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Is Willy Loman a hero or a villain? There are arguments to support Willy being a hero, and arguments to support Willy being a villain. Willy did not have the friends and contacts that he claimed and emphasized that his boys should have. Most of his life became a lie to him and his family. Willy commits many faults that categorize him as a villain. The most important fault was the affair.
He might have not wanted to do this on purpose but this does not make him any better. Maybe the affair first started out as a business relationship, but it did not end that way. This affair damaged the life of Biff who caught his father with the woman. Biff became disappointed and angry towards Willy.
Willy was not the only one who faced consequences, so did Biff and Linda. Willy cheated on Linda and never said anything about the affair to her. He sometimes felt guilty about it. However by not saying anything to her he made her feel like she is no longer a part of is life and maybe even that she is inferior to him. He felt that he could not face her because of what he was doing behind her back. Willy was still ashamed of what he had done, even after the affair was over.
An example for that is, that whenever he saw Linda knitting stockings he demanded from her to stop, only because it reminded him the fact that he used to give the other woman stockings. So that shows he still felt guilty about his actions even after many years. Willys lies to his family about business is another big fault. In the story, we get to know Willy better trough his flashbacks that showed us his past. Through the flashbacks, the reader gets to notice that the only thing he wanted in life was to be successful. All he cared about was business and to be well liked by others.
Willy bragged about being successful in his job and being liked by everyone. Willy Loman is here! Thats all they have to know, and I go right through. However In reality, all his dreams about being well liked were phony, because he wasnt. He might be called a hero because he wanted the best for his sons, but at the same time Willy was lying to his family. He lied about having a great job, being successful, well liked and happy.
He always told his Biff and Happy to do good, but never set an example himself. He was never a great salesman and had no contacts anywhere. Willy made his family believe his lies. Lies that Willy began to believe in as well, so much that he couldn t distinguish what is real and what is not. Biffs dream was different from his fathers dream. And even though Willy encouraged Biff not to attend summer school and therefore, never graduate, he still wanted Biff to follow his footsteps.
Biff had been confused throughout many years and was always trying to find himself. When he came from the ranch to visit his family he tried to be in peace with Willy. Willy did not want to see him, because his son was working at a ranch and only received a small amount of money for is work. He did not approve of Biffs work on a ranch.
He felt that at Biffs age of 34, he should have found himself and should have been settled into a good paying job. During Biffs visit, Biff realized what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, and finds himself. Despite of this, Willy still did not want his son to work on a ranch. He preferred his son to be successful and unhappy, than unsuccessful and happy. Willy becomes so into this idea that he never wants Biff to return to his house.
By doing this, Willy is once again not encouraging his son to follow his dream and to be happy. During one of the flashback, the reader learns that Willy favor Biff over Happy. In the day of the big game, Willy only has his attention on Biff and pays none to his other son. Another example is when Happy is trying to tell his father about how he is losing weight, but Willy doesnt pay much attention to him. Even though it is not much portrayed in the play, it is noticeable that Happy has always wanted his father to treat him the way he treated Biff. Happy stayed at Willys house and followed his fathers dream, and became a businessman.
Although Biff wasnt making money, it seemed that Happy was doing very well, but Willy never seemed to notice or if he did, he never said anything to Happy to let him know he had noticed. And so it brings us to the obvious conclusion that Willy Loman is infact the reason for most of his family s problems. For whole his life, he used to brag to his family about all the people that knew him and how that was the only way to be successful, when he really did not know anyone. In the end, Willy kills himself. Willy thought that after he will be dead, the funeral would show his family how many people he knew, because they would all come, but no one showed up. Villain may be a strong word, but it fits Willy Loman much better than hero
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Research essay sample on Willy Loman Felt Guilty
