In the story Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller the character of Willy Loman leads to his own demise. Willy Loman's problems start with his lying to his wife, his poor grip on reality and his bad relationship with his son. His attitude toward these throughout the story suggests he does not take responsibility for his own actions. .
The first problem Willy had was his lack of sense of reality. As he has grown older Willy's mind is not all that good. Therefore he has the inability to separate from the past and present. He is also lost in flashbacks throughout the story. The flashbacks that he seems to have the most are about the women. Willy's affair with this woman was bad for him. The affair with seems to be the focus for some of his problems that he is having. "There is so much I want to make for" (Act 1, Scene 3). His dialogue with the woman indicates his lack of awareness about his present life. Willy also hallucinates about his brother Ben. Willie wishes he could be more like his brother and have the benefits he had. "You see what I have been talking about? the greatest things can happen" (Act 1, Scene 4). Willie thinks of his brother so much that he sometimes mistakes him for others. Willies mind has taken control of his life and it's not letting him grasp what is really going on. This is leading to his demise.
Another problem Willie has is lying to his wife Linda. He is not totally truthful with her and this hurts him. It seems as though Willie does not think of his wife as an equal. He keeps very important things from her that she should know. For example Willie is not truthful to his wife about how much money he is getting. "I did five hundred gross in Providence and seven hundred gross in Boston. (Act 1, Scene 3). He is inflating how much money he is making. By doing this his wife does not know how much he really makes. Therefore they might not be able to pay the bills. If Willie was truthful to his wife she may have been able to help out.
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949, 1977) portrays a man who struggles with the task of having a good family relationship at home with his wife and two sons, and procrastinating being a successful salesman. ... Willy's death is a procrastination of his life. ... Death of a Salesman. ... Death of a Salesman. ...
