Posted Wednesday, 18 September 2013 // by Nabad
WILLY LOMAN
Location: New York City
Background: salesman, married to Linda, father to Biff and Happy
Oh my, how do I even start to describe Willy Loman? He is a rather self-absorbed man, obsessed with a made up twist on the American Dream. He believes that being popular and well liked is the only way to go about things and become successful – a rather destructive view on life. The man is so caught up in becoming well liked and living the American Dream that he often forgets what effect his actions may have on his family and people surrounding him. For example, he often tries to oppress his sons, mainly Biff, with his idea of the American Dream, unaware of the fact that Biff possibly DOESN’T WANT TO FOLLOW IT. His affair with another woman and his suicide are just a few examples of the reckless tasks that he commits, stemming from his warped idea of the American Dream. The root cause of many of Willy’s problems is his self-consciousness – his desperate need to be well liked overtakes every single aspect of his life. The reason he had an affair with the woman was because she made him feel important, and he is proud to be able to sell himself to her, as he has troubles selling his products. His constant need for his sons to be well liked is a portrayal of his need to be well liked himself – he believes that if he can’t be well liked himself, at least he can take some credit from his sons, right?
HAPPY LOMAN (left)
Age: 30's
Location: New York City
Background: son of Linda and Willy
Happy finds it hard to relate to the poetic ideas which echo through Biff’s mind and instead is a clear representation of Willy’s hopes for the screwed up American Dream. Merely a one dimensional, pitiful character, happy is filled with nothing but sex drive and self-inflation and the man has hardly anything to define him, making him very hard for viewers/readers to empathise with. It seems that happy has always lived in the shadow of his older brother who was always expected of greatness, so it was possibly a relief or an opportunity for Happy that good old Biffy was steering of the tracks of their father’s misconceived American Dream, hoping that he would finally get a chance to shine. This desperation to be well liked is definitely a trait received from his father which carries on until Willy’s death, when Happy promises to avenge his father’s death. Happy shares his father’s sense of self-delusion, claiming that he is the assistant buyer of his shop, when he is really just an assistant of the assistant buyer (how many times did I just say assistant!). In a way, Happy is a complete replica of Willy Loman, unfortunately leaving him with the same fate that his father so tragically fell into.
Labels: Death of a Salesman