Death Of A Salesman
The definition given (that the audience needs to have mixed feelings about the destruction of a human being for a play to be a tragedy) means that to establish ‘’ as a tragedy, we must be able to give evidence that not only is the audience made to feel sadness at Willy Loman’s demise, but also that they are made to feel that some measure of justice has been exacted on him for his behaviour both past and present. As this is the case I will first examine the reasons why the audience feels sadness at the misfortunes which befall Willy, and then go on to see why it is that the audience is also left to feel that Willy deserves all of the punishment which fate hands him ...
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Willy has problems with his job, and it is not long before they find out that Willy having trouble getting to work is the least of his problems. The real problem lies at work itself. It appears that despite all of Willy’s bragging, he is not actually a very successful salesman (the lack of people at his funeral perhaps indicates not only that he isn’t one, but also that he never was a particularly good one in the first place). He has in fact been ‘borrowing’ money from Charley to make Linda think that he is still successful. Willy lies so often about his work (as well as other things), that he has almost made himself believe his own lies, and one of the only indications to the contrary is when he admits, "I’m not noticed", when talking to Linda about his work.
Due to his lack of success, he is first taken off of steady pay and put on commission, this occurs before the start of the play, and then later when he goes to complain about this, he is told ...
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the problem he has with being stuck in the past. He obviously regrets a great deal of his actions in the past, and frequently has waking dreams, in which he re-enacts the moments in question. For the most part, these dreams involve Willy’s brother Ben, and show how much Willy regrets not having moved to Alaska with Ben, but they also involve Biff, and it is not until the end that they become clear, and the audience sees what it is that has gone on between Willy and Biff. The problem of being stuck on past events is not only Willy’s most serious problem, but it is also the one which probably inspires the most pity from the audience, as regret is a feeling which everyone ...
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Death Of A Salesman. (2005, May 31). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Death-Of-A-Salesman/27783
"Death Of A Salesman." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 31 May. 2005. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Death-Of-A-Salesman/27783>
"Death Of A Salesman." Essayworld.com. May 31, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Death-Of-A-Salesman/27783.
"Death Of A Salesman." Essayworld.com. May 31, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Death-Of-A-Salesman/27783.
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