Every person in the world has a split personality, their public personality can be very different from their private personality. Willy Loman, in the tragic play Death of a Salesman, written by American playwright Arthur Miller, functions as a complex character. Throughout the play Willy Loman changes throughout the story, it often happens that the play explains many of his memories that take place in the past and present, this reveals the idea that Willy could not no longer differentiate between his past and his past. here. Arthur Miller uses the complex character traits of Willy Loman to help the reader understand that the American dream is the main goal of many people, but few people achieve it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayIn the play Death of a Salesman Willy has many flaws which are shown through his dialogues and actions in most of the play , Willy Loman has shown many insecurities which depict an insecure character. His insecurities were created when he was little, his father left his brother Ben at a very young age and Willy when he was a baby, as stated by Willy while having an unreal conversation with Ben "Willy: You can't stay a few days? ...dad left when I was a baby and I never had the chance to talk to him…”. The line shows that growing up Willy never had the chance to talk with his father or anyone, he wanted Ben to stay there longer because he was all he needed. Willy also said he felt "a bit temporary" about himself since he never had a father figure to talk to when he needed a shoulder to lean on. The dialogue between Willy and Ben's illusion of being abandoned is what describes one of the reasons why Willy has several insecurities. Willy's failures over and over again have made him extremely insecure about himself. He wants to get things done so he can succeed and leave things to his wife Linda and his two sons, Biff and Happy. While talking to Stanley, he mentioned that he needed seeds to plant: “Willy: I need to get some seeds...right away...Nothing's planted. I have nothing on the ground. » When Willy mentions the seeds, he was basically saying that he had nothing to leave his family, like money or his inheritance as a salesman which basically symbolized his entire failure. Not being able to leave money to his wife and two sons made him very doubtful most of the time. Willy has failed so many times that he has no proof of the work he's ever done. That's why he wanted to leave a garden that would give his family an inheritance and money after Willy was gone. Due to the fact that Willy lacked a lot of confidence in himself and did not allow him to achieve any of his goals, he was never able to achieve many of the goals he always dreamed of. Willy has always lied about many things to his wife Linda and his two. son, he lied to cover up all his failures so they could think he was a productive salesman. All of Willy's lies contributed to portraying him as a dishonest character. The lies started when Willy arrived home and Linda asked why he came back so early. Willy intentionally lied to Linda: “Willy: Suddenly I couldn't drive. The car continued to move forward on the shoulder…”. He lied to her about why he came back and said he couldn't drive anymore. "Linda: ...Maybe it was thecoffee." (Miller, p. 1236) he blamed coffee for his return, but in reality he returned because he almost ran over someone in Yonkers, where he had arrived. Not only did he lie to about his return, but he also lied to Linda about the business in New York Linda was a kind and supportive wife, but Willy constantly lied to her to feel better about himself Another time he had her. lied was when she asked him if he sold anything and he told her he did "Willy: I made five hundred gross... and seven hundred gross in Boston. ." A few minutes later, everything comes out, we come to the conclusion that Willy lied, he had first said that he had won five hundred and seven hundred gross and after a while, he mentioned that he had only won that about a hundred and eighty gross The reader can tell that Willy was lying about how much he had earned, while Linda simply ignores what he had said when telling her that he had done good. There were several crazy lies, in Act I, Willy cheats on the love of his life, Linda. He is having an affair with one of the clients' employees. “Willy: Because I feel so alone, especially when things are bad and there's no one to talk to…” (Miller, p. 1249) The affair Willy had with the other women is a example of his dishonesty towards his wife who supports him. Throughout the play there are many lies that cover up many things, many of the lies are unrealistic while some are actually intentional. Willy and his two sons, Happy and Biff, lie to each other several times. Not only did they lie to themselves but also to themselves. Willy being dishonest most of the time never helped him achieve the "American Dream". His lies didn't help because no one knew the truth about his failures on multiple occasions, so no one was able to help him in any conflicts he may have had. Throughout the play, Willy Loman had many memories that he remembered and in some of them he relived them. He also had many problems that prevented him from working much. There were some points where he couldn't tell if they were real or illusory. Willy being unstable due to his mental health was one of the reasons why he never got to accomplish much. At the beginning of Act I, he tells Linda that he came back because he could no longer drive: "Willy: ...Suddenly I realize that I'm going sixty miles an hour and I don't know don't remember the last five minutes. ..I can't keep my mind on this. Willy's mental state was the reason he was no longer able to work, he was not able to continue where he was going. There was a time when he almost killed someone because he couldn't remember them. Linda, who was supportive, always tried to back up everything Willy said, but in reality, his mental health was affecting him. The play consists of many of Willy's memories as well as many re-enactments of the past. Memories and recreations both occur in the present, as previously mentioned Willy also relieves most of his memories. There was a time when Willy was having a conversation with Charley, his neighbor, and he called him by his brother's name, Ben. "Willy: I'm getting really tired, Ben." Willy would have delusional memories, he thought he was talking to his dead brother when in reality he was having a conversation with his neighbor. While having and recreating this memory, Willy also had Ben and was “speaking” to him in his memory “Ben: I only have a few minutes. » Willy had mental problems because he talked to dead people, Ben, in his past memories and recreated them in the present. Since Willy Loman had manymemories, he couldn't tell the difference between his memories of the past and those of the present. Willy considered himself a failure and the cause was that