Death of a Salesman

Mental Deterioration of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller 's critique of American Dream of successful life , Death of a Salesman deals with the conflicting emotions within a family that reflects the concerns of the nation as a whole . It is remarkable for its portrayal of the protagonist , Willy Loman whose tragedy springs from his disillusionment resulting from the impractical quest for fulfilling the American Dream . His mental deterioration , depression and delusions profoundly influence his thoughts and actions until it leads him to inevitable the destiny

Being a

strong contemporary critic of American culture and its values Miller accuses the society for nurturing a worldly dream of success that disregards the domestic bonds and values . The protagonist Willy Loman is a victim of such a society that instilled in him false ideals that lead to his destruction . Willy has nurtured fantasies of a successful life through out his life that he is blind to see his failure to accomplish his hopes and prospects . The gradual realization of the disparity between his hopes and reality leads to the mental deterioration that develops to his escapades to delusions . Another source of his psychological decline is his conflicts in the relationships with his sons . Willy hoped to fulfill his concepts of American dream through his son , Biff . However , disgusted with his father 's expectations about him Biff decides to confront the reality of failure in his life . The falling out in the relationship between Biff and Willy during the course of the play aggravates his condition . Further reasons of Willy 's mental depression result from his inability to do justice to his wife , Linda and his second son , Happy . Willy is greatly disturbed by his memories of sexual infidelity towards his faithful wife . Along with his detached relationship with Happy , Willy 's memories of his father who abandoned him and his brother in his childhood still torture him . All these have ruled him all through his life that he is inescapably trapped in the mess he himself had created

Willy 's psychological condition in the play is verging on madness that he barely knows what he says and do . In state , Willy often fell into trances while driving . It was usual for him to get into accidents when he drives back home which may be accounted for his sub-conscious desire for death . In his conversations he often contradicted himself . He accuses his son Biff to be a lazy bum ' but contradict it later by saying that he is anything but lazy . Willy desperately tries to judge people and things in to satisfy his wishes and hopes and to cover his failures . He accuses Biff as lazy on account of his failure to achieve success and defend him for the success he may achieve in future . In his attempt to escape from the world of suffocating reality , he often indulges in day dreams about his past which he thinks to be happy . The past often clashes with the present as...