March 7, 2002

   Placing the Blame on Willy Loman's  Destruction 

Linda, Biff and society in general all contributed to the faults in Willy which led to his death. Each person thought they were helping Willy out. But what they didn’t realize is that they led him to his own destruction.

Linda plays a key role in Willy Loman’s life in Death of a Salesman. She is not only his wife, but also his best friend. Usually, being a best friend requires support and help when needed in any type of situation. A best friend should always wish the best for their friend and try to help them achieve it. But one’s unquestioning support can deny the balance a person needs. Linda offered too much unquestioning support. She made Willy feel like he owned the world and no one could stop him. Then he started to face problems that denied him of his dream. He realized that he wouldn’t be able to be that "perfect" salesman and father. Linda did not supply that balance he needed to keep him sane and down-to-earth. He thought unrealistically and couldn’t face reality. Thus, her support didn’t help any, but in turn caused him to become even sicker.

Willy became sicker while his son Biff added fuel to the fire. Willy loved Biff. Willy would die for Biff any day. After Biff walked in on the affair of Willy and The Woman, things changed between the two. The two men seemed to drift apart. Willy couldn’t accept that. He thought that Biff didn’t love him anymore. The tension tightened between the two until Biff cried to his father, Pop, I’m nothing! I’m nothing, pop. Can’t you understand that? There’s no spite in it anymore. I’m just what I am, that’s all." With Biff crying in his lap, Willy realizes that Biff still likes him. "Isn’t that- isn’t that remarkable? Biff - he likes me!" Willy is so infatuated with the idea that his son really does like him. After he heard that, he took the car out and crashed into his death. Biff played a major role in the downfall of Willy. If all the tension, hate and stress didn’t exist, Willy would be a happier and livelier man.

Society put so much stress and influences on Willy. He believed so much, and held true to those beliefs. But Willy did not display the characteristics of the greatest salesman. He couldn’t accept the fact that he wasn’t well liked. He wanted to be well liked, to be successful and impress his family and himself. When he found out his boss wanted to fire him, a sense of reality hit him. Failure crushed his heart. He couldn’t accept it and he couldn’t do that to his family. Willy never could admit to this, and sought the easy way out: suicide. Since society put tremendous amounts of stress on Willy, it definitely played a key role in the destruction of Willy.

These key factors were the main events that brought Willy to his destruction. Society is the majority of it though. If Willy hadn’t strived to be accepted so much, he wouldn’t worry so much about being that "perfect" or "deal" person to himself and his family. If only Willy could have accepted himself for whom he was!