For those of you who read Death of a Salesman or who wish to -2 me. (474 hits)
Category: NoneRating: -0.72 on 28 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by myexstaintstain (View user info) at 2006-04-24 10:19:30 EDT
The following is an essay as to why one of the best books I've ever read, Death of a Salesman, is a tragedy to the depths of it's very being. Enjoy.
Some would argue that because of Willy Loman's small stature in the infinite scheme of things, that this story couldn't possibly be a tragedy. I believe that Death of a Salesman is a tragedy in its truest form, and that Mr. Loman is a tragic character. Regardless of a man's impact on society, his perpetual fall from grace could be just as tragic as the fall of a mighty man.
The most tragic aspect of Willy Loman is his own inability to reconcile within himself the wrong decision he feels he made by not going with his brother Ben to Alaska when he was younger. This belief that everything in life would have been better for Willy had he gone, is the fundamental reason he can't stop but fill his kids' heads with big dream and hot air. He wants for them what he believes they rightfully deserve, and what he himself should have had. Willy see's the way his brother was able to turn out, and though he lost that for himself, he tries to force a belief on his kid's that they are capable of far more then what they actually are and that they can achieve greatness such that Ben did.
Willy, who steadfastly hangs onto his belief in his children's almost superhuman prowess, provides one of the most stressful points for Willy's son Biff once he gets older. The son that Willy loved very deeply truly resents his father for the intangible dreams he put before Biff that were forever out of reach from him. Willy's other son Happy also never manages to make it big as Willy had always hoped. By not succeeding where the father had failed, Willy's expectation's for his sons are never met. This is a point extremely tough for Willy to accept.
It's this complexity oriented around Willy's children that make it impossible for him to ever move on. After all these years, Willy still holds onto his belief that his children will become great men; that they will make it big like his brother Ben. This man who hold's onto his dreams for his children ever so tenaciously, refuses to ever relinquish his strangle hold on a wish left unanswered. It's this same dilemma for Willy that makes him one of the most pitiable characters one has ever read about. Regardless of how great or small a man is, behind him is usually a great woman.
For all the emphasis on tragedy surrounded around Willy, his wife, Linda is a character who feels the depths of Willy's sorrow's each and every day. Regardless of how Linda may feel, she is the saving grace of the entire Loman family. She has managed to keep together a family that should have fell apart years ago. Linda plays a major roll in the way Willy has become over the years.
While no fault should be laid at Linda's feet, you get the overall feeling from her that things may gone a lot differently for everyone in the story were it not for her continuous support in every decision that Willy ever made. Many times throughout the story, Linda has sheltered Willy from truths that may have helped to open Willy's eyes and allowed him to head down a different path: a path that may not have led to his ultimate demise.
In the end, regardless of whether Willy was a leader of men or simply a salesman trying to scrap a living together for his family, his disappointments and heartaches are what make his story a tragedy. It's the downfall of his dreams, coupled with the realities he faces, that things will never be the way Willy wanted them that allows the reader to relate to the sad events that transpired in this man's life.
Some may argue that Death of a Salesman can't be a tragedy because Willy Loman was just a smalltime salesman. It's argued that in order to be a tragedy, that character must be someone of great importance and have all of that taken from him. This opinion is wrong in conceivable situation. Willy Loman is a man who has faced some of the greatest adversities in his life and lost. A man of such small stature endured events throughout his life that regardless of whether or not he was important, are tragic to their very core.
This man, Willy Loman, was let down again and again throughout his life. His hopes for his sons shattered before his very eyes, and he, unable to accept how things were, saw himself with no choice left but to end his life. He thought that by committing suicide, he could show his sons that he was important and that people would turn out for his funeral. Even after his death, he faced disappointment if he was able to see who did turn out for his small funeral.
The sad events that transpired throughout the course of Willy Loman's life make him an easy character to relate to for anyone, regardless of how big or small he was. Tragedy can come in many shapes or sizes and a small time man can feel it to the very the depths of his bones just a startlingly clear as a great king would be able to.
User Reviews
Submitted by The_Cyst_Master (user info) at 2006-04-25 00:05:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'll be blunt. I hate you. In an I love you way.
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 21:10:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
its not a book review. its an argument for death of a salesman beiong a tragedy rather than not being.
Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-04-24 13:23:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Apparently he/she/it is still looking.
Submitted by EntityErased (user info) at 2006-04-24 12:56:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 only because....
Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-04-24 12:37:52 (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 11:39:36 (#)
Ranking: -2
erh vagina?
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You don't sound too sure of yourself. Why don't you go to the little boys' room and check. Get back to me when/if you ever find whatever it is that's down there.
