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Entrapment In Death Of A Salesman

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Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman centers around the tragedy of the Loman family, after the return of their son, Biff, causing contention between him and his father, Willy. Biff’s return starts bring up issues from the family's past, being his failure to graduate high school. Biff worsens Willy’s depression, stemming from his age creating difficulties to keep up in his career as a salesman. Throughout the play, the other members of the Loman family and their friends get involved, in an attempt to unite the family by helping Biff get on better terms with Willy and following in his footsteps. Throughout the play, the members of the Loman family have to deal with the idea of entrapment, with Linda, Biff, and Willy all dealing with it, in the …show more content…

From the early stages of the play, Linda makes her loyalty to Willy evident, with her defense and acceptance of her husband’s actions starting from when he first crashes his car. In Willy’s presence, she appears as a loyal wife, she consistently agrees with his grievances over his job and Biff. When Willy is not present, Linda reveals her true opinions, telling Biff and Happy, “You’ve got to make up your mind, darling, there’s no leeway any more. Either he’s your father and you pay him that respect, or else you’re not to come here. I know he’s not easy to get along with--nobody knows that better than me--but…”(Miller 39). Linda presents Biff …show more content…

Willy traps himself into a fantasy, with images of his brother, Ben and his mistress, both of which support him with fantasies of his romance with a mistress, supporting delusions of his self-image, and images of Ben supporting his delusions on the American Dream and success.Willy’s flashbacks consist of a few important people, being his mistress, Ben, and Biff at a younger age. Willy’s flashbacks with the mistress focus on his self-image. Early in Act 1, Willy has his first memory of the woman while he starts doubting his appearance and his co-workers’ opinions on him. These feelings of doubt trigger an image for him, where he receives an array of compliments from the woman, “Sure thing. You do make me laugh. It’s good for me. [She squeezes his arm, kisses him.] And I think you’re a wonderful man (Miller 25). At first, Willy’s image of the woman appears to be a method to make him feel appreciated, however he happens to enter this flashback while Linda attempts to give him support. Willy’s dissatisfaction from his wife’s support unveils his inability to accept reality over his fantasy of the past. Willy’s first vision of the woman reveals his dissatisfaction with Linda, as well as his yearnings to return to the past. Willy’s visions of the woman represent his inescapable fantasy of his romanticized older days. While the woman becomes a

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