Death of a Salesman - Act 1 Second Look.
In the first act of the play Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, the concepts of irony and contradiction are presented very well. Through characters such as Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy Loman, Arthur Miller was able to portray a man's dreams for his family along with the same man's failures in his life. There were several incidents and scenes in which I tried to recall if the character actually believed what he/she was saying or was he/she actually contradicting them. Similarly, there were times where one character would do something that brought irony into thought.
Willy Loman is the central character in the play. Being a salesman, he has to travel frequently for his work. However, being well into his sixties now, his value to the company has been on a steady down flow. This is evident by the fact that he is put on straight commission and taken off of salary. Willy seemed to me as a very confused individual. He seemed like and individual who is not sure what he wants anymore. He is continuously talking to himself, taking himself in and out of his own fantasy worlds. Willy's wife, Linda, is devoted to her husband and has made many sacrifices just to sustain him. Despite Linda's never ending support and encouragement, Willy grows increasingly depressed. Willy has two sons; Biff and Happy. Biff is 34 years old, two years older than Happy. Similar to Willy, Biff is confused about himself and where he"ll end up. He has spent the last 14 years trying to find the meaning in his life. Happy on the other hand, is very independent as he lives in his own apartment and works for a department store. However it is always Biff that gets Willy's attention and affection. For this reason, Happy always seems to be in continuous competition with Biff.
In their youth, Biff was a part of the high school football team. He was very athletic and had many scholarships waiting for him.