论《推销员之死》中威利罗曼的性格特征分析英语学专业

1、i论推销员之死中威利罗曼的性格特征摘 要推销员之死 是美国著名剧作家阿瑟 .米勒于 1949 年写的一部关于普通美国人家庭的悲剧故事。它刻画了一个家庭的各成员间令人心痛的矛盾和冲突，审视了美国国民价值观这个更宏观的问题，该剧剖析了人们因为盲目信奉美国梦所付出的代价。在这个方面。它继承了索福克勒斯的 俄狄浦斯王 的传统，对个人的悲剧提供了具有战后美国特色的解读。米勒控诉美国社会兜售的虚幻神话。这个神话故事是围绕战后经济所滋养的资产阶级物质主义构建起来的，物质主义遮盖了人生真相，模糊了这个国家的创建者们最初描述的美国梦所倡导的道德观念。总之，通过分析推销员之死这一文学作品，能让我们深入了解戏剧中的

2、人物性格特征对人物之间的关系有着决定性的影响 ,人物的性格决定了人物的命运。因此 ,威利的性格决定了他与别人的社会交往关系和他美国梦的破灭 ,也决定了他悲剧命运的发生。论文总共分为四个部分。第一章节主要介绍作者的基本状况以及当时的写作背景，并对推销员之死 这部文学作品的故事梗概做一个简单的介绍。第二章节重点介绍主人公威利 洛曼的性格特点，威利 洛曼是个自始自终争强好胜，在他事业失利时,为了面子 ,违背质的准则 ,并且深陷在谎言、幻觉和自欺的泥潭里不能自拔的人。他没能意识到家人对他付出的包含着痛苦的爱，结果他精神备受折磨，以至于不堪忍受，他无力体会到爱才是这个故事的悲剧所在。第三章节通过他的性格

3、体现，并总结在当时背景下的大多数美国人的生活观念。最后一章节对论文做总结，整理全文思路，表明主题方向。关键字： 推销员之死 阿瑟.米勒 美国梦 性格 命运Analysis of Characters of WillyLoma in Death of a SalesmaniiAbstractDeath of A Salesman written by Arthur Miller in 1949, tells of a tragic story of a common American family. It addresses the painful conflicts within one fa

4、mily, but it also tackles larger issues regarding American national values. The play examines the cost of blind faith in the American Dream. In this respect, it offers a postwar American reading of personal tragedy in the tradition of Sophocles Oedipus Cycle. Miller charges America with selling a fa

5、lse myth constructed around a capitalist materialism nurtured by the postwar economy, a materialist that obscured the personal truth and moral vision of the original American Dream described by the countys founders. In a word, analyzing Death of A Salesman can help us to have a deep understanding th

6、at a persons personality determines his social relations with others and his fate. Therefore, Willys personality demonstrates that it is difficult for him to get well with others and his personality is destined to the failure of his American dream, and his tragicThe thesis has four parts. The fist c

7、hapter mainly introduces the information of the author and the background, and it briefly makes an overview of the whole story. The second chapter focuses on the characteristics of Willy Loma, who out of a false sense of pride when his business is in depression violates the quality maxim, coupled wi

8、th his entrenchment in a quagmire of lies, delusions, and self-deceptions. He failure to recognize the anguished love offered to him by his family is crucial to the climax of his torturous day, and the play presents this incapacity as the real tragedy. The third chapter analyzes Willys characteristi

9、cs, and makes a summary of the American peoples mind under the cultural background. The last chapter concludes the main content of the whole thesis, and once more proposes the theme.Key Word: Death of a Salesman;Arthur Mille;AmericaDreampersonality tragicCONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction .- 1 -Chapter

10、 2 Literature Review.- 1 -Chapter 3 An Analysis of the Features of the Willys Character.- 2 -3.1Lack of security sense.- 2 -3.2 Crazy man .- 3 -3.3 Poor Self-esteem .- 4 -3.4Stubborn.- 4 -Chapter 4 Conclusion.- 6 -Bibliography.- 7 -Acknowledgements.- 8 - - 1 -Chapter 1 IntroductionOld salesman Wiley

