Death of a Salesman

Death Of A Salesman, by Arthur Miller, and A Worn Path, by Eudora Welty, are two works that share many common themes when it comes to characterization. In fact, when it comes to Willy Loman in Salesman, we could almost say that what has caused his suicide is from him having to travel such a well-worn path during his sales job. We see this in the character of Granny in Path. Granny is also tired, frustrated and suffering from a little case of dementia as is Willy. For she says, "'Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far,' she said, in the voice of argument old people keep to use with themselves. �Something always take a hold of me on this hill-pleads I should stay," (Welty, 1980: 143).

In a similar way, Willy Loman is kept on his "worn path" of being a traveling salesman. He is tired, frustrated and suffering from a certain degree of dementia also. He also hears voices and talks to himself, like when he gets mad at his neighbor when playing cards because he is imagining his brother is in the room. We see this again when he is talking to Linda and flashes back to the time he cheated on her with the girl in the hotel room that he makes "laugh." Granny is keeping the illusion she can save the boy who swallowed lye, just as much as Willy keeps the illusion at an age when it is too late that he can make a comeback to his success of earlier years when the world seemed ripe with hope

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him to a large degree, and from having to see things like Linda mending her stockings and his old refrigerator which is a cheap piece of junk in his mind. Granny suffers too from remembering her Grandson. She says after her long worn path to the nurse's, "My grandson. It was my memory left me. There I sat and forgot why I made the long trip," (Welty, 1980: 148). However, when the nurse is asked to get the medicine for her grandson, a medicine the nurse realizes will not do any good to help, the nurse replies, "'All right. The nurse was trying to hush her now. She brought her a bottle of medicine. �Charity,' she said, making a check mark in a book�It's Christmas time, Grandma,' said the attendant. �Could I give you a few pennies out of my purse," (Welty, 1980: 148). Yet, there is one big difference between Willy and Granny. Willy despises the concept of charity which is why he has such trouble accepting a job from Charley. It is also why he has such a hard time living with himself when he has to borrow money from people so that Linda thinks he has made it in sales. He expresses his rage when he is willing to accept $40.00 a week but that is still not enough for him to keep the job he has traveled a well worn path i

Category: Literature - D