Death of a Salesman - Sample Essay

What impressions do we get of Willy in Act One?

Within Act One we are introduced to Willy Loman as the protagonist of the play Death of a Salesman. He is given several roles within the act such as father, husband, brother, salesman and – from the flashbacks he has to the past – how Willy was in the past.

Willy’s role as a father is one of the most prominent in the play. Miller initially presents him as a disappointed father who is unhappy with the lack of achievement in his son. Willy states: “Biff is a lazy bum!” however he soon retracts this later in the act saying “He’ll come good”. This constant changing of opinion is significant to both Willy’s other actions and Miller’s own view of American society at the time; namely the ever-changing opinion of the American Dream.

The American Dream is something that Miller examines throughout and uses irony to emphasises his criticism of it. As a salesman, Willy is hard-working, often driving thousands of miles each day to sell items which are unnamed in the play. However, he is regularly failing as his job and reveals that he is working on purely on commission and is forced to make excuses for his failings. He says “Three stores were half closed for inventory in Boston. Otherwise I woulda broke records”. The use of the word “otherwise” shows Willy’s constant excuses for his failings.

Willy’s obsession with success is not just in the present. Miller uses a series of flashbacks to show this, introducing Willy’s brother, Ben, in flashbacks. Ben is used as a contrast to Willy: being a successful businessman who left America to find opportunities in diamond mining in Africa. Within the flashbacks; Willy is determined to gain Ben’s approval, especially with his sons: “Ben, how should I teach them?”. The distinct child-like tone of Willy’s dialogue towards his brother gives the audience the view that he is unsure of his own identity.

In Willy’s marriage, Miller uses Willy’s wife Linda as his main grip of reality, but also keeping him in his fantasy world. She indulges Willy’s assertions of success: “But you’re doing wonderful dear”. However in her use of the word “but”, she is also is his constant reminder of his failings in that within the flashbacks she details their debts and their bills on the items they bought through hire purchase.

Within act one, Miller portrays Willy as an extreme character and uses contrast to this effect. Willy’s moods fluctuate throughout and he incorporates his flashbacks into reality. This causes the play to feel disjointed and mirrors Willy’s own mental state. However his roles as father, brother, husband and salesman, both present and present appear to revolve around success and Willy’s failure at attaining this.