11、 Lohman was extremely tired after experiencing many difficultity, as if life has come to the end.Only his wife Linda knew him, was care for him, and make effort to protect his dignity, give him the hope to live.However, all seemed to be of no avail When he was young,he was pride of. His son.Even bif

12、f grades failed, also that did not cause the father s attention, because he confirmed that biff could be a sports star in the future, however, biff runs away from home many times, and he would rather to be an agricultural workers, rather than to stay in a big city.Under heavy pressure, Wiley was in

13、pullze. In order to save Wiley, Linda called the children to love his father. At this time, the younger son happy devised a way to leting biff borrowed money from friends, by their independent operation, in order to launch a career. This exciting ideas give the whole family new hope to enter the dre

14、amland . . To wish the future to achieve the ideal, father and son had agreed in the restaurant to meet.Before they met, both are bad news: biff did not borrow money, Wiley was dismissed by the company. This makes father and son quarrel, however, they are not clear the social causes.Eventually, Wile

15、y was killed by himself, In order to death insurance for family welfare.This article through the analysis of cultural character to find the origin of the tragedy, thus found the American dream broken roots, thus to analyze the social problems, this is also the focus of this research work.Chapter 2 L

16、iterature ReviewXie tian Yi think that :American dramatist Arthur Miller exposed the cruelty of disorderly competition under the capitalist market economic system in America.in which people establish a values of money as successful criterion which makes people cold-blooded.It destroys the good and h

17、onest nature of Human being and the weak are the prey of the strong.The immediate significance we read the drama nowadays aims at appealing for narrowing the distance between the rich and poor.adjusting the balance of distribution in labor property,improving the old-aged providing and make great eff

18、ort to create a harmonious society so that we can prevent the cruelty of death of salesman from repeating today.Lu yi think that Death of a salesman is many people interpreted the disillusionment of the American dream, or be interpreted Jewish alienation, others think that is reflected in death of a

19、 salesman.A small figure of the tragedy of life. But no matter from any interpretation, death of a - 2 -salesman brought the shock is common, its tragic epic status, proofThe modern American drama and modern sociology on the irreplaceable role. Death of a salesman success is the tragedy of the great

20、 success, its tragic effect.Depression is a common advance of several aspectsChapter 3 An Analysis of the Features of the Willys Character3.1Lack of security sense Willys primary obsession throughout the play is what he consider to be Biffs betrayal of his ambitions for him. Willy believes that he h

21、as every right to expect Biff to fulfill the promise inherent in him. When Biff walks out on Willys ambitions for him, Willy takes this rejection as a personal affront ( he associates it with “insult” and “spite” ). Willy, after all, is a salesman, and Biffs ego-crushing rebuff ultimately reflects W

22、illys inability to sell him on the American Dream-the product in which Willy himself believes most faithfully. Willy assumes that Biffs betrayal stems from Biffs discovery of Willys affair with The Woman-a betrayal of Lindas love. Whereas Willy feels that Biff has betrayed him, Biff feels that Willy

23、, a “phony little fake”, has betrayed him with his unending stream of ego-stroking lies.Willys reality profoundly conflict with his hopes. Through out his life, he has constructed elaborate fantasies to deny the mounting evidence of his failure to fulfill his desires and expectations. By the time th

24、e play opens, Willy suffers from crippling self-delusion. His consciousness is so fractured that he cannot even maintain a consistent fantasy. In one moment, he calls Biff a lazy bum. In the next, he says that Biff is anything but lazy. His later assessment of the family car is similarly contradicto

25、ry-one moment he calls it a piece of trash, the next “the finest car ever built”. Labeling Biff a lazy bum allows Biffs lack of material success, ambition, and focus. Denying Biffs laziness enables Willy to hold onto the hope that Biff will someday, in some capacity, fulfill his expectation of him.

