The Victimizer and His VictimsIn Arthur Miller’s, Death of a Salesman
...are of the illusion his father has created as his identity. “You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!”(II.p.95) Willy cares deeply for Biff and it is this guilt that hurts himself. He is aware that he has failed his son. When Linda notifies Biff about Willy trying to kill himself many times Biff begins to make excuses for him. Then she alerts Biff about the hose she found down in the cellar attached to the gas pipe. Biff cannot understand why she had not removed it. Linda does not want to, “insult him…I don’t know what to do. I live from day to day.”(I.p.47) The family knows of Willy’s suicidal attempts including car accidents but does not want to hurt him even though they are being hurt in the process. Willy dreams of false beliefs, which cause him to harm himself while living in his unknown identity. He is filled with guilt that follows his soul in the victimizing of himself. Willy’s constant performance in the play results in his failure at work. Willy does not face the reality of knowing that he is not “the New England Man” and is not necessarily “well-liked” or “well-known.” He believes himself to succeed in ways he never will, “Tell you a secret, boys. Don’t breath it to a soul. Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave home anymore.” It is most evident that Willy is not successful and his future is not looking bright either. He constantly tries to look for secrets of success from Ben, Charley and Bernard who give him advice but Willy does not have the intelligence to understand their words. Willy makes excuses for his failures when his 1200 gross sales were reduced to 200, “The trouble was that three of the stores were half closed for inventory in Boston.”(I.p.27) Charley pays most of Willy’s bills secretly keeping it from Linda. Willy admits that Charley is, “the only friend,” he has but is constantly up and down with him. When Charley offers Willy a job for his company Willy refuses out of spite and jealously. Willy has always wanted Charley’s success. These two do not understand each other they constantly conflict. Charley’s speech in the requiem about the life of the salesmans’ dreams praises Willy as a victim of his problematical profession. “He’s a man out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine…A salesman is got to dream, boy.”(p.111) His sensitive appraisal of sales defends Willy’s death, pointing to Willy’s work the sort of fairy-tale way that Willy himself always imagined. Charley associates the salesman to a brave, spirited sailor, “out there in the blue,” with nothing guiding him and unknown forces to challenge. Charley also mentions the inconsistency between the salesman’s job and the unimportant tools he is ready with. Willy only had the weak smile on his face and his shiny shoes to persuade somebody to buy. Willy’s failure broke his smile and dulled his shoes, which made it impossible to sell himself. Willy still had to continue to sell lacking confidence because, “a salesman is got to dream.” Willy is a coward who is unable to face the prospect of his own failures. He consistently blames others because of his unsuccessfulness. Willy’s actions throughout the play revolve around his aspirations and lead to hurting others. During many events Willy’s illusions and hallucinations continuously cause him a great deal of guilt leading him to hurting himself. The accumulation of Willy’s victimizing events lead to his personal victimization. Willy and Linda share an inconsistent relationship that results in the hurting of one another. Happy and Biff have opposing relationships with their father and believe in him misleadingly. Willy believes falsely of his profession, which inflicts his own hurt. It is important to not let people misguide you and to follow your own path in life with aspirations of your own and not others. It is important to listen to opinions of others and take advice but ultimately follow what your conscience truly tells you. As individuals continue through their awakening lives it is realistic to say that they will encounter hurtful societies. It is crucial to recognize and deal with confrontation in order to minimize these cruel behaviors. In Arthur Miller’s, Death of a Salesman Willy resides on hurting others with the absurdities of his expectations and in return becomes victimized himself. Willy is reliant on Linda’s support but takes advantage of her character that results in hurting her. Willy has opposing relationships with each of his sons but does a great deal of harm to their lives and in return to his own. Willy’s performance of his unsuccessful profession and his unrealistic approach to his place in society leads to the breakdown of his character. Victims are helpless creatures that sacrifice finding a solution to the problem because it’s much easier to walk away and ignore. Victimizers’ breakdown trust and hope with those involved such as relationships with friends, family and society. There are many ways people can become hurt. Willy is a known victimizer in the play who without failure avenges other people. Willy is unaware of his weaknesses but strives to point it out in other people. He is constantly interrupting others all the time. He regularly lays blame on Linda of this accusation but interrupts his family and friends regularly including Linda, Charley and Biff. Willy is using his power and authority to state that he does not care about their opinions. Other people’s meanings that they create and want to offer are not acknowledged because he is always the one that is right. Willy is self-absorbed. Linda attempts change when she buys American cheese over the standard Swiss cheese. Willy rejects her ideas cutting her off in mid sentence, “I don’t want a change! I want Swiss cheese. Why am I always being contradicted?”(I.p.12) Willy and Linda’s relationship is a paradox. Willy knows that he depends on her, “you’re my foundation and my support Linda.” When Willy is away on business he complains that he misses her, “On the road I want to grab you and kiss the life outa you.” But at the house he reserves himself from her. Willy keeps his secrets from Linda about being unfaithful as well as keeping his guilt hidden. He does not attempt to ask Linda how she is feeling and withstands going to bed but he knows that, “the woman has waited the woman has suffered.” Willy also resists Linda from playing a part in happiness with Biff and Happy. He dismisses her thoughts completely. Biff describes their relationship how he sees it, “he always, always wiped the floor with you. Never had an ounce of respect for you.”(I.p.43) Willy is on opposite ends with his two sons. He ignores Happy consistently not having the slightest interest in his life. Willy is magnified by Biff and this relationship relentlessly hurts one another. Willy only recognizes his son Happy when he is talking to Biff and is often telling him to listen to Biff. The one time that he talks to Happy, one on one, he reprimands him cruelly. “You’ll retire me for life on seventy goddam dollars a week? And your woman and your car and your apartment, and you’ll retire me for life!” Willy doesn’t have anything against Happy he just does not have time for him. Happy frequently calls for attention, “I’m losing weight, you notice Pop?” but it never gets noticed. This is a straightforward relationship it simply does not exist. Willy fails to listen to other people he only pays attention when he hears what he wants to. In one-way or another Willy discards whoever is speaking. Biff complains, “I can’t get near him,” and this goes for everybody else around him. It is every time he returns home that he is blamed for his father’s frame of mind because they constantly fight. This has been the case since Biff saw Willy with another woman that gave him the biggest shock and disappointment of his life. He believed his father to be the successful, inspirational, faithful and loving person that he has known all his life. Biff is now aware of the illusion his fathe...