Death of a Salesman Essays -- essays papers

Death of a Salesman In the play Death of a Salesman, appearance vs. reality is one of the major themes throughout the story. Biff says it himself, â€Å"I’m tired of living in a dream.† Willy represents appearance. His perspective on life was clouded by his need for the â€Å"American Dream†. Biff represents reality. Biff saw things for what they truly were and didn’t lie to himself or others. This shows that Willy and Biff are opposite characters who each represent the theme of appearance vs. reality in the play. Willy was an old man with a wife and two sons. He worked as a salesman and his job was very important to him. Willy never got to live his dream. His life passed him by and he was left without anything to show for. Now in his last days he is dwelling on the fact that he has lived his life without achieving the goal he wanted to achieve. He was ignorant to think that a person could be successful in life based on being well liked. Willy was a bad father because he raised his children without any morals or values. Willy didn’t realize the reality of his situation. ...