Death of a Salesman is one of Arthur Miller’s most famous plays. The play tells the story of Willy Loman, a salesman who is struggling to make ends meet. His son, Ben, is his only hope for success. However, when Ben leaves home to pursue his own dreams, Willy is left with nothing.
The play explores the themes of family, success, and betrayal. It is a tragedy that will resonate with audiences long after they see it. Death of a Salesman is a timeless classic that should not be missed.
In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Ben serves as a catalyst to propel the protagonist, Willy, forward. The character of Ben in Arthur Millers, Death of a Salesman, acts as a catalyst for Willys’ growth.
Ben serves as a positive example for Willy in Ben’s story. Throughout the narrative, Willy aspires to be like Ben. We may understand Willy’s personality and character better by looking at Bens behaviors and beliefs. By looking at Ben’s actions and opinions, we can learn about Willy’s personality and character. Wills rules of life are formed from Ben’s personal values.
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a story about the struggles and downfalls of Willy Loman. The story takes place in New York City during the late 1940’s. Willy Loman is a man in his 60’s who is struggling to keep up with the changing world around him. He is a salesman who has been working for the same company for 34 years. His job has begun to take a toll on him mentally and physically.
Willy begins to have flashbacks of his past and starts to question his life choices. He starts to wonder if he has accomplished anything significant with his life. As Willy’s mental state deteriorates, he becomes more fixated on his younger brother, Ben. Ben is everything that Willy wants to be.
He is successful, wealthy, and has a family of his own. Willy looks up to Ben and wants to be just like him. However, Ben is only a figment of Willy’s imagination. He is not a real person. Arthur Miller uses the character of Ben to contrast Willy’s life. Ben symbolizes what could have been if Willy had made different choices in his life. By looking at Ben’s character, we are able to see the flaws in Willy’s character.
Ben is introduced in the story when Willy is talking to his boss, Howard Wagner. Howard has asked Willy to come work for him in Alaska. Willy is hesitant to take the job because he does not want to leave his family. Howard tells Willy that he needs to think about his family and their future. Willy begins to think about his brother, Ben. He remembers when Ben ran away to Africa to find gold. He was gone for two years and made a fortune.
Willy is envious of Ben’s success. He wishes he had the courage to do something like that. Willy starts to daydream about what life would be like if he had gone with Ben. In his daydream, he imagines himself as a successful businessman. He has a beautiful wife and children. They live in a big house and have all the money they could ever want. In reality, Willy is not nearly as successful as he imagines himself to be.
He is a salesman who is struggling to make ends meet. He has a wife and two sons, but they are not as successful as he would like them to be. His oldest son, Biff, is a high school dropout who can’t seem to hold down a job. His younger son, Happy, is a womanizer who is not very successful in his career. Willy’s daydreams about Ben contrast sharply with the reality of his own life.
Throughout the narrative, Willy aspires to be like his brother. Ben’s personality allows us to comprehend the importance of living one’s life according to one’s own rules. His character aids in our understanding that we must accept responsibility for our situations rather than blaming others or pondering what might have been. Life is too short to live someone else’s hand.
The contrast between Ben and Willy’s characters demonstrates how important it is for individuals to let go of the past and focus on their current lives instead of dwelling on mistakes made or regrets. Willy gets so caught up with his brother’s success and desire to live his brother’s life that he loses touch with reality and control over his own existence.
In the end, his mind has completely snapped and he is left with nothing. Ben’s character also represents the ideal American dream. He is everything that Willy wants to be. He is successful, well-liked, and respected. Ben’s character highlights the fact that the American dream is not always attainable.
Just because someone wants something, does not mean they will get it. Life is not always fair and sometimes people have to accept that they cannot have everything they want. Ben’s character is a reminder that we must be content with what we have and not strive for things that are out of our reach.
While Willy’s character is flawed, he is also human. He makes mistakes and he has regrets. But he also loves his family and he is trying to do right by them. In the end, Willy’s character represents the tragedy of the American dream. He is a man who has strived his whole life to achieve a dream that was never really attainable. And in the end, he loses everything he has worked for.
Ben appears three times throughout the narrative, first in a flashback, second in a sort of flashback where Willy has him inserted into an event that happened, and third in a full hallucination. We can acquire significant understanding of who Willy Loman truly is through a comparison and analysis of each of these incidents. These flashbacks and hallucinations demonstrate how Ben’s personality is utilized as a tool to Taylor 2 so that we may comprehend what is going on inside Willy Loman’s head.
Ben first appears in a flashback during Willy’s conversation with Linda. Linda asks Willy to tell her about the time when he and Ben went out west, hoping that the story will cheer Willy up. However, as Willy tells the story, it is clear that he is not really happy about what happened. He tells Linda that they went out west looking for gold, but they didn’t find any. Instead, they found a job chopping wood. They worked hard for very little money and finally gave up and came back home.
While this story does not seem like much at first, it is actually a very important part of the play. Through this story, we learn that Willy has always been a dreamer. He has always wanted more than what he has. He wants to be rich and successful, but he has never been able to achieve that. This dream is what eventually leads to his downfall.
Ben appears again in a quasi-flashback during Willy’s conversation with Biff. Biff is upset because he feels like he has failed in life. He tells Willy that he wishes he had never gone out west with Ben, because it was a waste of time. Willy then starts talking about how great it was out west, and how they found a job chopping wood. However, we quickly realize that this is not really what happened. Willy has inserted himself into the story, and made it seem like they were actually successful.