Death Of Salesman Essay

In Death Of A Salesman, Arthur Miller uses flashbacks, dramatic narrative technique. These flashbacks are normally used to express past ideas at the current status quo, which help readers get a clear insight of the character’s background. The commonality of these flashbacks used by Miller is they are all based on Willy Loman’s old memories. They reflect on the audience as what is going through Willy’s mind when he is lured into this dream state and how this differs to when he has a reality check. Generally, the flashbacks simply represent what Miller thinks about during the last stages of life before he suicides. These past reminiscence and imaginary details expressed by Miller unveil the past of the Loman family and what led to their current state as a family. There are 2 main flashbacks that have significant impacts on the Lomans. The first flashback is when Willy falls in his â€Å"Living The American Dream† state where his sons idolize him and the distinction between Bernard and Biff is shown. The second flashback is based on the brief scene where Charley and Willy are playing cards and Willy’s inability to accept the truth of reality is revealed. The first flashback made in Act 1 starts off with Willy floating away from reality and believing that he himself is a successful businessman and father. His self-esteem of being an idolized and respected salesman can be referred to the quotation: Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave home any more.† Miller purposefully colours in Willy’s mind this mental state of having abundance of self-confidence in terms of his career. Miller wants to emphasize how this dream-like life of having such a successful occupation is completely different from what reality is like. He deliberately diverts Willy’s dreams into a completely opposite direction so that it because undoubtedly clear to the audience the need for Willy to have a reality check. In reality, the readers are already informed of the instability of Willy’s job and how he soon gets fired. The contrast between an unemployed individual and a successful salesman and the fact that for most of the time Willy believing himself to be the latter is what is being portrayed by this flashback. In addition, Willy’s high expectations and faith in his sons especially Biff is noticeable. When Biff says, â€Å" He keeps congratulating my initiative all the time, Pop† this is very different what Biff’s position in society is. Biff is still struggling to settle into the world of business. However, the crucial fact is that Biff finds out his true identity in reality whilst Willy who is drawn into Miller’s flashbacks think highly of his son in relationship to the community. In this flashback, Willy imagines Biff and happy holding onto his suitcases entering grandly into his stores. Such imagery detail expressed by Miller can be seen as the representation of what Willy thinks of his son. Furthermore, the comparison between Biff and Bernard is truly made through this flashback. Bernard is considered a complete nerd and Willy absolutely fail in the world of business where the only factor of competition is physical appearance. Willy thinks that Biff can outperform Bernard in ever aspect of the business society because Biff is generally well-liked proven by the point â€Å"Bernard is not well-liked, is he?’ This unreal and idealistic concept of Willy’s that one’s outward appearance is all that matters in business as a salesman is what eventually turns out costly to the Lomans. The irony comes in when the readers find out that Bernard later becomes one of the top lawyers in the country while Biff gets nowhere. This is just one of several where Willy’s predictions on life has turned out false. Unsurprisingly, Willy later on borrows money from Bernard’s father, which shows how Willy’s knowledge on how to become successful has been inaccurate not only for his generation but also for his son’s generation. Willy looks down and underestimates Bernard but envies Bernard’s father, which ridicules Willy’s theory of being well-liked. Yet, Willy still denies this contradiction within his statements that seem self-explanatory to the readers as it is portrayed in the flashback. His unawaresness of his contradiction leads to his fictitious self-belief of being so triumphant that he â€Å"knocked ‘em cold in Providence, slaughtered ‘em in Boston.† The ironical scene of this flashback is what highlights the main flaws of his life. Willy’s fallacy of how to be successful in business is completely demolished after Miller heightens the prosperity of Bernard over Biff in Willy’s flashback. The second flashback occurs also in Act 1 when Charley and Willy are playing cards at his place as the flashback seeps into Willy’s mind little by little. Tension grows in their conversation as Charley stirs up the question of Willy’s job. Willy feels insulted after Charley asks if he has a job. To stay assured, Willy taps his mind back into the past and says â€Å"If I’d gone with him to Alaska that time, everything would’ve been totally different.† Miller makes sure it is straightforward that Willy has an ongoing obsession of the past. This flashback demonstrates how Willy is too overly dependent on his dreamy past, which is why when he feels insecure after Charley’s question, he tries to justify his success from the reminiscence of his past. In addition, Willy’s longing desired to be a successful businessman is brought up again as Miller relates him to Ben’s words: â€Å"when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich.† Ben is an incarnate of success for Willy that explains why he wants his son, Biff, to have Ben as his role model. Such advice given by Willy unveils his failure for not following the rules of the Jungle expedition, which could have been the key route to success. The flashback reveals Willy’s true mind of not being able to accept the truth about himself. He acknowledges the fact he is not being appreciated by society anymore or if he ever was. This signifies that he actually understands the reality of this scene but he soon contradicts himself into thinking that he is successful when he says â€Å" I won’t have you mending stockings in this house† His confidence of his financial state is recalled and proves his inability to accept the things the way they are. It is too stressful and mentally painful for Willy to accept his own failure as a salesman and his ineptitude to be â€Å"well-liked†. Willy uses flashbacks because he finds it easier to create a reality of his own where he is successful, thereby forming disorder. The irony and imagery behind Willy’s flashbacks are what Miller manipulates to show the true nature of Willy.