Willy Loman as Coward in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman

Willy Loman as Coward in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman Everybody feels the penetrating presence of fear throughout life. However, people’s reactions to this fear separate the brave souls from the cowards. Mark Twain once said, Courage is resistance to fear; mastery of fear, not absence of fear (Twain 6). In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman fears rejection by his son, Biff, and the business world. His fears master him, creating in him a fantasy world of life as it was eighteen years ago. Willy’s avoidance of reality and his suicide show his cowardice. However, the emphasis he puts on financial success prevents him from realizing the consequences that his suicide would create. Willy’s refusal to face†¦show more content†¦Willy believes that his family will appreciate the twenty thousand dollars insurance money they will receive as a result of his death. However, his motives involve more than helping with finances. Willy thinks his funeral will prove his greatness to Biff. In a daydream, Willy tells his brother, Ben, That funeral will be massive! . . . He’ll see what I am, Ben! He’s in for a shock, that boy! (Miller 1275). Willy disregards the fact that establishing a relationship with Biff will affect him more than money. His cowardice causes him to believe that suicide is the only way to gain his son’s respect. Throughout the play, Willy’s ideas of happiness prevent him from realizing that his acts are cowardly. To him, financial success embodies happiness. His comparisons of himself to others show his idealizations. Mainly, he idolizes Ben, who walked into Africa at age seventeen and walked out four years later as a wealthy man. Willy also compares himself to Dave Singleman, a salesman he met on the road early in his career. Dave prospered as a salesman even at age eighty-four. Willy asks his boss, Howard, What could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? (Miller 1251). Due to his belief that money creates happiness, Willy feels that money will mend the brokenShow MoreRelated Willy Loman Died a Coward in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman880 Words   |  4 PagesWilly Loman Died a Coward in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman   Ã‚   In his early sixties he knows his business as well as he ever did. But the unsubstantial things have become decisive; the spring has gone from his step, the smile from his face and the heartiness from his personality. He is through. The phantom of his life has caught up with him. As literally as Mr. Miller can say it, dust turns to dust. Suddenly, there is nothing (Internet 1). 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