FREE ESSAY ON REALISM IN DEATH OF A SALESMAN

REALISM IN DEATH OF A SALESMAN

Realism in Death of a Salesman Realism can be defined as an attempt to reproduce the
surface appearance of the life of normal people in everyday situations (Kennedy 1410).
Basically realism is a situation that normal people can relate to based on their own
experiences. Realism is extremely prevalent in the play Death of a Salesman. The
characters in the play all have real world problems. Lack of money is one of the
problems, which is a problem for many people. There are also many conflicts within the
family; the biggest is over what success is; money and power or happiness. Willy Loman
also wants his children to have a better than he has and tries to do everything he can so
they will have a better life, including ending his own. One realistic situation that many
people can relate to is money problems. Money is one of the main problems that Willy
Loman had throughout the play. The Loman family had many purchases on payments. Linda
even states "for the vacuum cleaner there's three and a half due on the fifteenth"
(Miller 1650). The Loman family was living from week to week. Every time Willy came home
from a fairly successful day selling, he would think he was finally getting ahead. Willy
would tell Linda how much he had made, but she would then point out how much they owed on
everything. Willy then felt overwhelmed and said "My God, if business don't pick up I
don't know what I'm gonna do!" (1650). Linda would then reassure Willy and tell him
"Well, next week you'll do better" (1650). Many people in real life have this same
problem. Every time they feel they are getting ahead financially, a problem occurs and
they find themselves right back where they started. Most people also have to deal with
problems and conflicts within their family throughout their life. Family problems were
not exempt from the characters in Death of a Salesman. Biff's idea of success was
completely opposite from Willy's. Willy viewed success as achieving money and power; Biff
however viewed success in life as being happy. Biff realized that "I'm just what I am,
that's all" (1703). Biff realized he was "a dime a dozen" (1703), but his father could
not accept this reality. This situation where parents always keep telling their children
what else they could be is common in many families. In actuality the children are where
they want to be in life, but the parents just cannot accept their children's contentment.
Biff spent most of his life trying to please Willy, but Biff finally realized that he
never could. He was what he was. The most realistic part of the play may have been about
how much Willy loved his children and how he wanted their life to be better than his own.
Willy raised his children the best he could. The character Ben even seemed to appear when
Willy was trying to make a decision on how to make the boys lives better. This situation
with Ben makes it appear that Willy has such a hard time making a decision about what is
best for the boys, that he relies on his imagination for an answer. The main reason Willy
ends up killing himself is because he thinks it will help Biff start his own business
with the life insurance money. Willy did everything with the best of intentions and
thought his actions and decisions would benefit his children. Most parents are the same
way and will do anything in their power to help their children. When reading Death of a
Salesman, most people can relate to the problems of the Loman's. The similarities of the
Loman's problems to the everyday problems that average people face make this a play full
of realism. Works Cited Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to
Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999. 1410 Miller,
Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.,
1999. 1636-1707