Diction
1. Willy’s character’s language use throughout the play is very neutral. He doesn’t speak very formal and proper but he also doesn’t use slang. In the first scene of the play Willy say, “I got as far as a little above Yonkers. I stopped for coffee. Maybe it was the coffee.” As you can see Willy’s language isn’t overly formal of overly slang. He talks as if he is a normal middle-aged, middle class person. However it is what he says that creates his character. He often talks negatively and has a pessimistic view about the future, and then he starts talking positively when he flashbacks to his past. He says in the first scene, “Biff Loman is lost, in the greatest country in the world were a young man which such personal attractiveness, gets lost.” Willy is being very hard on his son and talking negatively about him. Then Willy’s next line is, “I’ll see him in the morning; I’ll have a nice talk with him. I’ll get him a job selling. He could be big in no time. My God! Remember how they used to follow him around in high school? When he smiled at one of them their faces lit up. When he walked down the street….” In this quote Willy all of a sudden switches from being negative and harsh on his son Biff to complimenting him and saying that he would be a great seller. Willy flashbacks make him happy and enable him to think more positively. When Willy is flashing back his voice is very cheerful. “I been wondering why you polish the car so careful. Ha! Don’t leave the hubcaps, boys. Get the chamois to the hubcaps. Happy, use newspaper on the windows, it’s the easiest thing. Show him how to do it Biff! You see, Happy? Pad it up, use it like a pad. That’s it, that’s it, good work. You’re doin’ all right, Hap. Biff, first thing we gotta do when we get time is clip that big branch over the house. Afraid it’s gonna fall in a storm and hit the roof. Tell you what. We get a rope and sling her around, and then we climb up there with a couple of saws and take her down. Soon as you finish the car, boys, I wanna see ya. I got a surprise for you, boys.” We can see that Willy obviously is happy and cheerful when talking to his sons when they were younger. His diction slightly changes and it goes from being neutral to having a few slang words. Willy feels more at ease and his speech is less neutral. However when he is in the present his diction changes and he is more neutral. You’ll retire me for life on seventy goddam dollars a week? And your women and your car and your apartment, and you’ll retire me for life! Christ’s sake, I couldn’t get past Yonkers today! Where are you guys, where are you? The woods are burning! I can’t drive a car!” In this quote Willy becomes very aggressive and starts yelling at Happy. He is frustrated with life and he feels like no one can hear him. Throughout the play Willy goes back and forth from being happy to being mad and angry at life. In the play the author uses lots of imagery. He wants to convey that Willy is unhappy with his life and certain things that Willy says represents what he really wants. “I got an awful scare. Nearly hit a kid in Yonkers. God! Why didn’t I go to Alaska with my brother Ben that time! Ben! That man was a genius, that man was success incarnate! What a mistake! He begged me to go.” In this quote we can see that Willy really wishes he could have go to Alaska with his brother Ben who became rich. Alaska represents to Willy a freedom and escape from his home. It would have offered him better opportunities. Willy has a hard time providing for his family and he says to Linda. “I won’t have you mending
stockings in this house! Now throw them out!” The image of mending stockings represents that Linda is trying to mend the family and that Willy is unable to provide for them. This makes Willy angry because the stockings remind him that he is unable to provide for his family. Miller uses Bernard as an ironic figure because he represents what success really is. Willy says to his son Biff, “That’s just what I mean. Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him. That’s why I thank Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. Willy Loman is here! That’s all they have to know, and I go right through.” Willy is trying to tell his that just because Bernard is smart in school that won’t guarantee him success in the business world. He also says you have to be good looking and well liked to get a head. This is ironic because it is actually opposite. To make it in the business world being smart is a major part of it. Willy actually brings Biff down when he doesn’t tell him to go study with Bernard. The Irony used is to show how superficial Willy looks at the world and how he only values materialistic things and money. He often talks about how he is going to make money and have his own business on day. Willy’s language is often strong. He likes using worlds like “Goddammit!” and “My God!” especially when he is angry or trying to make a point. “I got a job, I told you that. What the hell are you offering me a job for?” In this quote Willy is being very rude maybe even a little bit offensive. He is trying to be prideful but when he talks like this it comes off as