26、Willy changes his interpretation of reality according to his psychological needs at the moment. He is likewise able to reimaging decisive moments in his past in his later daydreams. Ironically, he asks Linda angrily why he is “always being contradicted,” when it is usually he who contradicts himself

27、 from moment to moment.Willys reality profoundly conflicts with his hopes. Though out his life, he was constructed elaborate fantasies to deny the mounting evidence of his failure to fulfill his desires and expectations.- 3 -3.2 Crazy man Willys tendency to mythologize people contributes to his delu

28、ded understanding of the world. He speaks of Dave Single man as a legend and imagines that his death must have been beautifully noble. Willy compares Biff and Happy to the mythic Greek figures Adonis and Hercules because he believe that his sons are pinnacles of “personal attractiveness” and power t

29、hrough “well liked”-mess; to him, they seem the very incarnation of the American Dream.Willys mythologizing proves quite nearsighted; however Willy fails to realize the hopelessness of Single mans lonely, on the-job, on-the-road death. Trying to achieve what he considers being Single mans heroic sta

30、tus, Willy commits himself to a pathetic death and meaningless legacy (even if Willys life insurance policy ends up paying off, Biff wants nothing to do with Willy ambition for him). Similarly, neither Biff nor Happy ends up leading an ideal, godlike life; while Happy does believe in the American Dr

31、eam, it seems likely that he will end up no better off than the decidedly ungodliness Willy. Willys shouts wake Linda and Biff, who find Willy outside in his slippers. Biff asks Linda hoe long he has been talking to himself, and Happy joins them outside. Linda explains that Willys mental unbalance r

32、esults from his having lost his salary ( he now works only on commission). Linda knows that Willy borrows fifty dollars a week from Charley and pretends it is his salary Linda claims that Biff and Happy are ungrateful. She calls Happy a “philandering bum”. Angry and guilt-ridden, Biff offers to stay

33、 home and get a job to help with expense. Linda says that he cannot fight with Willy all the time. She explains that all of his automobile accidents are actually failed suicide attempts. She adds that she found a rubber hose behind the fuse box and a new nipple on the water heaters gas pipe-a sign t

34、hat Willy attempted to asphyxiate himself. Willy overhears Biff, Happy, and Linda arguing about him. When Biff jokes with his father to snap him out of his trance, Willy misunderstands and thinks that Biff is calling him crazy. They argue, and Willy maintains that he is a “big shot” in the sales wor

35、ld. One reason for Willys reluctance to criticize Biff for his youthful thefts and his careless attitude toward his classes seems to be that he fears doing damage to Biffs ego. Thus, he offers endless praise, hoping that Biff will fulfill the promise of that praise in his adulthood. It is also likel

36、y that Willy refuses to criticize the young Biff because he fear that, if he does so, Biff will not like him. This disapproval represents the ultimate personal and professional ( the two spheres are conflated in Willys mind ) insult and failure. Because Willys consciousness is split between despair

37、and hope, it is probable that both considerations are behind Willys decision not to criticize Biffs youthful indiscretions. In any case, his relationship with Biff is fraught, on Willys side, with the childhood emotional trauma of abandonment and, on Biffs side, with the struggle between fulfilling

38、societal expectations and personal expectation.- 4 - The myth of the American Dream has its strongest pull on the individuals who do not enjoy the happiness and prosperity that it promises. Willy pursues the fruits of that dream as a panacea for the disappointments and the hurts of his own youth. He

39、 is a true believer in the myth that any” well liked” young man possessing a certain degree of physical faculty and “personal at attractiveness ”can achieve the Dream if he journeys forth in the world with a can-do attitude of confidence. The men who should have offered him the affirmation that he n

40、eeded to build a healthy concept of self-worthhis father and Benleft him. Therefore, Willy tries to measure his self-worth by the standards of an American myth that hardly corresponds to reality, while ignoring the more important foundations of family love, unconditional support, and the freedom of

41、choice inherent to the American Dream. Unfortunately, Willy has a corrupted interpretation of the American Dream that clashes with that set forth by the countrys founding fathers; he is preoccupied with the material facets of American success and national identity.3.3 Poor Self-esteemTo Willy, diamo

42、nds represent tangible wealth and, hence, both validation of ones labor ( and life ) and the ability to pass material goods on to ones offspring, two thing that Willy desperately craves. Correlatively, diamonds, the discovery of which made Ben a fortune, symbolize Willys failure as a salesman. Despi

43、te Willys belief in the American Dream, a belief unwavering to the extent that he passed up the opportunity to go with Ben to Alaska, the Dreams promise of financial security has eluded Willy. At the end of the play, Ben encourages Willy to enter the “jungle” finally and retrieve this elusive diamon

