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 stay in the present. It’s through this constant reminder of the past
that we see what Willy has been through and how that relates to his
relationships now and 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
of his hallucinations is a memory of his brother Ben coming to visit. Ben offers
Willy a job, but Linda convinces Willy to say no because she says that he already
has a good job. This hallucination appears to Willy just as he loses his job. We
see that Willy is regretting the decision not to take the job his brother
offered, and he blames that decision on Linda. He believes he could have been
rich by now. As the disappointment and stress of not having a job continue to
take a toll on him, we see he becomes curter with Linda. Judging by the memory
we just saw play out, it shows the audience why he is acting that way toward
her.
Another particular memory that continues
to haunt Willy is the memory of his son Biff walking in on him while he was
cheating on Linda. In that moment, Biff loses all respect for his father and
their strong relationship goes downhill. Not only does Willy feel guilt for
cheating on his wife, which we see stills affects him, but he feels sadness and
more guilt because he lost his relationship with Biff. Willy believes that this
incident caused 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 also shows the
importance of the reconciliation at the end. Biff finally frees his father of
that guilt by taking responsibility for the failures in his life and not
blaming them on Willy. Willy is finally free of that constant consuming guilt
he has felt for so long, so as a result he kills himself. Not as a way to escape
his problems, but as a last attempt to help Biff get on his feet. With Willy
dead, 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. 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.
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