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Why does Miller let us know in the title that Willy's death is coming? Why doesn't he make it a surprise? Is Willy's death in a car more or less appropriate than a suicide using the rubber hose on the water heater would be? Why? What harm does Willy's death do? What good?
Miller letting the audience know of Willy's death could be a foreshadow of Willy's character. One characteristic of a tragic hero is an untimely death. Miller could be letting the audience know of his intentions to shape Willy into the story's tragic hero. Willy's death in a car is more appropriate than using the rubber hose. Willy was a salesman, always on the rode. In a sense, he died the way he lived. Willy leaves his family with a corrupt view on failure. On the other hand, he also leaves them insurance money.
ReplyDeleteI like how you took Willy's death in the car to be appropriate due to the fact that traveling was a major part of his job. I also like how you took the title as meaning that Willy would be a tragic hero in the story. Knowing that, the reader could pay attention to what Willy's tragic flaw would be in the story.
DeleteWilly dying the way he lived is exactly how I took it too. I like how you said it had to do with him being a tragic hero. I didn't even think about that.
DeleteI agree that the author definitely did some foreshadowing in the title. It was strategic though because it left the audience wondering HOW he died. I also like how you made the connection of Willy's traveling salesman job to his death by car.
DeleteThe author letting us know Willy's death is not what develops the story. The plot and actions that take place throughout the story lead up to the final climax of the restaurant fight and the suicide. Miller lets us know from the beginning so we can see the transformation of a proud father of his all-star kid, shift to a resentful one once his kids never amounted to anything. Willy's death in the car is more appropriate because he was always traveling to make a living. He died driving the car, which is what he did all the time to support his family. Willy always supported his family up until his very last breath in the car. Willy's death hurts his family emotional and they are all very upset they drove Willy to that point. However, the life insurance check Linda receives is one that will help to support his family when he can no longer continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Willy's death is known throughout the whole play gives the reader a chance to piece together the reasons that Willy is destined to die. Willy has fallen from his supposed seat of glory in the selling world and according to him, success and pride are the only reasons a man should want to live. Since Willy's death is not a surprise the reader is able to really understand why Willy does what he does. The reader pays attention to details that maybe they would not have, had they not known that Willy was written to die. Death by car accident was much more appropriate for Willy. Driving was his way of life. It is also much more believable that he should die in a car accident, given the fact that he often dozed off during his driving and it is very possible that he could have just had another nap behind the wheel. Willy's death is simply very cowardice. He decided that he had no other reason to live so he ended his life, because he was no longer successful. The good that came from his death was that Linda would have a little more wiggle room with money thanks to the life insurance that Willy had. Also, Biff no longer has someone breathing down his neck for him to be successful. He can go and become his own person and do anything he feels content doing and be content doing it for the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with your statement of how the reader is more aware of why Willy died instead of his actual death. I also believe that the reader discovers more details that originally they would not have if the title of the book was not apparent to the reader. I agree with your statement about cowardice. Willy's death with the car did symbolize cowardice.
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ReplyDeleteI don't think that Miller necessarily gave away from the title that Willy was going to die, as there are multiple salesmen and that "death" could refer to a physiological death as opposed to a physical death. However, if it does refer to the physical death of Willy, the main salesman in the book, Miller does not leave it a surprise for several reasons. One reason is so that the reader/viewer is constantly wondering about when Willy will die, which would draw more focus into how Willy acted and what he did before he died. Another reason that his death is not a surprise is so that the focus of the play will not be on his death. If the reader/viewer already knows that his death will occur, they will focus on other parts and take away more than the fact that he died in a car crash, especially since he dies at the end and would therefore have the easiest impact on the reader/viewer and cause them to forget about everything else that has occurred previously in the story. I think that Willy's suicide with the car was somewhat less appropriate than a rubber hose. If Willy were to commit suicide with a rubber hose, it would have been something that he would do with his own hands. It would also have left no doubt that he personally killed himself, as opposed to a car wreck that could be deemed an accident, which would leave Linda and his sons always wondering if Willy had meant to die or not. However, Willy would have done lots of stuff for money, and the car wreck being deemed an accident would create that money. Willy's death leaves his wife without a husband who she loved dearly and two sons who begin to care for Willy again. Although all of them did have a spat before Willy left and killed himself, I believe that their family dynamic was beginning to get better now that they confessed their thoughts to each other and that they would have been a lot happier in the future, had Willy only not committed suicide. I think the biggest hit would be on Linda, as she truly did care for him and adore him. However, some good came out of Willy's suicide. The family would receive $20,000 from the life insurance. And there would be less pressure on Biff and Happy, as their father was a little pushy and demanding. Linda would also not have to worry anymore about losing Willy if or when he would commit suicide, and she does not need to take care of him like a mother does a child. She is free to do what she wants to in life, although it will be without her beloved husband.
ReplyDeleteI like how you said that knowing he is going to die helps the reader focus on the other aspects of the play. I also like that you said that the car crash was somewhat less appropriate. It seems almost unfair to Linda and his sons that he chose to die that way, because, as you said, they will never fully know the truth.
