Willy Loman As A Victim In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Willy Loman, the protagonist in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, is no more the victimizer of his family than he is a victim himself. Miller explores the possibilities of cyclical mental abuse passed on through familial generations, resulting in failure and confusion of one's priorities and goals. Biff, Willy's eldest son, was the victim of too much love and attention. Happy, the youngest boy was victimized by having received no attention and very little love. Willy's wife, Linda, is a victim of her husband's overzealous promises and lack of execution. Although Willy inflicted such calamity upon his family, there were similar conditions produced in his childhood that were responsible for his clouded judgement, causing him to fall
Vowing to be faithful and love one another till death do them part, Willy promises Linda more than he can handle, preventing her from being in a fulfilling relationship with her husband and children. Linda is a housewife; she promised to raise a family and provide for her husband in return for her expectations of life to be met. Throughout the play Willy promises Linda a home out in the country (72) or picnics out with the car (18), even though he has no money to pay for his current home, let alone buy a new one. The promised picnics out with the car are another impossibility because of Willy's difficulty to focus on the road. Willy victimizes Linda with false hope. The boys have grown up under their father's insights never to take women's remarks seriously, and therefore Linda is disrespected by her own family when Biff and Happy constantly disregard her and refer to Willy as "the boss" (125). Linda is also a victim of denied love and affection. Willy exudes all his sexuality for another woman with an extra-marital affair, revealed through his delusions, and merely acts like a good friend toward Linda. Linda instigates passion by kissing Willy on the cheek only to have him emptily pledge: "I want to grab you and just kiss the life outa you" (38). Willy's promises are lies, and he doesn't have the slightest expectation of ever executing them. The truth may have given Linda a clearer sense of her reality and
The dream deems that any common American, such as Willy, can obtain wealth, fame and happiness. Willy's father chased after the dream in Alaska and his brother, Ben, in Africa. Unlike his family, Willy did not venture far from home; he worked within the capitalistic structure of America as a salesman in hopes of finding financial prosperity as an employee. Willy used the image of a famous salesman, Dave Singleman, to model his aspirations and ideals (81). He also found great happiness in the success of his son, Biff, during high school who was a handsome, popular, and a promising athlete. All the while, Willy worked towards his dream and never realized he was working for someone else's financial gain. Within the mechanics of building an empire, there must be slaves, and to facilitate the dream there must be an empire preaching it. Willy's father and brother found prosperity only because they left the safe idealistic society of America. Both of them were brave enough to endeavor into the unknown and work for no one else but themselves. The harder Willy worked, the more money his employer made, and he would receive only a small commission in comparison to that hard work he did. Dave Singleman was an archetype established to motivate Willy with his job and to sell more products. The American dream exists in reality, but for a small few. The Willy Lomans of this