“WHY WILLY LOUMAN AND KING LEAR ARE SEEN AS TRAGIC CHARACTERS”

Tragedy is the main theme found in “Death of a Salesman” and “King Lear”. One may see that the two major characters of both books brought on their own turmoil or tragedy based upon the actions they had taken and the attributes in which they possessed. Their flaws have affected their surroundings – the persons who care deeply for them. It made them regret many things and also from their regretful actions have developed a sense of realization to the negatives in which they had done. The reasons for them being seen as tragic characters are as follows: First of all, they do not seem happy at the beginning of both plays. The story is introduced with a conflict. Secondly, their personality helps to influence their misfortune. And lastly, they both tarnish some of the characters of both plays. Willy and Lear are one of the major characters of the plays that have gone through a lot of conflict within the novels.

Lear and Willy have issues of their own. The plays make this obvious when the conflict is introduced in the beginning of the story. Willy’s son, Biff returns home at a time that Willy feels unhappy with himself. Biff’s returning incorporates with the conflict at hand. Willy is at a period where he feels that he is losing it all that including his sanity. He feels that everything is left upon his shoulders and in a sense he feels that Biff’s disregard for him is out of spite. Lear, however is betrayed by his daughters. He is does not understand the full degree of true loyalty and love. Lear is furious of his daughters’ attitude towards him when ironically it is him to blame for this. On being betrayed by his two daughters, Goneril and Ragan, Lear loses his loyal daughter, Cordelia. He feels that Cordelia does not care for him the way the others claim to.

Arrogance is a similar motif found in both characters. Willy seems to be an ignorant, miserable man who thinks highly of himself. He is  very prideful when it comes to his finances and well being. His arrogance makes him into a man that cares only has regards for his feelings and not for others. Willy is a man who loves to be in the spotlight even if it means ridiculing those closest to him. He in a sense gets a desire from doing so. Lear is also arrogant but he is in the sense that he enjoys being praised. It is ironic because the only aspect that he deserves praise from is his status. Lear does not have a pleasant personality. He is not liked because of his character but because it is his rightful authority to gain this praise. Lear seems to take pleasure in getting the easy way out of things. He finds it fit that he should be king with power and authority but not with hard earning duties which makes a king a king.

Willy and Lear are finally viewed as tragic characters based on the actions they had taken. They deeply tarnished the people around them. For instance, in “Death of a Salesman” Willy pushed Biff to be the man that he wanted to be. All of this pressure was placed on Biff and sadly Biff could not ‘take the heat in the oven’. Biff was afraid to admit to his father the true man that he had become. It was only discovered at the end of the novel when Biff finally breaks down emotionally with Willy. Willy also damaged the sacred vow of being faithful to his wife, Linda. Willy wanted to be so much like his ‘American Dream’. He thought that having another woman would make him a better man than he was. In “King Lear”, Lear banishes his daughter Cordelia because she did not express her love for him in a exaggerated manner. On doing so he is seen as a fool for being so gullible and for not accepting the minor acknowledgment in which Cordelia had given him. Lear additionally gets mistreated by Goneril and Regan. He is responsible for this in that he divided his love for his daughters unequally. Goneril and Regan did not feel a sense of fairness or gratefulness from their father.

Lear and Willy suffered greatly due to the way in which the handled and responded to the ones that cared greatly for them. They would have had a different fate if they were willing to open their eyes and look at the more important issues of life and not of  their own interests.

“IS WILLY LOUMAN’S FAMILY RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS SUICIDE?”

“Death of a Salesman” is a novel about Willy Louman trying to achieve the ‘American Dream’. The American Dream is based upon a person attaining all that he may want from life that being mostly material things, the perfect family and being famous. Willy grew up with that idea in his head and often forced it into his sons’ mentality. Willy had seemed to be going through some emotional battles of his own. Dejectedly he succumbed to them when he committed suicide at the end of the story. Many have wondered if Willy Louman was pushed to commit such an act because of his family. There are three reasons as to why this may be so. First of all, Biff and Happy were not men who had accomplished much to make their father proud of them. To add to that, Linda was supportive but for the wrong reasons, lastly, they all had Willy focusing on the idea of being in the ‘American Dream’. These three points will now be investigated.

