Tragc Negro Essay, Research Paper
Death of a Salesman & # 8217 ; s Symbols & A ; Imagery
Symbolism runs throughout Death of a Salesman. There are illustrations in about every scene. One illustration that Miller uses frequently is the stockings which Linda damns and which Willy presents as a gift to Miss Francis. They can be seen as a symbol of Willy & # 8217 ; s calling, his self-worth, and his & # 8216 ; product. & # 8217 ; At place, his life is in crisis and the stockings are full of holes. Linda, the loving married woman, efforts to repair their life in the same manner that she mends holes in the stockings. Willy is enraged at this action and orders her to throw the stockings in the refuse. This action is symbolic of his desire to be free of jobs at place and bask a life of success and harmoniousness. When Biff discovers his male parent with Miss Francis, he is most enraged by the fact that Willy has given her & # 8220 ; Mama & # 8217 ; s stockings. & # 8221 ; Again, the garments represent a bond of unity and felicity that has been violated.
Willy & # 8217 ; s auto plays a symbolic function every bit good. In this auto, Willy, rather literally, is driving himself to decease. We learn from Linda that Willy has staged several old auto accidents. These & # 8220 ; accidents & # 8221 ; were possibly early efforts to perpetrate self-destruction, but they were decidedly attempts to pull attending to his status. The auto represents power, motion frontward, acceleration and mobility & # 8211 ; all of which are symbols in Willy & # 8217 ; s life of hopelessness, decay, and desperation. It should hence come as no surprise that Willy consider this vehicle as an instrument with which to kill himself.
The fountain pen that Biff bargains is symbolic of Biff & # 8217 ; s insufficiencies. He has no demand for the pen, nor is it meaningful in any witting mode. Rather, it serves to foreground the absurdness of Thursday
eft, the take downing quality of taking from person something which you do non necessitate. Biff has lived a life based on Willy’s values, but when he discovers that these values are non good for him, he abandons them in hunt of his ain. Biff discards it in favour of unity and belief in himself. He wishes to acquire rid of his life-long wont of taking from others ( such as the football back in high school ) . He has spent clip in prison, and this symbolically represents how he has spent much of his life imprisoned by his father’s outlook.
At the terminal of the drama, Willy purchases some seeds for his garden and begins to works them tardily at dark. He is close to suicide but realizes that he must go forth something & # 8220 ; existent & # 8221 ; behind for his boies. The planting of the seeds is symbolic of Willy & # 8217 ; s desire to turn large and tall ; ironically, Biff is the 1 who will procure growing in life. Happy, in his finding to go on Willy & # 8217 ; s action can be seen as the weed in the Loman & # 8217 ; s garden.
In footings of imagination, one of the most of import is that of & # 8220 ; the forests are burning. & # 8221 ; Willy & # 8217 ; s brother Ben made a success of himself early in life and compared the procedure of success-building to come ining a jungle. Willy invariably remembers Ben stating & # 8220 ; When I was I was 17, I walked into the jungle and when I was 21 I walked out & # 8230 ; And by God I was rich! & # 8221 ; The jungle was the venue of Ben & # 8217 ; s success, but for Willy, the wood is firing and there is small clip left. The firing forests image is symbolic of Willy & # 8217 ; s experiencing that everything is shuting in on him: clip, debts, human relationships. Even the flat edifices in his vicinity are shuting in on him and he can non bear the force per unit areas. That is why he considers throwing himself into the fire and perpetrating self-destruction.