rude. “A man who can’t handle tools is not a man. You’re disgusting.” While trying to make a point about being a man and supporting his family Willy always has to insult the person he is talking to.” WILLY: Then what’re you talkin’ about? BIFF Well, all I said was I’m gonna see him, that’s all! WILLY :Ah, you’re counting your chickens again. BIFF: Oh, Jesus, I’m going to sleep! WILLY : Don’t curse in this house! BIFF: Since when did you get so clean? HAPPY: Wait a... WILLY: Don’t use that language to me! I won’t have it!” In this scene Willy is talking to Biff and once Biff gets Willy upset he starts being very forceful and mean. His language becomes very shrewd and insults Biff. “Don’t be so modest. You always started too low. Walk in with a big laugh. Don’t look worried. Start off with a couple of your good stones to lighten things up. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it — because personality always wins the day.” In this quote Willy comes off as arrogant. Like he knows exactly what he is talking about and tries to give advice to anyone who will listen. Willy’s social status indicates that he is from middle class with a modest educational background. They live in New York and sometimes New York slang comes into their language like, “Y’all” or “talkin” or “gonna” or even “y’understand”. Willy uses this language most when he is at home. Since the play was written in the 1940s the language was quite different they strung words together. This helps us see his character because his language expresses his emotion. When he is mad or upset he will cuss however when he is happy or relaxed he will lapse into using slang words. The playwright’s use of euphonious or cacophonous sounding words does not really attribute to his overall tone. There is a mix of sounds “Because you got a greatness in you, Biff, remember that. You got all kinds a greatness...”. The playwright as you can see does use one sound or the other. It’s rather a combination of sounds that the character uses depending on whether he is angry of happy
2. In this passage Willy says,
“I was driving along, you understand? And I was fine. I was even observing the scenery. You can imagine, me looking at scenery, on the road every week of my life. But it’s so beautiful up there, Linda, the trees are so thick, and the sun is warm. I opened the windshield and just let the warm air bathe over me. And then all of a sudden I’m goin’ off the road! I’m tellin’ya, I absolutely forgot I was driving. If I’d’ve gone the other way over the white line I might’ve killed somebody. So I went on again — and five minutes later I’m dreamin’ again, and I nearly... I have such thoughts, I have such strange thoughts.” We can see that Willy’s diction is neutral with a few slang wordings like “goin’” and “tellin’ya”. Willy is talking very flowerly because he is off day dreaming and imagining himself else where. We can see his character just wants to forget about life and its troubles. He would rather be in a happier warm place. This helps contribute to the tone because in this passage the tone is very melancholy and full of meaning. The character Willy is also full of meaning and has sadness behind his voice because of his failings in life.
In this passage Willy says,
“Whoever heard of a Hastings refrigerator? Once in my life I would like to own something outright before it’s broken! I’m always in a race with the junkyard! I just finished paying for the car and it’s on its last legs. The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddam maniac. They time those things. They time them so when you finally paid for them, they’re used up.”
The diction in this passage is very strong and mad. Willy is upset that as soon as he pays for something it becomes all used up. This represents his life in a way. By the time he has paid for everything he will be to old to enjoy life and its pleasures. Willy views his life as a junkyard in a way full of broken pieces that he can’t put back together. This also contributes to the pessimistic tone to the story. Willy is pessimistic on life and feels like he will never be able to succeed in life.
In this passage Willy says,
“I was fired, and I’m looking for a little good news to tell your mother, because the woman has waited and the woman has suffered. The gist of it is that I haven’t got a story left in my head, Biff. So don’t give me a lecture about facts and as- pects. I am not interested. Now what’ve you got to say to me?” We can see that Willy obviously is very upset with his failure in life. He wants to be able to tell his wife Linda good news however he can’t. The playwright uses words like gist and as-pects to show how Willy feels which is crappy. He doesn’t understand why he was fired he thinks he was the best salesman around however his failures prove him otherwise. This contributes to the tone of the character because Willy already is sad about life and he being fired makes him even sadder. Willy’s continuing effort to kill himself which would now be more strong comes through. Willy hopes for success with his son Biff however not knowing how to come with his own failure will ultimately lead him to his doom.