First of all, Biff and Happy were not men who had taken their lives and accomplished something good of themselves. Biff had a future and poured it down the drain. He was a star athlete with a scholarship who more focused on his fans than on what was more important for him which was his schooling. As a result, he ended up being a ‘bum’. He had no job, no family of his own and not even a name to call himself. Willy was very proud of his son and often tried to make him known through his son’s accomplishment when he was younger. Instead if Willy being a good father and encouraging his son in the ways that would make him successful, he allowed him to do as he pleases. Willy did not play a good part in molding Biff’s future. Even though this is true, Biff was a young man of health, strength and full understanding. It was no excuse that Biff could not have become a better man. Biff had his future in his hands but he chose to be lazy towards it. Now, Biff regrets it since it comes a time now when Willy needs him most. Willy is tired and has entered the elderly stage. It would have been difficult for him to provide fir his family at this time. Happy was younger than Biff and so too he had a good future. Happy was too interested in always trying to get Willy’s attention. This in turn made him weak in the sense that he did not have his own goals. Happy was more of a daddy’s boy than Biff was. He did not make an effort in even trying to do it big on his own. This is clear because Happy is still residing in his parents’ household. Having two adult sons and them not making something of themselves would have made any father ashamed and miserable. This is what occurred with Willy.

Secondly, Linda was supportive but for the wrong reasons. She often seemed victimized by the way Willy speaks to her. She does not seem to share the same level of authority with him. Willy treats her as if she is unimportant. He may seem to taking Linda for granted. Linda is a graceful woman but in certain times she does not know when to stand up for her self. She also supports Willy in everything that he does and does not give her own input on how things should be gone about in the household. Linda is afraid to face reality just as how Willy is too. She knows in her heart that Willy is unhappy and that something out of the ordinary is about to occur. She closes her mind on these issues. Linda does not want to be realistic with Willy. She also knows that he is tired and cannot do much like before. Linda is a mother but her motherly traits seem to be in hiding when it comes to her sons. A mother is usually there to encourage her children and also to guide them when they are doing wrong. Linda does not do any of these to neither of her sons or Willy.

Lastly, The Loumans are aware of how much Willy values the ‘American Dream’. They all know that it is something which is hard to attain. It is even impossible. Instead of them taking time to recognize it’s impossibility and encouraging Willy to do so. They turn a blind eye towards this. All Willy needed was a bit of a wake up call. His family was too preoccupied with their lives to take time to see that their Willy Louman was struggling. They were to persuade Willy to face reality and be satisfied with the little in which he already had.

Analysis of the Character, Willy Louman to King Lear: The Similarities and Differences.

Most books today seem to have many similarities and differences. This is further proven in the two books that are being studied at the moment: King Lear and Death of a Salesman. King Lear begins with a father putting his trust into his three daughters and then immediately being betrayed by them. Death of a Salesman is about what any average middle aged man would be going through if he feels dissatisfied with how he has lived his life. Willy Louman and King Lear share very great similarities when it comes to their characters being portrayed in both books. The similarities between both characters are as follows: Firstly, they were both arrogant men; they enjoyed loads of flattery; additionally, they ignored the more devoted child. The offspring which showed them loyalty and love the most; thirdly, they failed to recognize that their flaws had great impacts on their children. On the other hand, the characters’ differences were first of all that King Lear’s Wife was dead whilst Willy Louman’s wife was there to support him in his time of troubled time; Secondly, both their tragedies were based on different situations; And also, Willy was a hard working man who tried to achieve his little “American Dream” whilst King Lear was a laid back man who was willing to give away his power and authority to others- in this case, his daughters.

Willy Louman and King Lear both ironically had the same thing in common that is they both were arrogant men. Willy was a man who loved to be noticed in a crowd. Not only did he like to be noticed he extremely enjoyed the idea of being praised or in his terms, “well liked”. King Lear was also a person that fell in that same category. He was so arrogant that he demanded for his daughters to protest their love for him. It is obvious that Lear only wanted plain flattery. He wanted that so much that even his daughters’ fake protests of their love for him was what made him happy. Simplicity was no match for Lear and thus making it the reason why his youngest daughter did not succeed in impressing him.

