Who Is Willy's Ambition In Death Of A Salesman

Abandonment incites a feeling of hopelessness and torment that affects a person’s stability and foundation in life. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is confronted with the absence of parental figures and misguided ambitions from childhood to adulthood. Cast aside from his parents and brother, Willy develops an unstable foundation for a proper lifestyle such as raising a child, or pursing an attainable dream. In truth, Willy abandons his own family in an attempt to deny his failures and to seek refuge through an affair with another woman. However, Willy’s dreams of becoming the perfect salesman is promptly destroyed by his boss Howard, leading Willy to dwell in disappointment and distance himself from his family. As such, Willy manifests a growing desire to abstain from his failures through a final rejection of his life, in hopes of amending his pitiful woes. Although Willy Loman attempts to rectify the feeling of abandonment, Willy is spiritually lost
Early in his life, his parental figure is nowhere to be found, leading Willy to pursue life aimlessly. Without the male figure in his life, “Willy found other means of support: a career, a wife, a family, and a home” which all deteriorated in a matter of time (Williams). As such, Willy becomes an incompetent father on the behalf of Biff and Happy. Moreover, Willy’s affair shields him from his failures and vehemently dismisses any wrongdoing on his behalf. The affair not only disconnects himself from Linda and his children, but Willy loses sight of his true ambitions. Most importantly, Howard’s dismissal of Willy causes a rift in Willy’s self-assurance, and willy is forced to discard his dreams of being a successful salesman. For a character so pitiful and neglected, Willy Loman is shrouded in an idealistic institution that is only enforced by those close to