FREE ESSAY ON WILLY'S ESCAPE

WILLY'S ESCAPE

Willy's Escape
No one has a perfect life. Everyone has conflicts that they must face sooner or later.
The ways in which people deal with these personal conflicts can differ as much as the
people themselves. Some insist on ignoring the problem as long as possible, while some
attack the problem to get it out of the way. Willy Loman's technique in Arthur Miller's
play "Death of a Salesman", leads to very severe consequences. Willy never really does
anything to help the situation, he just escapes into the past, whether intentionally or
not, to happier times were problems were scarce. He uses this escape as if it were a
narcotic, and as the play progresses, the reader learns that it can be a dangerous drug,
because of its addictiveness and it's deadliness.
The first time Willy is seen lapsing off into the past is when he encounters Biff after
arriving home. The conversation between Willy and Linda reflects Willy's disappointment
in Biff and what he has become, which is, for the most part, a bum. After failing to deal
adequately with his feelings, he escapes into a time when things were better for his
family. It is not uncommon for one to think of better times at low points in their life
in order to cheer themselves up so that they are able to deal with the problems they
encounter, but Willy Loman takes it one step further. His refusal to accept reality is so
strong that in his mind he is transported back in time to relive one of the happier days
of his life. It was a time when no one argued, Willy and Linda were younger, the
financial situation was less of a burden, and Biff and Happy enthusiastically welcomed
their father back home from a long road trip. Willy's need for the drug is satiated and
he is reassured that everything will turn out okay, and the family will soon be as happy
as it as in the good old days.
The next flashback occurs during a discussion between Willy and Linda. Willy is depressed
about his inability to make enough money to support his family, his looks, his
personality, and the success of his friend and neighbor, Charley. My God if business
doesn't pick up, I don't know what I'm gonna do!" This is the comment made by Willy after
Linda figures the difference between the family's income and their expenses. Before Linda
has a chance to offer any words of consolation, Willy blurts out I'm Fat, I'm
very--foolish to look at, Linda. In doing this he has depressed himself so much that he
is visited by a woman with whom he is having an affair. The woman's purpose in this point
of the play is to cheer him up. She raises his spirits by telling him how funny and
loveable he is, saying You do make me laugh....And I think you're a wonderful man." And
when he is reassured of his attractiveness and competence, the woman disappears, her
purpose being fulfilled. Once again the drug has come to the rescue, postponing Willy has
to actually do something about his problem. 
The next day, when Willy is fired after initially going to ask his boss to be relocated
is when the next journey into the past occurs. The point of the play during which this
episode takes place is so dramatic that Willy seeks a big hit of the flashback drug. Such
a big hit in fact, that he is transported back to what was probably the happiest day of
his life. Biff was going to play in Ebbets field in the All-Scholastic Championship game
in front of thousands of people. Willy couldn't be prouder of his two popular sons who at
the time had everything going for them and seemed destined to live great, important
lives, much more so than the liked, but not well liked boy next door, Bernard. Willy's
dependency on the drug is becoming greater by the hour, at this rate, he cannot remain
sane for much longer. 
Too much of anything, even a good thing, can quickly become a bad thing. Evidence of this
statement is seen during Willy's next flashback, when the drug he has been using for so
long to avoid his problems backfires, giving him a bad trip, quite possibly a side effect
of overuse. This time he is brought back to one of the most disturbing moments in his
life. It's the day that Biff had discovered his father's mistress while visiting him on
one of his trips to ask him to come back home and negotiate with his math teacher to give
him the four points he needed to pass math and graduate high school. This scene gives the
reader a chance to fully understand the tension between Willy and Biff, and why things
can never be the same.
Throughout the play, the present has been full of misfortune for the most part, while the
opposite is true for the past. The reader is left to wonder when the turning point
occurred. What was the earth-shattering event that threw the entire Loman family into a
state of such constant tension? Now that event is revealed and Willy is out of good
memories to return to. With the last hit of Willy's supply of the drug spent, what next?
The comparison between Willy's voyages into the past and the use of a narcotic is so
perceptible because of it's verity. When Willy's feeling down or life seems just too
tedious and insignificant, or when things just aren't going his way, why not take a hit
of the old miracle drug, memories. The way Willy overuses his vivid imagination is sad
because the only thing it is good for is enabling him to go through one more day of his
piteous life, full of bitterness, confusion, depression, false hopefulness, and a feeling
of love which he is trying very hard to express to his sons who seem reluctant to accept
it.