Personnages death of a salesman

« Themes in Death of a Salesman The American dream and disillusionment A key component to the American dream is the idea that financial prosperity is available to anyone who works hard enough for it.

Willy experiences the lie of his dream even as he watches his brother Ben, his neighbour Charlie and Charlie’s son (Bernard) succeed financially. For Willy there’s also a second part to The American Dream which is social admiration for financial success.

He mistakenly ( à tort) measures his value according to the recognition of others and he passes this belief onto his sons. Illusion versus Reality Flashbacks confuse W’s mind making the tension between illusion and reality central to the play structure as well as its main characters.

He struggles to maintain the lies on which his sense of self depends, the lies that allow him to see himself as respected, well-known, well- liked, successful.

He spins ( déformer) the facts about his sales earnings to hide his financial instability .

Central is the illusion of his fidelity to Linda and linked to this, the illusion that his brother’s relationship with Biff has nothing to do with his cheating.

With the exception of Biff the entire Loman family functions under the illusions of happines and pending success (à venir) as if to protect themselves from the hard reality that the American Dream isn’t universally attainable. Betrayal As young men, W and his brother Ben were abandoned by their father.

This first betrayal unravels ( démêle, expose) W’s idea of family and a father’s responsibility to provide emotions and material stability.

Ben later abandons W when he moves to Africa and W also feels out of Ben’s success and wealth.

Family history seems to influence W’s own betrayals of his family.

As a travelling salesman he abandons his sons for road trips and he betrays Linda in his affair with a woman.

In the end his suicide is W’s final abandonment but it’s also ironically the only financial support he could offer. Nature vs Man-made environment In addition to W’s strive ( combat) to be a successful, well-liked salesman we also glimpse (entrevoir) his longing for nature and a country life.

Traveling allows him to feel a sense of freedom and participation in the natural world.

By just driving through it ( when feeling is at its worst) he wishes for fresh air, a garden and outdoor life.

Part of the play’s profound sadness comes from working in a man-made environment and this keeps him chained to his life in NYC and his dead-end job ( sans issue). Biff inherits W’s same love of nature as well as his inner conflict.

He loves working on a farm in the West but he has been so indoctrinated by his father’s ideas that he doesn’t allow himself to embrace what he most enjoys.

Biff ’s change provides hope to the ending of this otherwise (autrement) deeply sad play.. »