Arthur MillerÆs famous drama Death of a Salesman features protagonist Willy Loman, a washed up salesman whose delusions make him believe he is still highly skilled and in demand. Willy maintains a number of illusions that ultimately he can no longer believe. When he can no longer believe in these illusions (the ôAmerican Dream,ö his sonÆs abilities, his sales skills, etc.), he commits suicide so his wife can have his life insurance money. Despite Willy victimizing a number of individuals in the play, he is also a victim. It is his roles as both victimizer and victim that ultimately motivates Willy to take his own life, believing he is worth more dead than alive.
Willy Loman exhibits behaviors in Death of a Salesman that make him a victimizer. He cheats on his wife Linda, which devastates his son and causes him to lose faith in his father. He tortures his wife by her knowledge that he is trying to commit suicide. He encourages deviant behavior in his sons, either justifying their thefts of athletic equipment and lumber supplies or viewing the thefts as the actions of ôa couple of fearless charactersö (Miller 51). Willy believes in appearances but those appearances quite often are based on delusions. He tells his sons about personality that ôthe man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never wantö (Miller 33). Even though he preaches such philosophy, by encouraging his sons to steal Willy actually victimizes his sons. His delusions transfer to Biff. Even though he steals from Bill Oliver, Biff begins to delude himself about the past, much like his father does.
WillyÆs role as victimizer is offset by his role as victim. We see his victimization repeatedly in the play. When Benjamin visits the family, Willy asks him to explain to the boys about their grandfather so they ôknow the kind of stock they s
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