One prevalent theme in this play is time. The play switches back and forth between past and present many times, and often with little or no clue to the reader. When we're in Willy's mind we're never quite sure what time it is, only that it is the past. Willy lives in the past, and when he sells his heirloom watch, it is symbolic of him selling his time for money. Willy is stuck in the past, and his giving up of the watch symbolizes his giving up his choice of what to do with his time; he will do nothing but work.
Another theme is success vs. failure. Willy seems to judge everyone immediately on whether or not they are a success at whatever they do. All of his relatives have succeeded, whether by hard work or cheating. Willy, however, has failed, and feels his family has failed as well. He understands this, but doesn't know how to change it, other than to just keep working. He gets sucks in this mindless circle of work with no progress. He feels a need to provide for his family, and when he can't, this is perhaps his biggest feeling of failure.
Things breaking and repairs are another theme. Willy feels the need to fix material things that are broken, such as the porch, or the house, because he judges success based on material possessions. However, it is the non material things in Willy's life that are truly broken; namely his family. Because Willy has spent his entire life working, he has failed to notice his sons growing apart from him, or his wife noticing his slip-ups. Building things also gives Willy a temporary feeling of success, because he feels that he has finished something, which is a principle he instilled in Happy and Biff. He, however, feels that he must keep working until he has "succeeded", or he has not finished his job.
Lindsay, everything you said rings true. Your drama background is most definately an unfair advantage here. The only thing I don't understand is how Willy is such an odd character. I mean, he has so many different components to his character that it makes it almost impossible to follow him. Is that how he was built by Miller? Are all main characters this complex?
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said, but after reading your blog I can't help but sympathize with Willy. He's failed finacially as well failing his marriage, and his relationship with his sons. When I think about the American Dream I too think of success and fulfillment, but Miller uses Willy's character to emphesize how hard it is to actually reach the American Dream.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to end up like Willy...:/