Willy Loman's Paranoia in Death of a Salesman - Research Paper Example

Understanding Willy Loman’s Paranoia Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman has been critically acclaimed for its many literary merits. Seen in different angles, the character of Willy Loman provides a view of the moral structure of the past society, thus it not surprising that a number of critics have been drawn to this concern, especially as regards the theme of suicide. Nevertheless, behind the moral context of the story is the psychological truth that Willy is not in his normal human capacity. It can be argued that all the while from the beginning of the play, he has been showing signs of paranoia, which soon leads to his tragic decision of committing suicide. A close analysis of the character of Willy Loman would lead to a better understanding of Willy’s paranoia. Abbotson (8) claims that during the time of Miller, there was a growing paranaoia, and that in response to this, Miller did what was socially responsible, exposing the corruption he saw in his time. Abbotson is referring to the corruption of people in the materialistic society, and as Bloom (97) puts it, the people’s obsession with the American dream. In the play, we see how Willy Loman plunges into failure and commits suicide in order to bequeath some money to his sons so they can start over with their own business. In his book titled, Understanding Paranoia, Kantor explains the characteristics of individuals with paranoia. He states that the symptoms of paranoia vary. Kantor mentions three different types of paranoid personality disorder (Kantor 40), namely, overly circumspect and evasive individuals, highly suspicious individuals, and blaming individuals. Among these types, blaming individuals have characteristics close to Willy Loman. Blaming individuals “consider themselves blameless after blaming others for things that go wrong in their lives” (Kantor 42). In the play, we see Willy blaming Howard for not giving him what Howard’s father promised. He keeps on looking back, saying, “If old man Wagner was alive I’d a been in charge of New York now! That man was a prince, he was a masterful man. But that boy of his, that Howard, he don’t appreciate.” (Miller 6) Upon realizing how little he is earning at present, Willy tends to blame others for his misfortune instead of focusing on what he needs to attain his goals. Nevertheless, he should not be blamed completely for his failures. On one hand, the company he is working for should have arranged for its employees benefits, including vacation leaves to allow employees some time to relax and reflect on their experiences but given the time setting of the story, Miller must have made Willy’s conditions worse in order to reveal the truth about the society he is trying to depict. On the other hand, Willy has too high hopes about the future, he being a salesman. In addition, his disappointment with Biff adds up to the tension he is feeling. Several other characteristics of paranoid individuals can be seen in Willy. As Kantor (30) reveals, talking to oneself or murmuring is one sign that the person may be paranoid. In the play, we see the concern of Willy’s family regarding his mumblings. Happy reports to Biff that Willy talks to himself, and often talks to Biff, thus: Willy: Don’t get your sweater dirty, Biff! Happy: Isn’t that terrible? Don’t leave again, will you? You’ll find a job here. You gotta stick around. I don’t know what to do about him, it’s getting embarrassing. (Miler 6) This scene elaborates how sick Willy has become. He misses Biff yet when Biff comes home, he argues with Biff intolerably but deep inside he is concerned about his future and still hopes his son can make it big if Biff tries to do what is good for him. The aspirations that Willy has for Biff are founded on his belief that Biff is good at many things. In his recollections, Willy thinks that Biff can fell any one of [the] trees [in a farm] (34), that he can be a successful guy had he not flunk math, and so on. These thoughts additionally constitute the paranoia that Willy is suffering from. Based on Kantor (37), these overassuming beliefs about Biff are called “overvalued ideas.” Kantor (37) argues that overvalued ideas can be more dangerous than delusions as they can lead to a more self-convinced and violent act. Overvalued ideas are perceived while the person is still in touch with reality, thus they can lead a person who is in near-delusory state to be more convinced about the violent act he or she is thinking of. In his book, Kantor cites that the negative view of Jews led to a very violent persecution which killed millions. Similarly, Willy’s overvalued idea of Biff leads him to think that if he can get some money for Biff, his son can be successful. Willy does not think of other adversities that can get in the way of his son, for instance, getting bankrupt sooner of later due to his lack of education and mind in business. Like what is supposed, the overvalued idea leads to a violent end. Furthermore, as regards having overvalued ideas, Willy knows the reality about Biff but still tries to deny it, thus he says, “In the greatest country in the world a young man with such — personal attractiveness, gets lost” (Miller 8). This proves that despite Willy’s paranoia, he still knows what is real and what is not but it can be assumed that he chooses to believe what is unreal. Willy’s paranoia is also characterized by what Kantor (36) sees as “ideas of reference.” Paranoid individuals usually think that people are saying something bad about them. In Willy’s case, he believes that people are laughing at him (Miller 24). Willy also thinks he is always being contradicted (6). He argues about buying Swiss cheese with his wife as if it is a big deal but he never realizes that they cannot afford to buy Swiss cheese anymore. The many signs of paranoia can be seen in Willy but on top of all them is hallucination. Willy hallucinates to see Ben talking to him, conversing to him about the deal in Alaska. His hallucination is made worse by the fact that instead of talking to Charley, he talks to Ben while facing Charley, thus: Willy: I’m getting awfully tired, Ben. Charley: Good, keep playing; you’ll sleep better. Did you call me Ben? (Miller 30) There are other instances when Willy talks to Ben, Biff, the Woman, and many others who occupy his thoughts. These hallucinations repeatedly occur in the play. As for literary merits and demerits, these hallucinations somewhat make the play quite confusing because the audience cannot easily discern what is real from what is not but in fact, that is the real essence of it, to make the situation of Willy look confusing so as to demonstrate the paranoia that he is suffering from. Analyzing Willy’s paranoia can lead one to see the depth of the issue. As mentioned above, a person with paranoia, just like Willy, may have a sense of reality but she or he may refuse to face that reality. As such, people around paranoid individuals should be aware of the symptoms of paranoia and its characteristics. In particular, they should identify misguided or overvalued beliefs right away in order to stop the individual from doing any violent act. Furthermore, the persons around the individual should show care and listen to the paranoid individual in order to help the person get over his illness. In addition, his undying expectations of Biff reveal Willy’s uncompromising nature. His tendency to be fixated in the past and failure to accept reality are established throughout the play. Even the smallest things irritate him, such as buying a refrigerator brand that is unheard of. Most especially, Willy cannot accept the defeat of his son, Biff, who once shows great talent in sport. All the pressures in life conjure up, thus making Willy very anxious about his life. In the end, seeing no other sign of hope, he submits to death, thinking that this is the only way he could help his family. Works Cited Abbotson, Susan. “Student Companion to Arthur Miller.” Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. Kantor, Martin. “Understanding Paranoia.” Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. Miller, Arthur. “Death of a Salesman.” N.d. Retrieved 25 September 2011 . Read More