Death of a Salesman

After watching and reading The Death of a Salesman, I felt sympathy for Linda Loman. Her husband, Willy, had a mental issue and was caught cheating by his own son. Willy even bought things for his mistress that he couldn’t give to his own wife. Her two sons, Biff and Happy, had problems of their own. Biff was going from job to job, looking for himself and trying to please his father. Happy had a blown-up self-ego and loved hooking up with women, even if they were engaged. As a mother and wife, Linda must have suffered a lot. She realized that Willy was contemplating suicide and even attempted it several times.

Throughout his life, Willy has tried his best to get everyone to like him. He wanted to be respected and liked, but he was always doubtful about himself. Willy was even caught cheating by Biff. He lost respect for his father after that day. Willy also pursued the American dream of having a successful life of buying and selling. He had a traveling job with good pay, but his wife begged him to try to get a job in town. After talking and yelling at his boss, Willy ended up getting fired. Because of that, his life was destroyed and he was devastated. All Willy wanted was a job that required a phone and connections with other businesses. He recalled that a salesman named Dave Singleman had a wonderful job and was still working at the age of eighty-four. Dave had died the “death of a salesman” and many people from different cities showed up at his funeral. Willy wanted that kind of life.

Willy tried to get his sons to follow the footsteps of becoming a successful business man. He wanted Biff and Happy to live a life that he couldn’t get. Although most parents want their kids to be more successful than they are, Willy pushed his sons too far. They were stuck in a job they didn’t like, but Biff was the only one to take a step to realizing who he really was. He accepted the fact that he was a failure and wanted to find a job in the West. On the other hand, Happy was very similar to Willy. He loved women and enjoyed their company. After his father’s death, he made a promise to stay in the city and become a famous and successful businessman.

Willy went driving one night and got into a car accident. At Willy’s funeral, Charley, Bernard, and his wife and sons showed up. Linda was appalled at how little people showed up. She was devastated because they were close to paying off all their bills. I believe that if Willy had took the job offered by Charley, he would have been happy in the end.



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