Interviewer: Willy is the central character in the novel, he struggles with acceptance amid his unrealistic dreams. What is the motivation behind this character?
Miller: As a writer, we should push boundaries and at the same time create characters that reflect on real life situations. Most writers tend to create fancy heroes as protagonists, and they forget that protagonists in real life are people like Willy who are struggling to make ends meet. Willy is a 63 year old salesman, has worked as a salesman for 36 years, and at an old age he has to work to provide for his family because his sons have not achieved much in life. Willy has convinced himself that he is actually a good salesman and he is actually liked by people, which gives him a motivation to go on with his work/ life. On a personal level, the protagonist Willy Loman was based on my friend, he was a strange character who lived in his own mind most of the time. He said unexpected things and act strangely, but as his friend I could see that he was suffering because he did not achieve much.
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Interviewer: Are you implying that human beings often lie to themselves because the reality is that life is too harsh sometimes?
Miller: Willy is facing enormous failure in the face of surrounding success, he has worked as a salesman for 36 years without promotion. Everyone seems to be getting ahead apart from him and his family, and the only reason to go on is by reliving the past or lying to himself that he is actually a good salesman. Sadly, being fired from his job when he requested for a transfer burst his bubble. Additionally, his son’s outburst about the family living in denial and that he was a failure pushed Willy to the point of committing suicide. Life can be harsh sometimes, and people choose to escape from the reality in their own ways, and in Willy’s case, denial his escape.
Interviewer: If the protagonist had a different view of life, do you think he will not have committed suicide in the end?
Miller : Willy strongly believed that for one to be successful in life, one had to be rich and liked. Unfortunately, Willy was a struggling salesman with an unpleasant character. Willy never accepted the fact that he was a mediocre salesman because he was blinded by the idea of being successful. Willy was motivated by the popular American dream, and he believed he had a chance just like anyone else in the society. Wily denies the reality of his life in most occasions, and prefers to retreat into the past instead of accepting the reality. If Willy had a different perspective towards life, he would not have committed suicide. As Biff suggests, Willy was good with his hand, if he had accepted that he was a horrible salesman he would have ventured into another a career earlier on to avoid disappointments in the future.
Interviewer : Did Willy’s perspective of life affect his entire family? His wife and his sons seemed to be living in denial too
Miller: Willy is the patriarch of the family, and he sets the tone for the direction of his family. His inability to accept the reality has affected how his family views life. Biff and Happy have a tendency of manipulating the reality. Biff is convinced that he will get a loan without a plan and any means of paying back the loan. On the other hand, Linda has learned to accept that denial runs in the family. Linda is afraid to call off Willy on his fantasies because she fears for his fragile state of mind. Willy’s perspective of life has adversely affected his family, his sons have not achieved much, but they keep lying to themselves just like their father. However, at the end of the story Biff admits that he has been a “phony” too just like his father. During his father’s funeral, Biff comments that he had wrong dreams, showing that Biff is aware of the effects of living in denial.
Interviewer : is Willy’s perspective on the meaning of life responsible for his fragile state of mind?
Miller: in the beginning of the story, Willy appears unstable and Linda was worried about him. Willy’s denial and perspective of life kept him going when he was on the verge of mental breakdown, but it came at a cost. The constant denial and living in the past soon overshadowed the reality, and Willy could not tell what was real from his illusions. However, when Biff confronts his father and makes him realize that both of them are failures, it dawns on Willy that he has been leading an empty life. Willy cannot stand the reality, and he decides to commit suicide. Probably Willy had a fragile state of the mind from the beginning, and his constant denial kept him alive all those years.
