Thus, they did not reconnect with their father and it is clearly evident that Willy was weaker in remembering his father compared to Ben. Furthermore, at that tender age, Ben tried to locate his father’s whereabouts in Alaska but in the process he lost direction and instead headed to Africa as he says in the play, ‘I was going to find father in Alaska.so instead of Alaska, I ended up in Africa’ (Arthur 33). This is clearly reinforces the notion that Willy was in fact very young when he was abandoned by their father as argued by Charlene in his work. But Ben confirms to him that he was three years and eleven months when their father abandoned them. In response his brother wonders the extent to which Willy can remember the departure of their father since he was just a baby of about three to four years of age. In this scene of the novel, Willy is seen asking his brother Ben where did their father go and why Ben did not follow his father.īesides, Willy is concerned about Ben’s lifestyle by asking, ‘where is my Dad…How did you get started?’ (Arthur 32). In this first instance, Willy Lowman’s abandonment is evident in Act of the play which depicts Willy’s concern over the departure of his father without going along with them. The life he lived imprisoned in hallucinations of what he perceived to the typical American lifestyle would have been different may be. If Willy could have had a chance to grow under the leadership and watchful eye of his father, maybe he could have been different in the way he perceived life. It is in this regard, Zheng argues Willy is not entirely to blame for the misfortunes that haunt him in his entire life. This rendered him deficient in terms of parental love, material, and emotional comfort. Willy Lowman is presented as a man who was abandoned together with his brother Ben right form his infant age. The Theme of Abandonment in Death of a Salesman Besides, he is abandoned by people he trusted most such as his brother, Ben, and son Biff but ironically at the end of the play, he is the one that abandons his family by committing suicide. He first relates his misfortunes to his father’s abandonment at a very early age. Willy feels betrayed and abandoned socially, financially, psychologically, and emotionally. Throughout the play, Willy has deceived himself to be an accomplished salesman who is highly respected and liked by people. Willy has returned home from a selling trip, unable to concentrate, and unable to keep his mind.In this novel, the author presents Willy Lowman as the protagonist character who tries to conform his lifestyle to the American dream. Willy is feeling bad about his present situation and the flashback is meant to interrupt this feeling. Why would I do that?"(BBC Education).īen first appears in this play as a flashback in Willy's mind. Miller continues to write to this day and is quoted as saying, ""I couldn't retire. Miller has won various awards for his writings including the Theatre Guild Bureau of New Plays Prize and he even earned a Pulitzer. Miller attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1934 and studied journalism and drama. Miller was born in Harlem, which at that time was an ".elegant, mixed neighbourhood."(BBC Education) but later had to move to Brooklyn for financial reasons. This is Miller's main purpose for Ben in this play he is a utensil that allows us to understand what Willy Loman is thinking.Īrthur Miller was born the second of three children to Isidore and Augusta Miller in October of 1915. When we compare and analyze each of these occurrences, it gives us the chance to see who Willy Loman really is.
When we understand who Ben is, we can see the theme of the book appear, that is, you cannot let yourself get caught up in the "American Dream." Ben only appears three times in the entire play, first in a flashback, second in a quasi-flashback where Willy has inserted him into a scenario that actually happened, and finally in a complete hallucination. Ben's morals and actions are everything that Willy believes in and wishes for himself and his sons.
We can see who Willy is by exploring who Ben is. Ben is used as somewhat of a mentor for Willy Ben is everything that Willy wants to be in life. Analysis of the Character Ben and the Development of Willy LomanĪrthur Miller's (1915-present) character Ben in Death Of A Salesman helps the development of the main character Willy.
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