Syntax:
1. Willy often rambles on when he is talking to his wife Linda or talking to himself. “The street is lined with cars. There’s not a breath of fresh air in the neighborhood. The grass don’t grow any more, you can’t raise a carrot in the back yard. They should’ve had a law against apartment houses. Remember those two beautiful elm trees out there? When I and Biff hung the swing between them?” He is basically talking about the street then his thoughts will trail off to happier times when everything was right in the world. “There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining this country! Population is getting out of control. The competition is mad- dening! Smell the stink from that apartment house! And an- other one on the other side... How can they whip cheese?” In this quote we can see that Willy’s mind drifts off from topic to topic. He seems o get distracted easily. He kind of just trails off and doesn’t finish his thoughts. His sentences are often in fragments. “Cause I get so lonely — especially when business is bad and there’s nobody to talk to. I get the feeling that I’ll never sell anything again, that I won’t make a living for you, or a business, a business for the boys. There’s so much I want to make for...” In this quote it is evident that Willy will trail off and not finish his sentence. This is just how his dreams are there will never be complete they will always be part done. “What’s the mystery? The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle, and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and he’s rich! The world is an oyster, but you don’t crack it open on a mattress!” Willy also asks a lot of rhetorical questions as you can see from this quote. He is referring to his brother Ben who is now rich and successful, The sentence structure is simple and easy to understand. The playwrights wants you to be able to relate to the character and understand them. “Gee, that was a beautiful thing. I’ll take a walk.” This is common to see Willy use language that is simple. He is often alone in his thoughts which, creates a happier time for him. It is also common to see a lot of cuss words and flashbacks. You can tell when it is a flashback because his tone is often more lighter not as heavy with pessimism.
2. In this passage Willy says,
“Oh, yeah, my father lived many years in Alaska. He was an adventurous man. We’ve got quite a little streak of self- reliance in our family. I thought I’d go out with my older brother and try to locate him, and maybe settle in the North with the old man. And I was almost decided to go, when I met a salesman in the Parker House. His name was Dave Singleman. And he was eighty-four years old, and he’d drummed mer- chandise in thirty-one states. And old Dave, he’d go up to his room, y’understand, put on his green velvet slippers — I’ll never forget — and pick up his phone and call the buyers, and without ever leaving his room, at the age of eighty-four, he made his living. And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ‘Cause what couldbe more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty- four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? Do you know? When he died — and by the way he died the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the New York, New Haven and Hartford, going into Boston — when he died, hundreds of salesmen and buyers were at his funeral. Things were sad on a lotta trains for months af- ter that. (He stands up. Howard has not looked at him.) In those days there was personality in it, Howard. There was re- spect, and comradeship, and gratitude in it. Today, it’s all cut and dried, and there’s no chance for bringing friendship to bear — or personality. You see what I mean? They don’t know me any more.
Willy sentences are short and simple instead of being condensed he is trying to tell a story and make a point. This adds to his tone of being strong and forceful. Willy wants people to notice him he wants to be successful in life but sometimes things just don’t go his way and he gets fired.
In this passage he says,
“I’m talking about your father! There were promises made across this desk! You mustn’t tell me you’ve got people to see — I put thirty-four years into this firm, Howard, and now I can’t pay my insurance! You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away — a man is not a piece of fruit! (After a pause.) Now pay attention. Your father — in 1928 I had a big year. I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in com- missions.” Willy is becoming very frustrated and starts yelling his speech seems to become very loud and forceful his sentences become very abrupt and short. This adds to the tone because he is trying to keep his job and keep from admitting that he is a failure in life. However he has to accept reality one way or another.
In this passage Willy says,
“Oh, Ben, that’s thewhole beauty of it! I see it like a diamond, shining in the dark, hard and rough, that I can pick up and touch in my hand. Not like — like an appointment! This would not be another damned-fool appointment, Ben, and it changes all the aspects. Because he thinks I’m nothing, see, and so he spites me. But the funeral... (Straightening up.) Ben, that funeral will be mas- sive! They’ll come from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire! All the oldtimers with the strange license plates — that boy will be thunderstruck, Ben, because he never realized — I am known! Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey — I am known, Ben, and he’ll see it with his eyes once and for all. He’ll see what I am, Ben! He’s in for a shock, that boy!” We can see that Willy is becoming very excited so much that he can’t finish his sentences clearly. He is talking about his funeral and how it will be massive which is a scary feeling. Willy wants to be loved and he thinks that if he kills himself he will be more loved and appreciated. He is a failure at life and this passage adds to the overall tone because it is what happens to a man who becomes crazy. He wants to be successful but he can’t seem to make it in life. This adds to the pessimistic very down on life tone.
