Open Prompt 4

2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

            The past often plays a big part in the lives of many people. It’s hard to move on from the experiences that have already happened. A novel that shows how a person deals with their past personal experiences is Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. The novel centers on the character Willy Loman and how his relationship with his past is so strong that it’s a daily struggle for him to say in the present. It’s through this constant reminder of the past that that we see what Willy has been through and how that relates to his eventual death.

            Willy’s past actions always haunt him, because he thinks they are the reason for his unhappiness now. His past memories are shown in the book as hallucinations, because Willy actually thinks it’s going on in the present. One particular memory that continues to haunt him is the memory of him cheating on his wife Linda and his son Biff walking in on it. In that moment, Biff loses all respect for his father and their strong relationship goes downhill. In this moment, not only does Willy feel guilt for cheating on his wife, which we see stills affects him, but also sadness and more guilt because he lost his relationship with Biff, causing Biff to not pass high school, setting him up for failure for the rest of his life. It’s through this memory that the audience understands the bitterness always exchanged between father and son throughout the story and their constant attempts to bridge that gap between them. It shows the importance of the reconciliation at the end, when Biff finally frees his father of the guilt, by taking responsibility for the failures in his life and not blaming them on Willy. Then, it seems that Willy kills himself because he is finally free of this memory and the guilt. He realizes Biff still loves him, so he kills himself so Biff can collect the insurance money. In a way, the past acted as a barrier against this sad end. Once he got over that particular memory, it seemed to push him towards killing himself.

            Willy Loman’s past haunted him every day and we see that he was negatively affected by it, by seeing his constant guilt. The novel uses flashbacks of his past to let the audience understand the character of Willy and his mindset better. We also see that the past was a barrier for Willy, because he couldn’t seem to move on from it, until the very end. Overall, the past was an important part of Willy’s present life and the novel.