he was not able to differentiate between his past and his present, therefore he was not able to achieve his dream. Willy always said things before thinking about what he was saying, he didn't do that. I don't think his words were going to affect anyone else's feelings. He was inconsiderate, he always thought about achieving his goal and becoming a good salesman. Linda was always a supportive and caring wife to Willy, she always tried to make him feel better about himself. Willy being indifferent, he has always been very negative about many things. At the beginning of Act I, Willy raises his voice at Linda: “Willy: (with casual irritation) I said nothing happened. Didn't you hear me?). Linda was simply asking him a question about why he came back, even if Willy had a reason to be somewhat angry, he didn't need to raise his voice. Even after she raised his voice, he lied to her again a little later, saying that he came back because he couldn't drive anymore. After he told her the truth and even yelled at her, she still explained to him why he came back, saying he should find a job closer to there. Most of the time, he always makes negative and unnecessary comments about his son Biff. "Willy: The problem is he's lazy, dammit." “Biff is a lazy bum.” (Miller, p. 1237) Willy and his sons had a difficult relationship, but that was no reason to always make negative comments about Biff. The reason Willy always called Biff lazy was because he wanted his sons to be someone they're not, he wants them to be successful and have a better job. Whenever Willy had an affair with "the women", he didn't think about Linda's feelings, he just mindlessly hurt her by being with the other women. “Willy: Because I feel so alone, especially when business is bad and there's no one to talk to…” Saying that Willy didn't care about his wife, he had an affair with women to do good in his work. , but he never realized that he was actually hurting Linda as well as her family because he was cheating on Linda with The Women. Linda has always been loyal and supportive and Willy repaid her by having an affair with another woman. There were several times in the room where Willy was rude and uncaring towards Linda, he always raised his voice and she but she was always there for him. “Willy: Shut up! … Linda: All mothers… Willy: Shut up. Linda, as mentioned before, would always support Willy, but he never really took that into consideration and always only thought about himself. He never treated his family right, he always made negative comments which further depressed his family as well as his failures. The fact that Willy was always inconsiderate could have been one of the main reasons why he was never able to have a successful job, money, or achieve the "American Dream". Willy Loman's actions and thoughts are what caused him to have different types of traits throughout his life. In the game, all of his character traits make him a complex character. Many of these traits help the reader visualize how many people dream of the "American Dream", but even if they try to achieve it, they fail, Willy Loman being one of these people. Willy dreamed of the American dream his whole life, although he tried to achieve it, he never succeeded, he failed many times. His efforts to achieve the American dream are what drove Willy Loman tocommit suicide. Historical/Cultural Background Arthur Miller was the middle child, he had an older brother and a younger sister. He grew up in New York where his father, Isidore Miller, was a businessman as a lifestyle. His father stopped being a businessman when the "Crash of 1929" occurred. After the accident, Miller and his family suffered from the "Depression". Even though Miller saw everything since the depression of the 1930s, like people begging for money and working on the streets, this is what affected him the most. Rosefeldt explained that Miller saw the Depression as a failure of a capitalist system of government and how many people blamed it on themselves. During the Depression era, it was when Miller doubted himself, society, and his entire family, that it really affected Miller. Not only did he have a sense of himself, but it also played an important role in many of his stories, dramas and essays. Growing up, Miller was a poor student, they didn't have enough money most of the time. Bigspy mentioned that Death of a Salesman is not about Arthur Miller's father, but when they suffered from the Depression, his father had to borrow money from Hisson. Even though his father wasn't very stable and didn't have enough money, he still wanted Miller to follow in his footsteps. As Rollyson, Carl, and Price mentioned, Miller was inspired by Fyodor Dosoevsky's questions in The Brothers Karamazov and this helped persuade the University of Michigan to admit him. (Rollyson, Carl, & Price, 2003) As Miller explained his plans for college to his father, his father viewed it as a betrayal. Arthur Miller was able to obtain many awards thanks to all his achievements. He has been heralded as one of the best-known American playwrights since, Eugene O'Neill, modern father of American drama. Arthur Miller had begun writing ideas for the play Death of a Salesman as a teenager, where he also wrote a story about a Jewish salesman. Published Literary Criticism Many experts mention in their articles that Death of a Salesman examines the nature of the American dream and its promises of success as well as many unfulfilled dreams. Many people's goal is the American dream, their main goal is to achieve it. The reason why they want to achieve this would be to have a better life, to be successful. The play Death of a Salesman examines it in depth throughout the play, since Willy Loman is one of the characters whose main goal is the American dream, he tried his best to achieve it. He dreamed of it because he knew that once he accomplished everything, he would finally succeed and have a good job without having to lie to his family and the rest of the people. Even though he failed many times, he still wanted to achieve it, he wanted to be someone in life. He desperately wanted to remember that he was "well-liked" by people as a salesman, to be a good example to his two sons, and finally to remember that he was successful. Another thing that experts mention is that Willy Loman was not categorized in the play, he is both a simple and complex character. Willy Loman had several character traits throughout the play. I also agree with what all these experts say, Willy Loman was a complex character. As mentioned in the critical analysis of Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman has several character traits that make him a complex character. He changes drastically throughout the story, going from delusional to dishonest and insecure. There are a number of character traits that Willy could be categorized into, as in the story he is a different person at different times. I also agree on.