1. Willy’s character’s language use throughout the play is very neutral. He doesn’t speak very formal and proper but he also doesn’t use slang. In the first scene of the play Willy say, “I got as far as a little above Yonkers. I stopped for coffee. Maybe it was the coffee.” As you can see Willy’s language isn’t overly formal of overly slang. He talks as if he is a normal middle-aged, middle class person. However it is what he says that creates his character. He often talks negatively and has a pessimistic view about the future, and then he starts talking positively when he flashbacks to his past. He says in the first scene, “Biff Loman is lost, in the greatest country in the world were a young man which such personal attractiveness, gets lost.” Willy is being very hard on his son and talking negatively about him. Then Willy’s next line is, “I’ll see him in the morning; I’ll have a nice talk with him. I’ll get him a job selling. He could be big in no time. My God! Remember how they used to follow him around in high school? When he smiled at one of them their faces lit up. When he walked down the street….” In this quote Willy all of a sudden switches from being negative and harsh on his son Biff to complimenting him and saying that he would be a great seller. Willy flashbacks make him happy and enable him to think more positively. When Willy is flashing back his voice is very cheerful. “I been wondering why you polish the car so careful. Ha! Don’t leave the hubcaps, boys. Get the chamois to the hubcaps. Happy, use newspaper on the windows, it’s the easiest thing. Show him how to do it Biff! You see, Happy? Pad it up, use it like a pad. That’s it, that’s it, good work. You’re doin’ all right, Hap. Biff, first thing we gotta do when we get time is clip that big branch over the house. Afraid it’s gonna fall in a storm and hit the roof. Tell you what. We get a rope and sling her around, and then we climb up there with a couple of saws and take her down. Soon as you finish the car, boys, I wanna see ya. I got a surprise for you, boys.” We can see that Willy obviously is happy and cheerful when talking to his sons when they were younger. His diction slightly changes and it goes from being neutral to having a few slang words. Willy feels more at ease and his speech is less neutral. However when he is in the present his diction changes and he is more neutral. You’ll retire me for life on seventy goddam dollars a week? And your women and your car and your apartment, and you’ll retire me for life! Christ’s sake, I couldn’t get past Yonkers today! Where are you guys, where are you? The woods are burning! I can’t drive a car!” In this quote Willy becomes very aggressive and starts yelling at Happy. He is frustrated with life and he feels like no one can hear him. Throughout the play Willy goes back and forth from being happy to being mad and angry at life. In the play the author uses lots of imagery. He wants to convey that Willy is unhappy with his life and certain things that Willy says represents what he really wants. “I got an awful scare. Nearly hit a kid in Yonkers. God! Why didn’t I go to Alaska with my brother Ben that time! Ben! That man was a genius, that man was success incarnate! What a mistake! He begged me to go.” In this quote we can see that Willy really wishes he could have go to Alaska with his brother Ben who became rich. Alaska represents to Willy a freedom and escape from his home. It would have offered him better opportunities. Willy has a hard time providing for his family and he says to Linda. “I won’t have you mending
stockings in this house! Now throw them out!” The image of mending stockings represents that Linda is trying to mend the family and that Willy is unable to provide for them. This makes Willy angry because the stockings remind him that he is unable to provide for his family. Miller uses Bernard as an ironic figure because he represents what success really is. Willy says to his son Biff, “That’s just what I mean. Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him. That’s why I thank Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. Willy Loman is here! That’s all they have to know, and I go right through.” Willy is trying to tell his that just because Bernard is smart in school that won’t guarantee him success in the business world. He also says you have to be good looking and well liked to get a head. This is ironic because it is actually opposite. To make it in the business world being smart is a major part of it. Willy actually brings Biff down when he doesn’t tell him to go study with Bernard. The Irony used is to show how superficial Willy looks at the world and how he only values materialistic things and money. He often talks about how he is going to make money and have his own business on day. Willy’s language is often strong. He likes using worlds like “Goddammit!” and “My God!” especially when he is angry or trying to make a point. “I got a job, I told you that. What the hell are you offering me a job for?” In this quote Willy is being very rude maybe even a little bit offensive. He is trying to be prideful but when he talks like this it comes off as