death of a salesman

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Willy rejects Charley 's job offer partly because Willy is disillusioned about the state of his own life and partly because he is jealous of Charley 's success . However modest Charley 's success may be , it is indeed significantly comparable to that of Willy 's the Lomans are in debt and past due on some bills , and the latest trip Willy made did not yield a desirable commission . Willy shows his jealousy , which is as subconsciously expressed as his disillusionment , toward Charley

by insulting him in nearly every scene they share . In the first act Charley shows his irritation toward Willy 's immature behavior by leaving quickly after Willy insults him . Charley is obviously aware of the financial situation Willy is in , which is what prompts him to offer Willy a job , but Willy seems almost offended at Charley 's job offer in the first act . Charley 's job offer to Willy illustrates two points in juxtaposition : the fact that Willy needs a job and the fact that Willy is disillusioned . To take Charley 's job offer , Willy would have to admit that he is not the successful salesman he is in his head , which takes him out of his reveries , angering him into insulting Charley to make himself feel better

Willy 's disillusionment about his life and failed ambitions is perhaps the biggest reason why he cannot accept the job offer , which is made evident in the second act when Willy is fired from his job . Knowing he cannot go to his sons for help , he turns to Charley for financial aid and again refuses a second job offer . His refusal may be the last thing his pride has to hang on to since he has always prided himself on being a salesman

Willy 's natural inclinations seem to be toward nature itself , toward the outdoors , toward life in the agricultural sense . Willy 's son Biff is at first one of the most obvious instances of Willy 's inclination to working outside rather than toward salesmanship , as Biff states throughout how the Loman men should work outside and be free to whistle whenever they so . Willy also seems disinclined toward the selling life because of his preoccupation with being liked rather than the ability to sell a product . His focus on looks and how they play into a person 's perception of someone 's personality , rather than that person 's actual personality itself , show how Willy is ill-equipped to make sales . He does not seem to enjoy selling as much as he claims which is evidenced by his flashback to one of his infidelities triggered by the mending his wife is doing on her stockings . The traveling salesman life is empty for Willy , and it leaves him dissatisfied

Rather than selling , it seems Willy should have moved toward farming , a profession he makes clear is more interesting for him personally than selling . He buys seeds in the second act in an...