Sunday, January 8, 2012

Willy is proud of putting up the living room ceiling and making a cement porch. How is the image of working with his hands carried through the play? Why, then, doesn't Willy think highly of being a carpenter?

It is shown throughout the play that Willy is very proud of his renovations in his home and porch. He is always bragging to others about his accomplishments in this arena. Even though it is clear that Willy enjoys working with his hands and doing projects along those lines, that he finds joy and satisfaction in these things, he looks down upon professions that make their living performing manual labor. This is because many manual laborers do not get paid much. That is unacceptable for Willy Loman. As previously stated, Willy is all about making money. It seems his pursuit of happiness morphed into the pursuit of the dollar bill.

Even gardening seems to put Willy at ease. His family notices that he is never as happy as he is than when he is fixing something or creating something new, like putting in his ceiling or the garden he wants to plant in the back of the house. It is true that no greater satisfaction is to be had than when someone sits back and looks at what they have built or created. To physically accomplish something is Willy's drive, and he is more successful when it is an in-home project than selling merchandise.

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