What Do The Flashbacks Sequences Essay Example

declining mental health as he struggles to reconcile the disparity between the dream and his own reality. This is evidenced by his consultations with Ben, a deceased character who remains absent from the physical world.

Ben serves as a symbol of the success that Willy desires for himself and his sons, only appearing in flashbacks. Ultimately, Ben convinces Willy to commit suicide. It is ironic that when Ben went to Alaska, his original goal was to find their father - this contributes to the play's main theme of betrayal. Their father had abandoned both Ben and Willy when they were young, leading to poor parenting skills from Willy and betrayal of Linda due to lack of moral teachings from their father.

According to the text, Ben acquired his wealth through investments in diamond mines located in the African Jungle. The symbols used in connection with the African jungle and Alaska symbolize Willy's failure and his male relatives' success. By contrast, they depict how Willy's obsession with the city's commercial world has confined him to an unpleasant reality in comparison to his mundane Brooklyn neighborhood. In contrast, the American West embodies Biff's potential, as he recognizes that he has only been satisfied while working outside on farms.

The play uses important symbols such as diamonds, a rubber hose, seeds, and stockings. Biff has motivation to create while Will lacks it and is satisfied with creating nothing. For Willy, diamonds represent wealth that can be touched. The quote "a diamond is hard and rough to the touch" is later explained when Ben urges Willy to venture into the "jungle" and obtain this evasive diamond, meaning he should commit suicide for

insurance money to give his life purpose. The rubber hose represents Willy's desperate suicide attempts in the play.

Ironically, Willy attempts suicide by inhaling gas, a basic necessity he strives to provide for his family. The literal death by gas parallels the metaphorical death he feels in affording such a basic need. Willy's fixation on Linda's stocking condition stems from his false values, as he values new stockings for their symbolism of financial success and ability to provide for his wife and family. This value is contradicted by his giving new stockings to The Women in the Boston hotel room and his wife mending old ones.

Willy wants to lessen his guilt and forget betraying Linda and Biff by giving her new stockings. He plants seeds to show the importance of his work to himself and his family, but this leads him to realize he won't leave anything for his children when he dies. This makes him sad because he knows he can't provide for them any better than his father did, who left him. His effort to grow vegetables shows how ashamed he is that he can only provide enough food for his family.

Willy's parenting failure is represented by the seeds, which he believes will help Biff achieve the American dream, but instead have turned him into a "lazy bum". In the first flashback, Willy remembers a time when his sons looked up to him during a car wash, indicating a strong relationship between them.

The play illustrates how Willy is in denial, as evidenced by his response when Biff admits stealing the American football from the locker room. Willy congratulates him for using initiative

to practice. The first flashback shows this occurrence, with one example being the phrase "Terrific job, boys, Good work." As the play continues, Biff's relationship with his father deteriorates further.

The introduction of the character 'Woman' in the second flashback reveals that Willy is likely having an affair with her. There are several reasons for this belief, including the fact that the 'Woman' makes Willy feel desired and successful as a salesman. Being with her boosts Willy's ego, and he treats her however he wants due to the understanding that their relationship is solely business-related and not based on love.

Despite his love for his wife Linda, Willy's desire for success overrides his commitment to his family. The discovery of Willy's infidelity by his son Biff shatters their relationship and causes Biff to abandon his aspirations of attending college. Unable to move past this incident, Biff views his father as a deceitful impostor. Despite being caught in his lies, Willy remains truthful and refuses to come clean.

Despite Biff realizing that his father's American Dream philosophy is a fake and no longer believing in it, Willy still tries to evade taking responsibility for his actions, leading to tension between the characters. Eventually, Willy concludes that committing suicide is the last thing he can do to provide for his family and pay off his debts. In summary, Willy falls victim to consumerism and false notions of success, driven by a desire to be adored by everyone and leave a significant legacy in the world.

The flashbacks reveal the luxurious lifestyle Willy once experienced in his youth, causing him to judge himself poorly. Although the audience knows Willy is

unsuccessful, he only reaches this realization at the end of the play. Willy views his suicide as a brave act, but it devastates his family, particularly Linda. His relationship with his sons suffers, although Happy still desires to emulate his father's distorted idea of success. Willy admires and idolizes his brother Ben, and in his fantasies, Ben convinces him that suicide is an honorable way to support his loved ones.

Despite the flashbacks that elicit sympathy towards Willy, it is evident to the audience that his ideas were flawed and he could have achieved success had he made better decisions in life.