"Death of a Salesman"

Throughout the play, Willy is a confusing and complicated character. At first, he appears simply insane. He is always talking to himself and quickly changing moods and opinions in the blink of an eye. On one page, he is talking about how much he loves their car. "Chevrolet, Linda, is the greatest car ever built" (p. 1561). However, on the next page Willy completely changes his mind saying, "I'm not going to pay that man! That goddam Chevrolet, they ought to prohibit the manufacture of that car!" (page 1562). Then, as the play continued, I began to think maybe Willy was schizophrenic. He commonly talks to characters who do not exist; he frequently talks to his brother Ben who we know to be dead. He sees and talks to people who are not there; they are only figments of his imagination. However, we later find out that these are actually memories belonging to Willy. They are flashbacks rather than hallucinations. Willy seems to have confused his life to a point where he does not even know what is real or right. He is so focused on achieving the american dream that he forgets and cannot accept what is actually reality. This eventually leads to his tragic death. Because he cannot maintain a sense of calmness or reality, he ends up killing himself.