Death Of A Salesman :: essays research papers

&8220Maybe I did not live as I ought to have done, &8230 but how could that be, when I did everything properly?I can hear it now, Willy Loman uttering those words as he flips through the pages of his life. In the play, Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, we witness the deterioration and death of a very well intentioned man. The quote above from Leo Tolstoy&8217s Ivan Ilych, could not possibly better echo the view developed in Arthur Miller&8217s play. The play becomes Willy Loman&8217s life trial in which he and his family undergo an intense review of their lives. Willy through his confessions searches to find out what went wrong in his life. However, he dies without ever grasping the truth of it wholly.Willy Loman is a traveling salesman in his sixties. As we first find him, he is in the rise of an emotional crisis. His past, recurring to him in realistic flashbacks, is interfering with the present. Each episode draws forth another chore that Willy has to face in his presen t situation. The problem for Willy was the question that he was asking himself. It is a question that many older individuals ask themselves, &8220Did I succeed in life, was it all worth it? Poor Willy is beginning to realize that he has lived his entire life for the wrong reasons. Willy raised his two sons in all the wrong ways. He encouraged cheating and mocked hard engagement and true success. Everything in his life was a false standard. Willy&8217s view of an individual&8217s success was how well that individual was, &8220liked. He instilled in his children all the wrong values and encouraged all the wrong things. This poor moral installment is typified in this conversation between Willy and his son Biff. BIFF I flunked mathematics dad&8230&8230. Would you talk to him? He&8217d like you Pop. You know the way you could talk. WIILY You&8217re on. We&8217ll drive right backBIFF Oh, Dad, good work I&8217m sure he&8217ll change it for you. See, the reason he hates me, Pop-one day he was late for class so I got up at the chalkboard and imitated him. I crossed my eyes and talked with a lithp. WILLY laughing You did? The kids like it?I really found this conversation to show the exact problem that Willy had. He had instilled the clear up values in his children and then never sought to correct them.