Both characters had another fault. They were afraid to recognize the child which was most devoted to them. In King Lear’s case, it was Cordelia. Cordelia was the most loyal of the three daughters in which he had. She stood by him through it all even till death. In the novel Cordelia could be looked upon as a woman of high grace and bravery. She was frank and honest. Even though her father had disregarded her love, Cordelia still stood strong and had the hope that one day justice would have been hers. Now, in Willy’s case, it was Happy. Happy was Willy’s youngest. As a child growing up in the Louman family, Happy always felt ignored. This was mainly because of Willy’s favouritism towards his older brother, Biff. Willy saw a lot of himself in Biff and therefore pushed Biff to be successful. Happy loved his father and always wanted to be the one to make him proud. It is evident in the novel when Happy and Willy are in dialogue. Happy usually agrees to everything that Willy does or says. Happy in a sense is seen as not having a ‘back-bone’.

Willy Louman and King Lear additionally were unaware of the great impact on which their flaws played in the lives of their children. Willy was a man who wanted nothing but to achieve the ‘American Dream’. On doing so, he brought along everyone for the ride with him. This affected his family but mostly his children. Sadly it reflected in Biff’s lifestyle out of the two children. Biff was emotionally scarred by the decisions in which Willy made. For example, Biff witnessed his father’s infidelity towards his mother. Also, Willy did not discipline his children in a correct manner. This resulting in Biff being a laid back care free individual- him not graduating from school and also not being consistent when it came to employment. On the other hand, King Lear was to blame for his daughters’ disgust for him. Any child who seems to have loss great favours with their parent because of another sibling will eventually develop a bit of dislike for that favoured sibling. This is what occurred between Regan and Goneril, and Cordelia and Lear. Lear favoured Cordelia mostly and so Reagan and Goneril became jealous. This jealousy grew into hatred and tremendously affected their lives. It is proven in the book when Regan and Goneril rebuked Lear during his time of need.

Though the books had some major similarities, they had a few differences. Firstly, Willy was a man who worked hard to achieve his ‘American Dream’ whilst Lear was not hard working at all and decided that he would have rather had others that being his daughters taking on his responsibility. Willy is seen as the better person here because of ambition although it was to an extent the wrong goal. Lear was too much of a laid back person for a man of who possessed a status as him. He was a king and unfortunately much of it was not shown in him.

King Lear’s tragedy was based on him being betrayed by his daughters whilst Willy’s was about his misery and dissatisfaction with what he had achieved from his life. It is regretful because both men wanted the opposite of what they possessed. This further means that Willy wanted to be highly known and have an extravagant lifestyle whilst Lear wanted to be free of all responsibilities and jus be admired. Willy was always in a rush trying to attain a ‘quick buck’ from any little thing he could get his hands on. He went to the extent of using his own life to do so when things were jus about to pick up for the better.

It is often viewed that a female role plays a great part in the novels. Willy had his wife Linda as his strong hold. Lear did not. His wife had passed away. Maybe if it was a reversal in faith both men’s story line would have been different. For instance if Lear had his wife by his side, it would have almost been difficult for him to have made such a decision in the way of how he would have divided his fortune amongst his daughters. If Linda was more of an outspoken woman, Willy would have had a person who could have interacted with him to his standards. He would have been put in place by her and perhaps his personality would have been a bit different. Maybe he would have given up on that ‘American Dream’ and faced reality.

BIFF’S EMOTIONAL BREAK DOWN AND ITS DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE

Biff Louman is the older son of Willy Louman, the main character of the play. Biff has always been Willy’s favourite son ever since he was a child. He loved his father deeply and looked up to him but over the years Biff and Willy’s relationship have gone through some obstacles. As Biff became an adult he wanted to be his own person but was worried about what his father would think of him. Biff struggled with being what his father wanted him to be. In some cases he had grown to dislike his father because of the things he had done. For instance, Biff witnessed his father cheating on his mother. This was the first aspect that tore Biff’s love for his father from his heart. Biff saw his father now as an impressionist, a fake and a liar. This in turn caused Biff to leave home so abruptly. In some cases, Biff lacked the guidance he needed to become somebody. He thought he was getting it from Willy but on discovering who his father really was Biff lost all faith in him.

