Jennifer Tabasco 11-2
English III
Mr. Fiorini
April 3, 2009
My Thoughts on Death of a Salesman
After reading and watching Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, I believe that the entire book was fully centered around Willy Loman. Willy Loman was an elderly man who hallucinated during certain situations when he would become angry or even excited towards his wife, Linda, or his eldest son, Biff Loman. When Willy sadly passed away at the end of the novel, I was very moved by how Linda, Biff, and Hap all came to Willy’s side after the car accident. Biff and Hap both knew that their father was dying at a slow rate from these hallucinations that he was experiencing on certain occasions, but I think that Linda didn’t wanted to admit that to herself until the incident actually occurred. Every time Biff and Hap would ask their mother about their father’s well being, Linda would just ignore their questions by saying to just leave him alone, and he’ll be okay. It seemed to me that Linda wanted to hide away her pain and anguish that her husband was causing her because she didn’t want her two adult sons to believe that she was unstable or that she didn’t want anyone to see her hidden emotions. People would start to think that she also might be going crazy or hallucinating, as a matter of fact. In the end, though, Linda Loman was a very loving, generous, and caring wife and mother who stuck by her family through everything, regardless of what her neighbors or other people in the town might have gossiped about. She expressed her deep true love to her family by never, ever giving up on Willy and his hallucinations, and she always made sure that her two adult sons had the best possible care whether out on the road or even right at home.
And who was this mysterious woman that Willy had a secret affair with? From the very beginning, I thought that this woman was a real human being, but after finishing the novel, I came to realize that the mysterious woman was just apart of Willy’s hallucinations in his mind. In the movie, the woman was portrayed similar to Marilyn Monroe, someone who had all of the men wrapped around her little finger and who also was a nymphomaniac. Maybe this mysterious woman also had secret affairs with other men in her life that Willy didn’t know about, just like Linda didn’t know about Willy’s secret affair with this woman. Why would Arthur Miller write into his novel about how Willy had a secret affair with this mysterious woman? Didn’t he even come to realize that that affair could potentially destroy Willy and Linda’s marriage forever? But, in the end, Arthur Miller wrote this novel so that Linda would never know about the affair Willy was having behind her back. That’s very interesting and so odd at the same time. It’s interesting because now, since Willy’s dead, he took that affair to the grave with him, and it’s very odd because I believe that Arthur Miller wanted to keep the relationship with this mysterious woman going. Since Willy’s physically dead, the relationship with the mysterious woman could still exist maybe up in heaven because that entire idea was all in his head.
Willy, Willy, Willy. What could I say about this elderly man who tragically died in a car accident? Well, for one thing, I could definitely say that this man meant no harm to anyone. Willy was a business man, searching for a purpose in his life, sort of like a Donald Trump for the 1920s era. When Willy began to hallucinate during the first couple of chapters, I had absolutely thought that this man was going insane. I lost my place throughout the rest of the chapters because now, there were all of these different characters that no one even mentioned before. As each new character came up in the following chapters, I said to myself that this is Willy’s hallucinations, and that this isn’t really happening in his physical being. In addition to this, I noticed that every time that he would become angry or even overjoyed by something, the strange hallucinations would keep coming back into his mind, and Willy wouldn’t even realize it. I believe that these hallucinations all had some meaning to Willy; these hallucinations were things that he desired to have in his life, and I think that Willy never knew how to rightfully express what he wanted to have for himself. Willy had a good, well-mannered heart inside of him, and even though he wasn’t always there for his kids every night to say that he loved them, deep down inside, I know that he loved his kids no matter what. From my personal life, Willy kind of reminded me of my Uncle Al because he would always try to teach me right from wrong, and I knew that he meant well. Very stubborn, my Uncle Al is. My Uncle Al talks with his hands a lot like most Italians do, and I think that just talking to me means a lot to him.
In conclusion, I believe that throughout this whole entire novel, Willy touched every person inside their heart because of how full of life he was. The title, “Death of a Salesman” refers to the elderly Willy Loman and how he lived his life with his family before his tragic death due to a car accident that wasn’t meant to happen. For Biff, Happy, and Linda, I think that they all looked back on how Willy lived his life the way he did, and I think that they’re grateful for even having him in their lives because of how much he taught them even though he was a little rough around the edges to fully understand. Willy just wanted the best for his family, and I think that since he didn’t have a lot of money, he wasn’t able to provide anything for them, which may be one of the reasons as to why he went so insane. On behalf of Linda Loman, I respect her through everything because she remained faithful to her cheating husband, and she worked her hardest to do whatever she could for her family because of how much she loved them. As for Biff and Happy, I think that both of these men had to find their rightful place in the world, and they should do whatever occupation that they want to do. To end this essay, I believe that Death of a Salesman can teach the reader a lot about life, true love, the essence of a family, and the marketing of jobs. All of these ideas and so many others are what Willy Loman really desired throughout his elderly life, and I think that right before his death, he was thinking about all of these things that he never had, but these things are the ones that he hoped to give back to his family through his death.