rude. “A man who can’t handle tools is not a man. You’re disgusting.” While trying to make a point about being a man and supporting his family Willy always has to insult the person he is talking to.” WILLY: Then what’re you talkin’ about? BIFF Well, all I said was I’m gonna see him, that’s all! WILLY :Ah, you’re counting your chickens again. BIFF: Oh, Jesus, I’m going to sleep! WILLY : Don’t curse in this house! BIFF: Since when did you get so clean? HAPPY: Wait a... WILLY: Don’t use that language to me! I won’t have it!” In this scene Willy is talking to Biff and once Biff gets Willy upset he starts being very forceful and mean. His language becomes very shrewd and insults Biff. “Don’t be so modest. You always started too low. Walk in with a big laugh. Don’t look worried. Start off with a couple of your good stones to lighten things up. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it — because personality always wins the day.” In this quote Willy comes off as arrogant. Like he knows exactly what he is talking about and tries to give advice to anyone who will listen. Willy’s social status indicates that he is from middle class with a modest educational background. They live in New York and sometimes New York slang comes into their language like, “Y’all” or “talkin” or “gonna” or even “y’understand”. Willy uses this language most when he is at home. Since the play was written in the 1940s the language was quite different they strung words together. This helps us see his character because his language expresses his emotion. When he is mad or upset he will cuss however when he is happy or relaxed he will lapse into using slang words. The playwright’s use of euphonious or cacophonous sounding words does not really attribute to his overall tone. There is a mix of sounds “Because you got a greatness in you, Biff, remember that. You got all kinds a greatness...”. The playwright as you can see does use one sound or the other. It’s rather a combination of sounds that the character uses depending on whether he is angry of happy
2. In this passage Willy says,
“I was driving along, you understand? And I was fine. I was even observing the scenery. You can imagine, me looking at scenery, on the road every week of my life. But it’s so beautiful up there, Linda, the trees are so thick, and the sun is warm. I opened the windshield and just let the warm air bathe over me. And then all of a sudden I’m goin’ off the road! I’m tellin’ya, I absolutely forgot I was driving. If I’d’ve gone the other way over the white line I might’ve killed somebody. So I went on again — and five minutes later I’m dreamin’ again, and I nearly... I have such thoughts, I have such strange thoughts.” We can see that Willy’s diction is neutral with a few slang wordings like “goin’” and “tellin’ya”. Willy is talking very flowerly because he is off day dreaming and imagining himself else where. We can see his character just wants to forget about life and its troubles. He would rather be in a happier warm place. This helps contribute to the tone because in this passage the tone is very melancholy and full of meaning. The character Willy is also full of meaning and has sadness behind his voice because of his failings in life.
In this passage Willy says,
“Whoever heard of a Hastings refrigerator? Once in my life I would like to own something outright before it’s broken! I’m always in a race with the junkyard! I just finished paying for the car and it’s on its last legs. The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddam maniac. They time those things. They time them so when you finally paid for them, they’re used up.”
The diction in this passage is very strong and mad. Willy is upset that as soon as he pays for something it becomes all used up. This represents his life in a way. By the time he has paid for everything he will be to old to enjoy life and its pleasures. Willy views his life as a junkyard in a way full of broken pieces that he can’t put back together. This also contributes to the pessimistic tone to the story. Willy is pessimistic on life and feels like he will never be able to succeed in life.
In this passage Willy says,
“I was fired, and I’m looking for a little good news to tell your mother, because the woman has waited and the woman has suffered. The gist of it is that I haven’t got a story left in my head, Biff. So don’t give me a lecture about facts and as- pects. I am not interested. Now what’ve you got to say to me?” We can see that Willy obviously is very upset with his failure in life. He wants to be able to tell his wife Linda good news however he can’t. The playwright uses words like gist and as-pects to show how Willy feels which is crappy. He doesn’t understand why he was fired he thinks he was the best salesman around however his failures prove him otherwise. This contributes to the tone of the character because Willy already is sad about life and he being fired makes him even sadder. Willy’s continuing effort to kill himself which would now be more strong comes through. Willy hopes for success with his son Biff however not knowing how to come with his own failure will ultimately lead him to his doom.
