Why did Willy Become a Salesman, and What Made Him Commit Suicide?
Death of A Salesman is a notable literary work by Arthur Miller. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of Death of A Salesman.
Answer
Why did Willy become a salesman, and what made him commit suicide?
Arthur Miller (1915-2005) portrayed the American dream through his play “Death of a Salesman” (1949). By highlighting his American dream, the play gained great popularity. To fulfill the American dream, the main character of the play, Willy Loman, sacrifices his life for the sake of his family, and he chooses to commit suicide.
The Cause of Willy Loman’s Suicide: In the drama, Willy Loman is the paradigm of one-sided sacrifice. Willy Loman is now an old man. For the fundamental demands of the family, he has to do the job. On the other hand, he has two sons who have all grown up, but they do not support his father in giving him money. However, Willy Loman is an old man who cannot provide healthy service to the Wagner Company. The reason is that Howard Wagner, the company’s present boss, has abrogated Willy Loman’s salary. He only gets a commission on product selling. On the other hand, their sons cannot collect the money, so they are failures. For the Universal future of the sons and the money, Willy Loman has committed suicide.
Willy is staunchly convinced of the American Dream. He is a complete failure in his life. He cannot fulfil the American Dream. That is why he has sacrificed his life because after his death, his family will be paid 20000 dollars from the insurance company, and it will be much help to start a business for his sons. For the sons, he has sacrificed his life by committing suicide.
In termination, we can say that Willy Loman is an American man, that’s why he has dreamed of the “American Dream”. But he failed to pick up the American Dream. However, he sacrifices his life for his sons so that they can pursue the American Dream.