Willy Loman rides on the views of illusion and doesn’t open his eyes to his present reality. His failure is the failure of American myth of success. According to this myth being “well liked” was what one needed for being successful. Another assumption examined by the play is that petty crimes like adultery and stealing are evidence of high spirit. Another assumption examined by Willy was that being an athlete brings glory and privilege, but being studious leads nowhere. Willy Loman is guided by these false values and has a tragic fall halfway through the play.
He tried to include wrong values to his sons and they failed as a result. He cannot face the reality of his present life and goes back to the past which represents that illusion. His brother Ben, is a symbol for the American myth of success. He went into the business force at the age of 17 and when he came out of it at 21, he was a rich man. This signifies easy economic gain which Willy thought he could accomplish. Willy doesn’t support the idea of working hard. Had he worked hard he and his family would have been economically secure, nor did he encourage his sons to study and work hard result in failure.
Willy Loman, an old salesman, returns early from a business trip. After nearly crashing multiple times, Willy has a moment of enlightenment and realizes he shouldn’t be driving. His wife Linda proposes that he should get a job at the local office in New York, knowing that Willy is not safe to be a traveling salesman. Linda is a stay at home mother, does everything she can do to make Willy’s life easier, and he still treats her with little respect, and she still lives under Willy’s illusion, and believes that he is a “well liked” successful salesman as well.
Their sons, Biff and Happy, both very successful in high school, just like their father had dreamed of. Biff was on the path of having a full ride scholarship to play football at the University of...