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Death of a Salesman Powerpoint

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Natalie Sanchez

1) Willy Loman lives his life as a traveling salesman pursuing the American Dream but never achieves success. As he ages, his mental health deteriorates, making it impossible for him to work. 2) His son Biff fails to graduate from high school and struggles to find direction or success in his career, unable to live up to the expectations placed on him by Willy. 3) The story explores themes of mental health, personal failure, and the sacrifices people make in pursuit of success as Willy and his family refuse to acknowledge Willy's deteriorating condition and remain stuck in their ways.

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Death of a Salesman By: Arthur Miller Presentation by: Natalie Sanchez
Is the main character one that teenagers today can relate to? Willy Loman lives his entire life as a salesman, going after the American dream and believing that he will one day run a successful company. He never achieves this goal, and as he gets older, his mental health deteriorates making it impossible for him to run a country. Considering most teenagers have barely entered the workforce and don’t know much about a failed career, I don’t think Willy is a relatable character for most teenagers. I do think, however, that his son, Biff, is a relatable character. Biff was a star in high school, but fails math and doesn’t graduate. With no clear direction in life, Biff never succeeds in the work force and ends up back at his parent’s house with no money or a job. I think most teenagers can relate to not knowing what to do after high school; a lot of teenagers fear not finding a job that they’ll be happy with for the rest of their lives.
Important Issues/Images • Mental Health • Personal failure Willy’s mental health has obviously deteriorated, but his family refuses to acknowledge that he has become sick. Biff and Happy pretend that their father doesn’t need help or care. They are careless with him. Willy’s wife, Linda, sees that he is sick, but allows him to continue his independent lifestyle because it is all the family has ever known. There is a lot of failure in this story. Willy doesn’t advance in the workplace and begins working for only commission. Considering Willy’s dream was to one day run the company and be rich, this is a personal failure. Similarly, Biff fails at finding a job and sticking to it. Happy, claiming throughout the story that he has a successful job, doesn’t have an assistant buyer job either. None of the characters know how to accept failure and move on towards a brighter future. They all stay in their permanent ruts.
Stockings: Symbols In the story, Willy gets very angry with his wife for attending to her stockings The stockings represent Willy’s guilt for having an affair with his wife. The woman he cheated on her with wore stockings, and when he sees his wife with stockings, it makes him remember his infidelity. Rubber Hose: Willy attaches a rubber hose to his gas line. While they never say exactly what he was using it for, the rubber hose is obviously a symbol of his numerous attempts at suicide. It also foreshadows Willy’s suicide at the end of the story. Seeds: Towards the end of the story, Willy becomes obsessed with going to purchase seeds. This occurs after he looses his job being a salesman, and he realizes he can no longer put food on the table. I believe that the seeds are a symbol of Willy’s want to provide for his family and prove to them that after so many years of work, he has something to show for himself.
Purpose • What you sacrifice for success: Willy, in pursuit of the American dream, makes poor decisions throughout his life. He spends a majority of his life traveling, away from home without his family. He sacrifices spending time with his family for his job. He chooses affairs over working on his relationship with his wife that he so often doesn’t see. He sacrifices once in a lifetime opportunities, like when he rejects traveling to Alaska with his brother. Lastly, he sacrifices his mental health by making his happiness so dependent on a job that isn’t working out. I think this story shows that while success is important, if you give up on life opportunities and give up your responsibilities, you’ll end up with life long regrets.

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Death of a Salesman Powerpoint

  • 1. Death of a Salesman By: Arthur Miller Presentation by: Natalie Sanchez
  • 2. Is the main character one that teenagers today can relate to? Willy Loman lives his entire life as a salesman, going after the American dream and believing that he will one day run a successful company. He never achieves this goal, and as he gets older, his mental health deteriorates making it impossible for him to run a country. Considering most teenagers have barely entered the workforce and don’t know much about a failed career, I don’t think Willy is a relatable character for most teenagers. I do think, however, that his son, Biff, is a relatable character. Biff was a star in high school, but fails math and doesn’t graduate. With no clear direction in life, Biff never succeeds in the work force and ends up back at his parent’s house with no money or a job. I think most teenagers can relate to not knowing what to do after high school; a lot of teenagers fear not finding a job that they’ll be happy with for the rest of their lives.
  • 3. Important Issues/Images • Mental Health • Personal failure Willy’s mental health has obviously deteriorated, but his family refuses to acknowledge that he has become sick. Biff and Happy pretend that their father doesn’t need help or care. They are careless with him. Willy’s wife, Linda, sees that he is sick, but allows him to continue his independent lifestyle because it is all the family has ever known. There is a lot of failure in this story. Willy doesn’t advance in the workplace and begins working for only commission. Considering Willy’s dream was to one day run the company and be rich, this is a personal failure. Similarly, Biff fails at finding a job and sticking to it. Happy, claiming throughout the story that he has a successful job, doesn’t have an assistant buyer job either. None of the characters know how to accept failure and move on towards a brighter future. They all stay in their permanent ruts.
  • 4. Stockings: Symbols In the story, Willy gets very angry with his wife for attending to her stockings The stockings represent Willy’s guilt for having an affair with his wife. The woman he cheated on her with wore stockings, and when he sees his wife with stockings, it makes him remember his infidelity. Rubber Hose: Willy attaches a rubber hose to his gas line. While they never say exactly what he was using it for, the rubber hose is obviously a symbol of his numerous attempts at suicide. It also foreshadows Willy’s suicide at the end of the story. Seeds: Towards the end of the story, Willy becomes obsessed with going to purchase seeds. This occurs after he looses his job being a salesman, and he realizes he can no longer put food on the table. I believe that the seeds are a symbol of Willy’s want to provide for his family and prove to them that after so many years of work, he has something to show for himself.
  • 5. Purpose • What you sacrifice for success: Willy, in pursuit of the American dream, makes poor decisions throughout his life. He spends a majority of his life traveling, away from home without his family. He sacrifices spending time with his family for his job. He chooses affairs over working on his relationship with his wife that he so often doesn’t see. He sacrifices once in a lifetime opportunities, like when he rejects traveling to Alaska with his brother. Lastly, he sacrifices his mental health by making his happiness so dependent on a job that isn’t working out. I think this story shows that while success is important, if you give up on life opportunities and give up your responsibilities, you’ll end up with life long regrets.