Every person in the world has a split personality, their public personality can be very different from their private one. Willy Loman in the tragedy Death of a Salesman, written by an American playwright, Arthur Miller, functions as a complex character. Throughout the play Willy Loman's changes throughout the story, there are many times where the play explains many of his memories which take place in the past and present, this reveals the idea that Willy could no longer distinguish between his past and his past. present. Arthur Miller uses Willy Loman's complex character traits to help the reader understand that the American dream is the main goal of many people, but not many people achieve it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay In the play Death of a Salesman Willy has many flaws which are shown through his dialogues and actions in most of the play, Willy Loman showed many insecurities which depicts a character of insecurity. His insecurities were created when he was little, at a young age his father left his brother Ben and Willy when he was a child, as stated by Willy when he had an unreal conversation with Ben “Willy: Can't you stay for a few days? …Dad left when I was so little and I never had the chance to talk to him…”. The sentence shows that growing up Willy never had the chance to talk to his father or anyone else, he wanted Ben to stay there longer because that was all he needed. Willy also said he felt "a little temporary" about himself as he never had a father figure to talk to when he needed a shoulder to lean on. The dialogue between Willy and the illusion of Ben talking about being abandoned is what describes one of the reasons why Willy has several insecurities. Willy's failures so many times have made him extremely unsure of himself. He wants to get things done so he can be successful and leave the work to his wife Linda and his two sons, Biff and Happy. While talking to Stanley he said he needed some seeds to plant: “Willy: I need to get some seeds... right away... I haven't planted anything. I have nothing on the ground." When Willy mentions the seeds, he was basically saying that he had nothing to leave to his family, like money or his inheritance as a salesman, which basically symbolized his whole failure. The fact that he couldn't leaving money to his wife and two children made him very doubtful most of the time Willy has failed so many times to the point that he has no proof of the work he has ever done, which is why he wanted to leave a garden that he would give. the inheritance and money to his family when Willy was gone Due to the fact that Willy was very unsure of himself and it didn't get him anywhere near any of his goals, he was never able to achieve many of the. goals he had always dreamed of. Willy always lied about many things to his wife Linda and his two children, he would lie to cover up all his failures so they would think he was a productive salesman. All of Willy's lies contributed to him being portrayed as a dishonest character. The lies had started when Willy first arrived at her house and Linda asked him why he came back so soon. Willy intentionally lied to Linda: “Willy: Suddenly I couldn't drive anymore. The car continued to go on the shoulder...". He lied to her about why he came back and said he couldn't drive anymore "Linda: ...Maybe it was the coffee." (Miller,page 1236) blamed the coffee for his return but in reality he turned back because he had almost hit someone in Yonkers, where he had arrived. Not only did he lie about his return, but he also lied to Linda about the New York company. Linda was a kind and supportive wife, but Willy constantly lied to her to feel better about himself. Another time he lied to her was when she asked him if he had sold anything and he told her he did "Willy: I made five hundred gross... and seven hundred gross in Boston." After a few minutes everything comes out, we come to the conclusion that Willy lied, first he said he earned five hundred and seven hundred gross and after a while he says he only earned about one hundred and eighty gross. The reader can tell that Willy was lying about how much he earned, while Linda simply ignores what he said by telling him that he did good. There were several delusional lies, in the first act, Willy cheats on the love of his life, Linda. He is having an affair with one of the clients' workers. “Willy: Why do I feel so lonely, especially when business is bad and there's no one to talk to…” (Miller, pg.1249) The relationship Willy had with other women is an example of his dishonesty towards his wife who supports him. Throughout the show there are many lies that hide many things, many lies are unrealistic while there are some that are actually intentional. Willy and his two sons, happy and stupid, lie to each other several times. They not only lied to each other but also to themselves. The fact that Willy was dishonest most of the time never helped him achieve the "American dream", his lies did not help him because no one knew the truth about his failures many times, so no one was able to help him in conflicts he may have had. During the show Willy Loman had many memories he would reminisce about and some he would relive. He also had many problems that would prevent him from working much. There were some points where he couldn't tell if they were real or delusional. Willy's instability due to his mental health was one of the reasons he never accomplished many things. At the beginning of the first act he tells Linda that he came back because he could no longer drive: “Willy: ...Suddenly I realize I'm going sixty miles an hour and I don't remember the last five minutes. ..I can't concentrate on this." Willy's mental state was the reason why he was no longer able to work and was unable to continue on his path wherever he went. There was a time when he almost killed someone because he couldn't remember. Linda, being supportive, always tried to support whatever Willy said, but in reality his mental health affected him. The show is made up of many memories that Willy had and many recreations of the past. Both memories and recreations happen in the present, as mentioned before, Willy also relieves most of his memories There was a time when Willy was having a conversation with Charley, his neighbor, and calling him by name of his brother, Ben."Willy: I'm terribly tired, Ben." Willy would have delusional memories, he thought he was talking to his dead brother when in reality he was having a conversation with his neighbor he was “talking” to him in his memory “Ben: I only have a few minutes”. Willy had mental problems because he talked to people who had died, Ben, in his past memories and recreated them in the present. Due to the fact that Willy Loman had many memories, he was unable to distinguish between his memories of the past and those of the present. Willy considered himself a failure and the cause of this was that he was unable to distinguish his past frompresent, so he was unable to realize his dream. Willy always said things before thinking about what he was saying, he didn't. I don't