of a modern tragedy, and analyzing the mental stability in his character made me realize truly how interesting of a character he is. In normal circumstances, he would be an incredibly unlikable character. However, his “tragic hero” trope led to sympathy from the