The Death Of A Salesman
The Dysfunctional Family
In Arthur Miller?s drama, ?Death of a Salesman? the protagonist is a sixty-year-old salesperson by the name of Willy Loman. Willy suffers from self-delusion and is obsessed with the desire to succeed. Willy?s actions strongly influence his family, which contributes to their self-delusions. Willy?s wife Linda is an enabler and is codependent upon him. Linda encourages and participates in Willy?s delusions. She is unselfish and her life revolves around Willy and their two boys Biff and Happy. The Lomans are definitely a dysfunctional family due to their lack of communication, respect, and morals.
The basis for any healthy relationship is communication. Communication is something the Lomans do not practice often, and when they do, it usually ends in a shouting match. Willy has extremely poor listening skills, which is an important part of communication. When Willy goes to speak with Howard about getting a job in New York, Willy would talk over Howard whenever he would say anything that Willy did not want to hear. Howard leaves Willy in the office alone to greet people outside. Willy then notices this himself saying, “Pull myself together! What the
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