......
PWNZ0R3D!!!!
Submitted by COMountain (user info) at 2006-04-24 12:50:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 12:33:28 (#)
Ranking: -2
ILL POST TEN TIMES PER DAY YOU WHITE WOMAN WANTING DIRTY FUCKING NIGGER!!!!
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my, my, my... aren't we creative?
you managed to call me black, straight and afflicted with jungle fever - in all caps.
I guess me asking you to choke on my semen really hit a nerve, eh?
...okay, sweetie.
I'll let you swallow.
Submitted by simple_catalyst (user info) at 2006-04-24 12:47:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
worst book reveiw evar.
Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-04-24 12:37:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 11:39:36 (#)
Ranking: -2
erh vagina?
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You don't sound too sure of yourself. Why don't you go to the little boys' room and check. Get back to me when/if you ever find whatever it is that's down there.
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 12:33:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
ILL POST TEN TIMES PER DAY YOU WHITE WOMAN WANTING DIRTY FUCKING NIGGER!!!!!
Submitted by COMountain (user info) at 2006-04-24 12:23:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
why can't this asshat grasp the idea behind "one post per day?"
fucking choke on my semen and die already.
Submitted by kissmyarse (user info) at 2006-04-24 11:46:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Didn't bother. You suck because I read somewhere that you are an asshole. And I'm PMSing.
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 11:39:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
erh vagina?
Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-04-24 11:38:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
A piece of what?
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 11:37:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Make love to my mouth. Only way to silence me.
Submitted by jgreening (user info) at 2006-04-24 11:32:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Shut up, shitty poster.
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 11:24:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
It's ok to want a piece MichelleNJ, everybody does.
Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-04-24 11:07:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
What is a "blooty tool"?
Also, who's camping? I only come back to retard posts to see what everyone else is saying. Most of the time, the reviews are far more entertaining than the post. I have more important things to do than to sit on your post a hit F5 every 5 seconds.
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:50:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
I never claimed to be new and original. i've laughed at the witty and retarded replies I've seen posting to the zillion other users who came before me like this. Shit's and giggles you know. Yeah I think I'm so original for fucking with some form of an online community and/or think I'm so important for it. Get over yourself foreskin fucker.
Also, it's douchebag, not dueschebag you blooty tool. Here's to me keeping it original. Tool.
Submitted by Chazzy (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:44:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Amen to that!
Submitted by retrospect (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:41:16 (#)
Ranking: 0
its funny how deranged you are. "i love you hating me.." get over your pathetic little self. we dont hate you, we just think what you write is stupid, and we rate accordingly. if you didn't post, we would rate the next guy that writes stupid stuff the same as we rate you. the fact that you think you are significant is much more laughable than anything you've ever posted here. but yeah, your breaking ground at being an annoying little dueschebag. we have never seen anything quite like somebody being a retard on purpose to get a response from other posters. yeah, real new and original and you are just sooooo interesting. pfft.
Submitted by Foolproof (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:43:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by retrospect (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:42:28 (#)
Ranking: 0
wait a minute! imagine now, you respond to me using crass language and sexual inuendos about my mother in an attempt to bother me! that would be incredible!
________________
DON'T FORGET TO SAY YOU'LL FIGHT HIM!
Submitted by retrospect (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:42:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
wait a minute! imagine now, you respond to me using crass language and sexual inuendos about my mother in an attempt to bother me! that would be incredible!
Submitted by retrospect (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:41:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
its funny how deranged you are. "i love you hating me.." get over your pathetic little self. we dont hate you, we just think what you write is stupid, and we rate accordingly. if you didn't post, we would rate the next guy that writes stupid stuff the same as we rate you. the fact that you think you are significant is much more laughable than anything you've ever posted here. but yeah, your breaking ground at being an annoying little dueschebag. we have never seen anything quite like somebody being a retard on purpose to get a response from other posters. yeah, real new and original and you are just sooooo interesting. pfft.
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:37:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Good job axoloti. -2 for being that.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:31:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
My
Ex's
Taint-
Stain
Submitted by Foolproof (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:30:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:28:33 (#)
Ranking: -2
Haha I love you camping whores who get off on hating me. I will fight anyone who wishes to.
+++++++++++++
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Cock junkey.
Submitted by myexstaintstain (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:28:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Haha I love you camping whores who get off on hating me. I will fight anyone who wishes to.
Submitted by retrospect (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:27:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by Foolproof (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:23:53 (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:20:47 (#)
Ranking: -2
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Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:20:47 (#)
Ranking: -2
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Submitted by Foolproof (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:23:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:20:47 (#)
Ranking: -2
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Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-04-24 10:20:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
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