Monday, December 3, 2012
Analysis of Death of a Salesman
First and foremost, Willy Loman is an ass. He's been an ass the entire play, and no matter how many interviews and analysis of the book we read, he will always be an ass.
The plot is there is a salesman (Willy) who is an ass and takes advantage of everyone around him, insulting them and belittling them and making their lives miserable. He cheats on his wife Linda, insults his only friend Charley, and hates his sons. He is a lying little turd who wants to get the rewards of life without doing the hard work, and when his dreams collapses he lies to himself about it. His mind is failing, and he relives past events, especially concerning his douche bag brother Ben. Willy encourages his sons to do bad things and then makes excuses for them when they fail. His dream for his family is corrupt and harmful, to himself and his family. The one redeeming act that Willy performs from the entire play is to kill himself, which gives his family 20,000 dollars. He could have saved his family the pain though by taking the job that Charley offered him. Willy Loman had far to much pride and it was eventually his undoing.
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You did a very good job giving your description of Willy, I partially agree with you. He was definitely an ass to many characters who didn't deserve it, but do you think there is any method behind that? I think he had the wrong idea of how to function in society so he struggled with interacting appropriately with others. You merely summarize the plot through Willy's actions. To benefit yourself, include other important characters like Ben, Linda, Biff or Happy. Especially because you mention them in your analysis.
ReplyDeleteYou leave out several parts that are required in our criteria. Talk about the setting, themes, motifs, important quotes and anything else that you feel impacted the play. You do mention themes in Willy's life, but a one sentence, straight forward theme would be the best way to include it.
I completely agree with Nicci here. Your description of Willy is good, though you're missing the analysis of all the other main characters in the play as well as the other requirements for this post. I also agree with you, to a point. He does mistreat many of the characters, but like Nicci, I think it's because he doesn't know how to properly act. He's so caught up in the past that he doesn't realize that the present is completely different.
ReplyDeleteI too, completely agree with Nicci and Caitlyn. Your opinion is made very clear but you are missing analysis of other characters and the other portions of the assignment. While I find your description of Willy Loman humorous I don't think this will help you too much when it comes to studying.
ReplyDeleteAnna,
ReplyDeleteYour description of Willy is very opinionated! The analysis of Willy was very thorough, but you didn't analyze any of the other key characters! Also you should include a plot summery, key quotes, and the other items mentioned in the assignment. I agree that Willy's pride was ultimately his downfall, though!