English III
Mr. Fiorini
April 3, 2009
My Thoughts on Death of a Salesman
After reading and watching Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, I believe that the entire book was fully centered around Willy Loman. Willy Loman was an elderly man who hallucinated during certain situations when he would become angry or even excited towards his wife, Linda, or his eldest son, Biff Loman. When Willy sadly passed away at the end of the novel, I was very moved by how Linda, Biff, and Hap all came to Willy’s side after the car accident. Biff and Hap both knew that their father was dying at a slow rate from these hallucinations that he was experiencing on certain occasions, but I think that Linda didn’t wanted to admit that to herself until the incident actually occurred. Every time Biff and Hap would ask their mother about their father’s well being, Linda would just ignore their questions by saying to just leave him alone, and he’ll be okay. It seemed to me that Linda wanted to hide away her pain and anguish that her husband was causing her because she didn’t want her two adult sons to believe that she was unstable or that she didn’t want anyone to see her hidden emotions. People would start to think that she also might be going crazy or hallucinating, as a matter of fact. In the end, though, Linda Loman was a very loving, generous, and caring wife and mother who stuck by her family through everything, regardless of what her neighbors or other people in the town might have gossiped about. She expressed her deep true love to her family by never, ever giving up on Willy and his hallucinations, and she always made sure that her two adult sons had the best possible care whether out on the road or even right at home.
And who was this mysterious woman that Willy had a secret affair with? From the very beginning, I thought that this woman was a real human being, but after finishing the novel, I came to realize that the mysterious woman was just apart of Willy’s hallucinations in his mind. In the movie, the woman was portrayed similar to Marilyn Monroe, someone who had all of the men wrapped around her little finger and who also was a nymphomaniac. Maybe this mysterious woman also had secret affairs with other men in her life that Willy didn’t know about, just like Linda didn’t know about Willy’s secret affair with this woman. Why would Arthur Miller write into his novel about how Willy had a secret affair with this mysterious woman? Didn’t he even come to realize that that affair could potentially destroy Willy and Linda’s marriage forever? But, in the end, Arthur Miller wrote this novel so that Linda would never know about the affair Willy was having behind her back. That’s very interesting and so odd at the same time. It’s interesting because now, since Willy’s dead, he took that affair to the grave with him, and it’s very odd because I believe that Arthur Miller wanted to keep the relationship with this mysterious woman going. Since Willy’s physically dead, the relationship with the mysterious woman could still exist maybe up in heaven because that entire idea was all in his head.
Willy, Willy, Willy. What could I say about this elderly man who tragically died in a car accident? Well, for one thing, I could definitely say that this man meant no harm to anyone. Willy was a business man, searching for a purpose in his life, sort of like a Donald Trump for the 1920s era. When Willy began to hallucinate during the first couple of chapters, I had absolutely thought that this man was going insane. I lost my place throughout the rest of the chapters because now, there were all of these different characters that no one even mentioned before. As each new character came up in the following chapters, I said to myself that this is Willy’s hallucinations, and that this isn’t really happening in his physical being. In addition to this, I noticed that every time that he would become angry or even overjoyed by something, the strange hallucinations would keep coming back into his mind, and Willy wouldn’t even realize it. I believe that these hallucinations all had some meaning to Willy; these hallucinations were things that he desired to have in his life, and I think that Willy never knew how to rightfully express what he wanted to have for himself. Willy had a good, well-mannered heart inside of him, and even though he wasn’t always there for his kids every night to say that he loved them, deep down inside, I know that he loved his kids no matter what. From my personal life, Willy kind of reminded me of my Uncle Al because he would always try to teach me right from wrong, and I knew that he meant well. Very stubborn, my Uncle Al is. My Uncle Al talks with his hands a lot like most Italians do, and I think that just talking to me means a lot to him.
In conclusion, I believe that throughout this whole entire novel, Willy touched every person inside their heart because of how full of life he was. The title, “Death of a Salesman” refers to the elderly Willy Loman and how he lived his life with his family before his tragic death due to a car accident that wasn’t meant to happen. For Biff, Happy, and Linda, I think that they all looked back on how Willy lived his life the way he did, and I think that they’re grateful for even having him in their lives because of how much he taught them even though he was a little rough around the edges to fully understand. Willy just wanted the best for his family, and I think that since he didn’t have a lot of money, he wasn’t able to provide anything for them, which may be one of the reasons as to why he went so insane. On behalf of Linda Loman, I respect her through everything because she remained faithful to her cheating husband, and she worked her hardest to do whatever she could for her family because of how much she loved them. As for Biff and Happy, I think that both of these men had to find their rightful place in the world, and they should do whatever occupation that they want to do. To end this essay, I believe that Death of a Salesman can teach the reader a lot about life, true love, the essence of a family, and the marketing of jobs. All of these ideas and so many others are what Willy Loman really desired throughout his elderly life, and I think that right before his death, he was thinking about all of these things that he never had, but these things are the ones that he hoped to give back to his family through his death.
For My Death of a Salesman Post:
** Tell me if my overall paper was written well with enough developed ideas, if there were any parts that didn’t make sense, and what parts of my paper that were the most powerful or what parts that stuck out to you the most. **
Jenn, I think you tend to ramble a bit in this post. I'd like you to work on developing a strong focus in your writing. While these commentaries are structured in a way that I hope will provide you with some space to explore various ideas that you have about the works we read, I also know that you are quite interested in composing polished pieces for these assignments. You asked if you developed your ideas well enough, and I think that you probably want to establish a stronger thesis somewhere towards the start of your post if your goal for this work is to present a very clear, concise, and (again) polished reading of the play. You write about Willy and about Linda, ask a number of compelling questions, and pose some thoughtful arguments about the play, but I'd like to see a more consistent thread of an argument moving through your commentary.
ReplyDeleteOne additional issue: You write that the woman who Willy has an affair with in Boston is simply another of his hallucinations. How, then, do you explain Biff's treatment of Willy and other indications that Miller gives his audience of the fact that Biff caught Willy in the act? Admittedly, we only actually see the adultery scene through a memory of Willy's, but there are a number of other moments in the play when the incident is alluded to in some way.