Book report of "The Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller.

Essay by ezqfergHigh School, 10th gradeA+, April 2004

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The book "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller is about a very disturbed and troubled man. This man, Willy, is the husband of Linda and the father of two sons, Biff and Happy. In the book Willy is a stressed out salesman that is starting to go crazy. At the end of the book, Willy will kill himself for three main reasons.

The primary reason Willy will kill himself is because he can't stand to live in a world where his offspring won't amount to anything. Biff is Willy's oldest son and he just can't seem to settle down at one good job. This fact eats away at Willy's heart because the only things that matter to Willy are image and money. Throughout the years, Willy becomes more and more angry at Biff for not becoming successful. This unsettling component in Willy's suicide is not the only ingredient in the pot.

An unfaithful deed is the next step towards death in Willy's fate. While away on a business trip, Willy cheats on his wife with a customer's secretary. This bothers Willy because Linda is always mending her stockings and the only gifts he would give the secretary are new stockings. Every time he sees Linda mending her stockings he becomes upset with her and a great cloud of guilt hangs over his head. This guilt eats away at his marriage and puts him in a depressed mood. The unfaithfulness is only the second puzzle piece in Willy's death.

The final page in Willy's book is nothing physical; it's the fact that Willy himself starts to realize that he is going crazy. A clue to this is the rubber tube and nipple attached to the gas pipe. I believe that Willy is ready for his stressful life to be...