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Death of A Salesman, AD - American Dream - Coggle Diagram
Death of A Salesman
denial
Willy is unable to accept he is a mediocre salesman and instead strives for the AD - success and notoriety - even if he is forced to deny reality in order to achieve it
instead of acknowledging that he is not a well-known success, he retreats into the past and chooses to relive past memories and events in which he is perceived as successful
eg, his fav memory is of Biff's last football game because Biff vows to make a touchdown just for him ' ' he considers himself famous as a result of his son's pride in him.
Biff and Happy adopt his habit of denying/ manipulating reality and practice it all of their lives, much to their detriment
Biff, by the end of play, admits he has been a 'phony' too, just like Willy.
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Linda is the only character that recognises the Loman family are living in denial; yet goes along with Willys fantasies to preserve gas fragile mental state
order vs disorder
play progresses and Willy spends more and more time in the past as a means of reestablishing order in his life . the more fragmented and disastrous reality becomes, the more necessary it is for Willy to create an alternative reality (hyperreality) even if it requires him to live solely in the past
this is demonstrated immediately after Willy is fired. Ben quickly shifts the conversation to Alaska and offers Willy confides 'notihing's working out. Linda appears and convinces Willy that that he should stay in sales, just like Dave Singleman. His confidence quickly resurface, and he is confident that he has made the right decision by turning down Ben's offer, he is certain he will be a success like Singleman thus Wily's memory has distracted him from the reality of losing his job
results from Willy's retreats into the past. each time Willy loses himself in the past, he does so in order to deny the present, especially if the present is too difficult to accept
Willy's confidence quickly resurfaces, and he is confident that he has made the right decision by turning down Ben's offer, he is certain he will be a success like Singleton
contradictiom
his contradictions confuse the audience, but soon become a trademark of his character
hi sinconsistent behaviour is the result of his inability to accept reality and his tendency to manipulate or re-create the past in attempt to escape the present.
eg he cannot resign himself to the fact Biff no longer respects him because of Willy's affair; rather than admit their relationship is irreconcilable
W retreats to a previous time when Biff DID admire and respect him. as the play continues, Willy dissociates himself more and more from the present as hs problems become numerous to deal with
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play is a montage of memories, dreams, confrontations and arguments, all of which make up the last 24hrs of Willy Lomans life
all three of these themes: order vs disorder, denial and contradiction
th eplay continues to affect audiences because it allows them to hold a mirror up to themselves . Willy's self-deprecation, sense of failure, and overwhelming regret are emotions that an audience can relate that an audience can relate to because everyone has experienced them at one time or another.
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they all work together to create a dreamlike atmosphere in which the audience watches a man's identity and mental stability slip away
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