think his words can affect someone else's feelings. He was reckless, always thinking about achieving his goal and being a successful salesman. Linda has always been a supportive and caring wife to Willy, always trying to make him feel better about himself. The fact that Willy was indifferent was always very bad about many things. At the beginning of the first act, Willy raises his voice towards Linda “Willy: (with casual irritation) I said nothing happened. Didn't you hear me?). Linda was simply asking him a question why he had come back, even if Willy had reason to be a little angry he didn't need to raise his voice at her. Even after he raised his voice, he lied to her for a while longer, telling her that he had come back because he couldn't drive anymore. After he told her the truth and even yelled at her, she still supported him on why he came back saying he should get a job closer to there. Most of the time he always makes negative and useless comments about his son Biff. "Willy: The trouble is, he's lazy, dammit." "Biff is a lazy bum." (Miller, pg. 1237) Willy and his children had a difficult relationship, but this was not a reason to always make negative comments about Biff. The reason why Willy always called Biff lazy was because he wants his children to be someone they are not, he wants them to be successful and have a better job. Whenever Willy had an affair with "The Women", he didn't think about Linda's feelings, he simply thoughtlessly hurt her by being with other women. "Willy: Why do I feel so lonely, especially when business is bad and there's no one to talk to..." Saying that Willy didn't care about his wife, he had affairs with women so he would do well in his job, but he never realized that he was actually hurting Linda and her family because he was cheating on her with The Women. Linda has always been loyal and supportive and Willy repaid her by having an affair with another woman. There were several moments in the show where Willy was rude and indifferent towards Linda, he always raised his voice and she but she was always there for him. “Willy: Shut up! … Linda: All the mothers… Willy: Shut up.” Linda, as I said before, would always support Willy, but he never really took it into consideration and always only thought about himself. He never treated his family properly, he always made negative comments that all this demolished his family even more as well as his failures. The fact that Willy is always reckless may have been one of the main reasons why he was never able to have a successful job, money, or achieve the "American Dream". Willy Loman's actions and thoughts are what cause him to have different types of traits throughout the world. play, all of his character traits are what made him a complex character. Many of these traits help the reader visualize how many people dream of the “American Dream” but no matter how much they try to achieve it they fail, and Willy Loman is one of those people. Willy has dreamed of the American dream all his life, no matter how much he tried to achieve it he never succeeded, many times he failed. The fact that he worked so hard for the American dream is what led Willy Loman to commit suicide. Historical/Cultural Context Arthur Miller was the middle child, he had an older brother and a younger sister. He grew up in New York City, where his father, Isidore Miller, was a lifestyle businessman. His father stopped being a businessman when the “Crash of 1929” occurred. After the accident Miller and his family suffered"Depression". While Miller saw everything from the Depression of the 1930s, such as people begging for money and work on the streets, it was what struck him the most. Rosefeldt explained that Miller saw the Depression as a failure of a capitalist system of government and how many people blamed themselves for this failure of the Depression. During the time of the Depression it was when Miller doubted himself, society and even his entire family that really affected Miller. Not only did he have a sense of himself, but he was also an important part in many of his stories, plays and essays. Growing up Miller was a poor student, most of the time they didn't have enough money. Bigspy said Death of a Salesman isn't about Arthur Miller's father, but when they suffered the Depression his father had to borrow money from Hisson. Although his father was not so stable and did not have enough money, he still wanted Miller to follow in his footsteps. As mentioned by Rollyson, Carl, and Price, Miller was inspired by Fyodor Dosoevski's questions in The Brothers Karamazov and this helped convince the University of Michigan to admit him. (Rollyson, Carl, & Price, 2003) As Miller explained his college plans to his father, his father considered it a betrayal. Arthur Miller was able to gain numerous awards with all his successes. He has since been heralded as one of America's best-known playwrights, Eugene O'Neill, the modern father of American drama. Arthur Miller had been writing ideas for the play Death of a Salesman since he was a teenager, where he also wrote a story about a Jewish salesman. Published Literary Criticism There are many experts who mention in their articles that Death of a Salesman examines the nature of the American dream and its promise of success, as well as many unfulfilled dreams. Many people's goal is the American dream, their main goal is to achieve it. The reason they want to achieve it would be to have a better life, to be successful. The play Death of a Salesman examines this deeply throughout the play, as Willy Loman is one of the characters whose main goal is the American dream, he tried his best to achieve it. He dreamed about it because he knew that once he achieved all this he would finally be successful and have a good job without having to lie to his family and the rest of the people. Even though he failed many times, he still wanted to succeed, he wanted to be someone in life. He desperately wanted to keep in mind that he was “well-liked” by people as a salesman, to be a good example for his two children, and finally to have in mind that he was successful. Another thing that experts mention is that Willy Loman was not classified in the play, he is a simple and complex character at the same time. Willy Loman had several character traits throughout the entire play. In fact I agree with what all these experts say, Willy Loman was a complex character. As mentioned in the critical analysis of Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman has several character traits that are what make him a complex character. He changes dramatically throughout the story, from being delusional to being dishonest and insecure. There are a number of character traits that Willy could be classified into because in the story he is a different person at different times. I also agree with how they mentioned that Death of a Salesman examines the American Dream, as reading the play really describes how Willy Loman's goal was to achieve the American Dream. Unfortunately he never did, he failed many times, which may have prevented him from being successful and this.