In the last scene of the video viewed today, Biff finally comes out his father’s fantasy world and lets him know what is really taking place in his life. It took Biff an unsuccessful interview with Bill Oliver for him to finally realize what he had become and the person who he is and would not be. Biff saw that it was alright to be who he is even though he was not greatly recognized or perfect. Willy now recognizes that he cannot live his life through Biff’s and so they come to an understanding.

The dramatic significance of this scene is that Biff finally accepts himself and tells his father the truth about him. It also shows that Willy is not the only character who has his own conflict to deal with. This scene is the climax of the play. The characters attain a sense of self rejuvenation and additionally, the idea of hope and happiness comes to mind. This scene of the also foreshadows what Willy will attempt next- suicide.

Relationship Breakdown: Willy Louman

        Death of  Salesman is a novel about a simple man named Willy Louman trying to achieve what he thought was the American Dream. He failed to understand what this dream truly was and in some cases broke down the strong relationship bonds in which he had with his family. The relationship which perhaps was most affected would be the relation ships with his two sons, Biff and Happy. Willy often ridiculed them allot about not living up to his standards. He did not seem satisfied with the position in which both men had set for themselves. On the other hand, Willy to an extent created flaws in his relationship with his wife, Linda. Linda was a tremendously patient woman. Sometimes- not achieving the full on respect in which she deserved from her husband. The relationships between Willy and these three major characters will be analysed and the reasons for the breakdown of the bond will be identified.

       Willy Louman adored his elder son, Biff. He looked up to him often thinking of him as a younger version of himself. Biff could be described as a "manly" character; him being tall, hefty and handsome. In his high school days, he was the star athlete. His parents were proud of him and because of that he got a not so serious grasp on life. To Biff, life was sweet.  Willy wanted what he thought was best for Biff. He often encouraged Biff to "live the American Dream". Biff in a sense seemed like a lazy man, usually liking to do things the easy way and allowing people to get things done for him. In other words, Biff was looking for any means of getting a quick buck. This sadly reflected on the man he had become today. Willy loved his son but in some cases he felt ashamed of what he had become- nothing but a common 'bum'. It is clearly shown in the novel that Willy Louman was an arrogant man; a man which was very touchy when it came to his pride. Louman always wanted to be in the spotlight; always wanted to have some sort of great story to tell his employees and friends. He could not boast much about himself and so he had fit Biff into that category. Biff, now being a man did not have much to be proud about. Willy in a way felt angry with himself and did not know how to admit it to himself. Therefore, he lashed out at everyone around him and Biff mostly became his victim of ridicule.

       Willy's younger son, Happy looked up to his father greatly. Willy did not pay much mind to him. Biff was seen as his favourite son. Happy always tried to get into the good favours of his father. He tried his best to live his father's "American Dream". Happy became a womaniser since he thought that was what his father would have wanted. He focused on business also because his father was in that field. It seemed that all Happy wanted to do was to get some sort of loving attention from Willy. Unfortunately, Willy was too pre-occupied with gettting "highly liked" by others and not appreciating the few good things in which he had already. Happy did not disrespect his father like Biff did. He was recognised as the more ambitious son. It is unfortunate how Willy Put his time and effort into the son that did not love him the way in which he  loved his son. Happy was more dedicated to his father. The relationship breakdown between Willy and his son could be more be pointed to Willy. It being his fault and all since he chose to ignore Happy. Maybe if Biff was more like Happy it would have put Will at ease.

     Linda Louman was Willy's devoted wife. Often seen as a gracious lady. Usually speaking when spoken to at times. Mrs. Louman was too much of a good woman to be with Willy but then who is to judge that when it was obvious that the only reason she stayed was because she loved him. Willy was too less of a gentleman towards her. He enjoyed shouting at her even insulting her. Any average woman would have snapped back but Linda Louman stood her ground. Willy was an ungrateful man. This is said because any woman that is willing to put up with all that has been done to her negatively by her husband  and not show any sort of disagreement with that is a great woman. Linda was really one of a kind. Willy failed to give Linda the respect in which she more than deserved. This is evident when he cheated  on her. This relationship was the least bit affected negatively since both characters did not recognize the flaw in which it had.

      In conclusion, Willy Louman made his wanting for the American Dream affect his relationships.