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Summary A* DEATH OF A SALESMAN NOTES - Characters Notes
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A* DEATH OF A SALESMAN NOTES - Characters Notes
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Death of a Salesman revision booklet AQA A Level English Lit B
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compare & contrast of the characters Willy Loman and Charley in the play Death of a salesman by Arthur Miller
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Death of a Salesman as a story told through mind and memory of Willy Loman
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CharactersWilly:
Willy portrays a character of insecurity, persistence and failure. He spent his life trying to
become someone else - namely Dave Single-man that he never knew who he was himself. In his
search for happiness within failure he realised that he could only give his family what he wanted
if he left the world. The pressures of society killed a man who once has courage and
determination, as Willy lost the ability to see the world clearly, seeing it only through a lens of
despair and insecurity where money was the main objective. His whole life surrounded the want
for the illusion of the America dream while he faced the reality of it, the reality that millions of
those in the lower classes faced when being faced with a lie. Willy demonstrates the effect of
following a dream which is only obtainable for some men. Willy does not achieve the self-
realisation or self-knowledge typical of the tragic hero. The quasi-resolution that his suicide
offers him represents only a partial discovery of the truth. Willy does not see that he is a
metaphorical encapsulation of his name: "Loman". He is truly a low-man in society but its too
driven by his will-fullness to see the slanted reality that his mind has forged. Willyʼs failure to
recognise the anguished love offered to him by his family is crucial to the climax of his torturous
day, and the play presents this incapacity as the real tragedy which Willy is blind to. He does
however sees that he is not "vital" and a failure. Willy's failure is the series of missed
opportunities and mistakes that refused to allow him to reach his dream. At Willy's funeral, we
are able to finally understand the reality that Willy was running from, which was not one where
he was completely blind. He created his own idealised self perception so he could escape
reality because his life was one with no admiration, no success and a lack of the honour as he
built it searching for an empty dream.Willy's false hubris surfaced from his deep rooted
insecurity that he was not "vital" and was ultimately an insignificant man, and we see this false
pride through Willy's many contradictions. At the beginning of the play Willy talks of how "some
people accomplish something" as though he is not apart of the group of those that have, yet a
few lines before refers to himself as being the "new England man" who is "vital". Through these
small breaks in character we receive little glimpses of Willy's true nature and the insecure man
who knows he is unimportant. I believe that Willy saw this insignificance and insecurity in
himself so created a character who believed his "funeral will be massive" simply because if he
believed it then he did not need to accept the truth.
Willy is meant to be played portraying his 'massive dreams' but also how he indulges in
'little cruelties'.
The woman in the hotel describes Willy as 'self centred' as a person who dwells in his own
dreams and is liable to overlook the dreams and aspirations of others.
Willy prizes the emotional appeal of being popular as it is a social standing which really
motivates him.
Linda:
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