DeleteMiller lets us know that Willy's death is coming to remove the spotlight from it. Miller is saying that the book is not suppose to be about Willy's death, but about the personal human interactions between Willy and the other characters in the book and the American dream. Willy's death involving a car symbolized, in a way, his work. His job consisted mainly of driving around to different places across the country. Also, the death with the car symbolized dishonesty. Willy was never really truthful about the life he lived in many aspects. Getting in a car crash instead of blatant suicide was just another example of that. Willy never faced his problems but tried to cover them up. Willy's death caused harm by giving the family no closure. Willy's death also caused anger between two brothers. Happy thought that Willy had no right to harm the family with his suicide. Biff disagreed with Happy and thought that Willy had all the wrong dreams. This caused tension between Biff and Happy. Willy's death helps release the family from their suffering. Biff can finally do what he has always wanted to do, without his father criticizing his every step. However, now the two brothers might have to let go of their dreams to support their mother financially after Willy's death.
ReplyDeleteI love how you mention a spotlight taken away about Willy's death! Really you hit the spot in the way that Miller wanted us to focus on the why more than the fact it actually happened. If this had not happened, I believe that we would have been much more confused about the end of the story.
DeleteI think Miller lets us know Willy's death is coming to show more of a progression. I think knowing that Willy is going to die makes the reader pay attention to details about his life. I also think that the death in a car as opposed to using the rubber hose was not as appropriate. I think a slow progression to death would have reflected his slow progression to insanity from his tragic flaw, his obsession with being remembered. Finally, I think that Willy's death created more tension between the family. I think the boys grew to hate each other even more because they blamed each other for Willy's death. I also think that Linda was impacted by his death. Now, Biff had no reason to stay. I think Willy's death caused her to not just loose a husband, but also a son.
ReplyDeleteI had not thought about your side of the car accident vs. rubber hose before. I like how you saw the rubber hose as a metaphor for slow progression and tied it to his tragic flaw.
DeleteI agree with the first part of your comment about the progression. I do not agree with the par about Happy and Biff blaming each other. Biff just said that Willy had picked the wrong career, not that it was Happy's fault. Even before Willy's death Linda wanted Biff to leave and never come back. I think that either way she would have lost Biff.
DeleteMiller alludes to Willy's death for the benefit of the crowd. The audience would be surprised if Willy died suddenly. Knowing the end of the play helps the audience understand the early part of the play. Also, the play is not about the death of Willy; it is about the slow destruction of someone's dream. The "death" is not the physical death of Willy, it is the gradual declination of his self-esteem and ideas.
ReplyDeleteWilly's death by car was appropriate. The car represents Willy's time on the road working as a salesman. The car represents Willy's job, so it is actually his job what killed him: not enough money, too much time away from home, and the stress of convincing strangers to buy a product. If the cause of death was something else, the play's theme would be weakened.
Willy's death did more good than bad. Willy's death freed Biff and Happy to decide their own fates without intervention. The insurance money will help Happy or Biff open their store/ranch. Happy is motivated to continue on his father's dream. Linda can stop worrying constantly about Willy. Only a few of Willy's friends will miss him because Willy was getting on everyone's nerves by the end of the play.
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ReplyDeleteMiller lets the reader know the end of the play from the beginning, because he wanted events in the play to build to an inevitable end. He wanted the whole story to just explain what lead to Willy's death and why. I took Willy's choice of car for suicide more as he was trying to make sure that his family would get the insurance money. Willy was a relatively smart man, and he stood a better chance to get the money by making it look more like an accident. Willy's death did little harm to be totally honest. The family was already in shambles, and nothing was going to get it back. It did not really do much good either, as his family problems were not going to be fixed by his death and some insurance money
ReplyDeleteBy foreshadowing Willy’s death in the title, the author allows for the reader to begin pondering different reasons as to why Willy is going to die. Willy’s death is a major part of the story, but the “surprise” was not supposed to be that it was going to occur, but how and why it was going occur instead. Willy’s death by a car accident was more appropriate for the story because Willy had to make his death look accidental in order for his family to claim the insurance money. The rubber hose on the water heater was an obvious suicide attempt. Willy’s death caused a lot of emotional harm to his family. On the other hand, Willy also left them a little more financially secure with his insurance money.
ReplyDeleteI think that Miller wanted his readers to see the demise in Willy throughout the entire book. By letting us know that his death is coming we can see all the factors that lead up to his death. It almost seems like reverse foreshadowing. It seems more appropriate for Willy to drive away than to kill himself with the hose because his family won't have to walk by and just see his dead body. Just like his consideration for his family when he kills himself, he also has consideration in this instance for them. The bad it causes is that Willy's sons no longer have a father and his wife a husband. It does, however, give the family money to live a better life.
ReplyDeleteMiller lets us know right in the title that Willy’s death is coming to kind of flat out say “this character does not help himself”. You can begin to read the play and guess as to when Willy will actually change his attitude or swallow his pride but that moment never comes. Miller doesn't make it a surprise because the straightforward and dull-ish tone of the title fits WIlly’s character so well that it just had to be titled that. Willy’s suicide by car is appropriate because it represents his work which was his exact downfall. His job always had him on the road and traveling so he went out the only way he knew how. The harm Willy’s death causes is that his family finally seemed to be coming together and he somewhat ruined that. The good from his death is that he really did cause a lot of stress and tension within his family so now they won’t have that in their lives.
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