44、dthat is, to kill himself for insurance money in order to make his life meaningful.Biffs failure in math is symbolic of his failure to live up to his fathers calculated plan for him. Willy believes so blindly in his interpretation of the American Dream that he has constructed a veritable formula by

45、which he expects Biff to achieve success .The unshakeable strength of Willys belief in this blueprint for success is evidenced later when he attempts to plant the vegetable seeds. Reading the instructions on the seed packets, Willy mutters, as he measures out the garden plot,” carrots-quarter inch a

46、part. Rows-on-foot rows.” He has applied the same regimented approach to the cultivation of his sons. Biff struggles with this formula in the same way that he struggles with the formulas in his textbook.3.4StubbornStubbornWilly is lost in his memories. Suddenly, the memories of his sons childhood co

47、me alive. Young Biff and Happy wash and max their fathers car after he has just returned from a sales trip. Biff informs Willy that he “borrowed” a football from the locker room to practice. - 5 -Willy laughs knowingly. Happy tries to get his fathers attention, but Willys preference for Biff is obvi

48、ous. Willy whispers that he will soon open a bigger business than his successful neighbor Uncle Charley because Charley is not as “well liked “ as he is. Charleys son, Bernard, arrives to beg Biff to study math with him. Biff is close to failing math, which would prevent him from graduating. Willy o

49、rder Biff to study, Biff distracts him by showing him that he printed the insignia of the University of Virginia on his sneakers, impressing Willy. Bernard states that the sneakers do not mean Biff will graduate. After Bernard leaves, Willy asks if Bernard is liked. The boys reply that he is liked b

50、ut not “well liked”. Willy tells them that Bernard may make good grades, but Happy and Biff will be more successful in business because they are “well liked”. Still in his daydream of fifteen years ago, Willy brags to Linda that he made $1200 in sales that week. Linda quickly figures his commission

51、at over $200. Willy then hedges his estimation. Under questioning, he admits that he grossed only $200. The $70 commission is barely adequate to cover the familys expenses. In a rare moment of lucidity and self-criticism, Willy moans that he cannot move ahead because people do not seem to like him.

52、Linda tells him that he is successful enough. Willy complains that he talks and jokes too much. He explains that Charley earn respect because he is a man of few words. His jealousy of his neighbor becomes painfully clear. Willy thinks people laugh at him for being too fat; he once punched a man for

53、joking about his”walris” physique. As Linda assures him that he is handsomest man ever, Willy replies that she is his best friend in the world. Just as he tells her that he misses her terribly when he is on the road. The Womans laughter sounds from the darkness.As an adult, Biff has never held a ste

54、ady job, and his habitual stealing from employers seems largely to be the reason for this failing. Over the years, Biff and Willy have come to a mutual antagonism. Willy is unable to let go of his commitment to the American Dream, and he places tremendous pressure on Biff to fulfill it for him.Willy

55、s relationship with Linda is even more complex and interesting. In one of his moments of self-doubt, she assures him that he is a good provider and that he is handsome. She also sees through his lie when he tries to inflate his commission from his latest trip. Although she does not buy his pitch to

56、her, she still loves him. His failure to make her believe his fantasy of him-self does not lead her to reject him-she does not measure Willys worth in term of his professional success. Willy, however, needs more than love, which accepts character flaws, doubts, and insecurity-he seeks desperately to

57、 be” well liked”. As such, he ignores the opportunity that Linda presents to him: to view him-self more honestly, to acknowledge the reality of his life, and to accept himself for what he is without feeling like a failure. Instead, he tries to play the salesman with her and their sons.- 6 -Chapter 4

58、 Conclusion Throughout the entire thesis, a series of symbolic entities have been briefly analyzed. Willy is a self-deluded traveling salesman. His failure to recognize the anguished love offered to him by his family is crucial to the climax of his torturous day, and the play presents this incapacity as the real tragedy. He believes wholeheartedly in the American Dream of easy success and wealth, bur he never achieves it. A salesmans life is a constant upward struggle to sell himself-he support his dreams on the ephemeral power of his own ima