Willy the Dreamer
"Oh, Ben, thats the whole beauty of it! I see it like a diamond..."
Willy Loman, main character in Death of a Salesman, represents the tension between idealism/materialism versus realism. Realism represents the environment and everything of everyday life. It expresses the human motivation and social conditions of everyday life. Idealism in the play faces with his "willy-ness" and strives to have the impossible be done for him. His brother Ben is a role model to him because he walked in the African jungle and few years later, he walked out rich. However, what's different about Willy from most characters is that he's so driven by his own flaws, he fails to recognize what reality really looks like, which has been forged over by his desperate mind.
He is considered a tragic hero because he was "excluded" by society, and attempts to find his personal dignity. His efforts to raise two perfect sons run short, hoping that his athletic son Biff will succeed with Willy's dreams. But this falls short after Biff finds out about Willy's affair with a different woman. However, the relationship between these two shouldn't be based off this scandal forever because of one thing: forgiveness. In order for Willy and Biff to have better lives themselves is for them to forgive each other: Biff for not passing Math, and Willy for his affair. What's so delusional about Willy is that he expects Biff and Happy to fulfill his dreams. The problem is that both sons have dreams of their own. In the first act, Biff and Happy are seen talking in their room and plan to go out west and start working on a ranch. That's what they hope to do, but all Willy can react to that is saying "wrong."
As a low man, Willy still has hope for what he hopes to do in life. He works as hard as he can to make money, prides himself on being a spectacular salesman, and has hopes and dreams that others will remember him. He envisions many people coming to his funeral. He wants his children to grow up to be successful in that way as well, but the greater part of his dream is in fact trying to be economically successful. The problem about Willy again is that he turns his back on reality and focuses on materialism, romanticism, and idealism. He figures that everything will turn out right for him if he continues to please everybody because that's what Dave Singleman did. If he could do it, then Willy could do it, right? That's not the case because he's so focused on his version on the American Dream. Because he's so focused on his dreams, he continues to have illusions of Ben retelling him that everything will work out fine because he walked into the jungle and walked out rich with tons of gold and diamonds. Recalling the quote above, Ben is one of the main reasons why Willy is so delusional. Willy Loman may not know that he is delusional, although he does remember falling into trances, for example, in Act I of the play.
Between flashbacks, reality, and flashbacks inside of a flashback, this is what causes Willy to lose it at the end by trying to plant in cement. Although he is not of high nobility, what causes him to keep on striving for his American Dream is hope. Because of the tragic pursuit, one has a tragic fall in which they attempt to find their personal dignity and evaluate themselves justly, but as they try to evaluate themselves justly, hope is a major outcome of the journey. A little hope is good, but a lot of hope is dangerous, and in this case it's dangerous because it leads Willy to his death.
Willy Loman, main character in Death of a Salesman, represents the tension between idealism/materialism versus realism. Realism represents the environment and everything of everyday life. It expresses the human motivation and social conditions of everyday life. Idealism in the play faces with his "willy-ness" and strives to have the impossible be done for him. His brother Ben is a role model to him because he walked in the African jungle and few years later, he walked out rich. However, what's different about Willy from most characters is that he's so driven by his own flaws, he fails to recognize what reality really looks like, which has been forged over by his desperate mind.
He is considered a tragic hero because he was "excluded" by society, and attempts to find his personal dignity. His efforts to raise two perfect sons run short, hoping that his athletic son Biff will succeed with Willy's dreams. But this falls short after Biff finds out about Willy's affair with a different woman. However, the relationship between these two shouldn't be based off this scandal forever because of one thing: forgiveness. In order for Willy and Biff to have better lives themselves is for them to forgive each other: Biff for not passing Math, and Willy for his affair. What's so delusional about Willy is that he expects Biff and Happy to fulfill his dreams. The problem is that both sons have dreams of their own. In the first act, Biff and Happy are seen talking in their room and plan to go out west and start working on a ranch. That's what they hope to do, but all Willy can react to that is saying "wrong."
As a low man, Willy still has hope for what he hopes to do in life. He works as hard as he can to make money, prides himself on being a spectacular salesman, and has hopes and dreams that others will remember him. He envisions many people coming to his funeral. He wants his children to grow up to be successful in that way as well, but the greater part of his dream is in fact trying to be economically successful. The problem about Willy again is that he turns his back on reality and focuses on materialism, romanticism, and idealism. He figures that everything will turn out right for him if he continues to please everybody because that's what Dave Singleman did. If he could do it, then Willy could do it, right? That's not the case because he's so focused on his version on the American Dream. Because he's so focused on his dreams, he continues to have illusions of Ben retelling him that everything will work out fine because he walked into the jungle and walked out rich with tons of gold and diamonds. Recalling the quote above, Ben is one of the main reasons why Willy is so delusional. Willy Loman may not know that he is delusional, although he does remember falling into trances, for example, in Act I of the play.
Between flashbacks, reality, and flashbacks inside of a flashback, this is what causes Willy to lose it at the end by trying to plant in cement. Although he is not of high nobility, what causes him to keep on striving for his American Dream is hope. Because of the tragic pursuit, one has a tragic fall in which they attempt to find their personal dignity and evaluate themselves justly, but as they try to evaluate themselves justly, hope is a major outcome of the journey. A little hope is good, but a lot of hope is dangerous, and in this case it's dangerous because it leads Willy to his death.