Syntax:
1. Willy often rambles on when he is talking to his wife Linda or talking to himself. “The street is lined with cars. There’s not a breath of fresh air in the neighborhood. The grass don’t grow any more, you can’t raise a carrot in the back yard. They should’ve had a law against apartment houses. Remember those two beautiful elm trees out there? When I and Biff hung the swing between them?” He is basically talking about the street then his thoughts will trail off to happier times when everything was right in the world. “There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining this country! Population is getting out of control. The competition is mad- dening! Smell the stink from that apartment house! And an- other one on the other side... How can they whip cheese?” In this quote we can see that Willy’s mind drifts off from topic to topic. He seems o get distracted easily. He kind of just trails off and doesn’t finish his thoughts. His sentences are often in fragments. “Cause I get so lonely — especially when business is bad and there’s nobody to talk to. I get the feeling that I’ll never sell anything again, that I won’t make a living for you, or a business, a business for the boys. There’s so much I want to make for...” In this quote it is evident that Willy will trail off and not finish his sentence. This is just how his dreams are there will never be complete they will always be part done. “What’s the mystery? The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle, and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and he’s rich! The world is an oyster, but you don’t crack it open on a mattress!” Willy also asks a lot of rhetorical questions as you can see from this quote. He is referring to his brother Ben who is now rich and successful, The sentence structure is simple and easy to understand. The playwrights wants you to be able to relate to the character and understand them. “Gee, that was a beautiful thing. I’ll take a walk.” This is common to see Willy use language that is simple. He is often alone in his thoughts which, creates a happier time for him. It is also common to see a lot of cuss words and flashbacks. You can tell when it is a flashback because his tone is often more lighter not as heavy with pessimism.
2. In this passage Willy says,
“Oh, yeah, my father lived many years in Alaska. He was an adventurous man. We’ve got quite a little streak of self- reliance in our family. I thought I’d go out with my older brother and try to locate him, and maybe settle in the North with the old man. And I was almost decided to go, when I met a salesman in the Parker House. His name was Dave Singleman. And he was eighty-four years old, and he’d drummed mer- chandise in thirty-one states. And old Dave, he’d go up to his room, y’understand, put on his green velvet slippers — I’ll never forget — and pick up his phone and call the buyers, and without ever leaving his room, at the age of eighty-four, he made his living. And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ‘Cause what couldbe more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty- four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? Do you know? When he died — and by the way he died the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the New York, New Haven and Hartford, going into Boston — when he died, hundreds of salesmen and buyers were at his funeral. Things were sad on a lotta trains for months af- ter that. (He stands up. Howard has not looked at him.) In those days there was personality in it, Howard. There was re- spect, and comradeship, and gratitude in it. Today, it’s all cut and dried, and there’s no chance for bringing friendship to bear — or personality. You see what I mean? They don’t know me any more.
Willy sentences are short and simple instead of being condensed he is trying to tell a story and make a point. This adds to his tone of being strong and forceful. Willy wants people to notice him he wants to be successful in life but sometimes things just don’t go his way and he gets fired.
In this passage he says,
“I’m talking about your father! There were promises made across this desk! You mustn’t tell me you’ve got people to see — I put thirty-four years into this firm, Howard, and now I can’t pay my insurance! You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away — a man is not a piece of fruit! (After a pause.) Now pay attention. Your father — in 1928 I had a big year. I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in com- missions.” Willy is becoming very frustrated and starts yelling his speech seems to become very loud and forceful his sentences become very abrupt and short. This adds to the tone because he is trying to keep his job and keep from admitting that he is a failure in life. However he has to accept reality one way or another.
In this passage Willy says,
“Oh, Ben, that’s thewhole beauty of it! I see it like a diamond, shining in the dark, hard and rough, that I can pick up and touch in my hand. Not like — like an appointment! This would not be another damned-fool appointment, Ben, and it changes all the aspects. Because he thinks I’m nothing, see, and so he spites me. But the funeral... (Straightening up.) Ben, that funeral will be mas- sive! They’ll come from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire! All the oldtimers with the strange license plates — that boy will be thunderstruck, Ben, because he never realized — I am known! Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey — I am known, Ben, and he’ll see it with his eyes once and for all. He’ll see what I am, Ben! He’s in for a shock, that boy!” We can see that Willy is becoming very excited so much that he can’t finish his sentences clearly. He is talking about his funeral and how it will be massive which is a scary feeling. Willy wants to be loved and he thinks that if he kills himself he will be more loved and appreciated. He is a failure at life and this passage adds to the overall tone because it is what happens to a man who becomes crazy. He wants to be successful but he can’t seem to make it in life. This adds to the pessimistic very down on life tone.