On Ethical Conflicts and Adjustments in Death of a Salesman

【Abstract】：Death of a Salesman not only denies the American dream which everyone believes they can succeed， but also shows the conflicts between Willy and Biff， demonstrating the moral conflicts between Willy’s material and spiritual world through the description of main characters， dialogue， and psychological activities. This thesis will mainly focus on the moral and ethical conflicts and discuss the social root of such tragedies， in order to reveal the author’s concern about human’s spiritual crisis in such a commercial society and the human ethics construction. The traditional ethical and moral alienation of the American society is revealed.

【Key words】： Death of a Salesman， Arthur Miller， ethical conflicts， moral alienation

0. Introduction

Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman depicts Willy Loman， a salesman， who pursued the success of his career under the guide of his life philosophy but only to find that it was hopeless to make his dream a reality. Meanwhile his two sons Biff and Happy made him disappointed and finally Willy run out of his house in the car and committed suicide， hoping the insurance of the car accident will be compensated to his family. The tragedy in the play is studied by many scholars， I will mainly analyze the distorted ethics and moralities in main characters and discuss the ethical conflicts.

1. Ethical and moral problems of Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller’s success is not only attributed to his innovative expressionistic forms of the stage performance， or the tragic protagonists like Willy Loman， but his deep concern about human beings or the common man’s well-being. Death of a Salesman is Miller’s most prestigious play. In the play he continues his concerns for the life. It renders the tragedy of an ordinary salesman which wins many tears and reflections from audiences， the play is stunning，not only because what happens to Willy is tragic， but because it reveals ethical conflicts to evoke people’s thinking. The moral and ethical conflicts in this play are definitely the reasons. Even Miller himself once proclaim that “it expresses ethical function...”（“Death of a Salesman” 288）. The characters are endowed with author’s ethical and moral concerns.

1.1 Willy Loman’s Problematic Ethics

Compared with other characters， Willy is more complicated. He is a good-natured person who works hard. Yet the ethical problems of his illusionary dream and his own problematic personalities bring about his tragedy and have negative impact on his families.

Firstly， his dream comes from the bigger dream， American dream. wants to follow the American dream but he does not notice the problems， as Christopher Innes reveals “virtue is measured by material success”（67; "Act "Two）. Therefore， in this material oriented society， monetary success means everything to Willy， and virtue is not in his consideration.

Secondly， Willy is used to lying， cheating and evading his responsibilities. He lies about his ability to do business. He cheats behind his wife. When Bernard wants to know what happens to Biff when Biff goes to Boston to see his father， Willy turns away. Willy chose to lie， cheat， neglect other’s advice and attempts to cover these problems and refuses to accept his responsibilities for his family， so as to make him a moral and upright person superficially.

1.2 Biff Loman’s Arrogance and Deception

Biff Loman， the elder son in the family， gets most attention and much influence from the father. Awfully Willy does not set a good example for his son. Biff is a quite handsome boy. He is praised by his father and compared to Adonis and Hercules. The former one is god of beauty and desire in the Greek mythology and the latter is semi-god， son of Zeus. But his father ignores that knowledge and virtue are essential in building a man， Biff’s personality is problematic and has wrong values and ethos.

Under the indulgence and protection of Willy， Biff has developed wrong concepts of value and ethos. Biff cheats by copying Bernard’s answers in order to pass his math exam， and grows the habit of stealing. Willy has inescapable responsibilities for Biff’s cheating and stealing.

1.3 Linda Loman’s Blindness and Ignorance

The love and blindness and patience which Linda has towards her husband show themselves immediately when Willy comes home at the beginning of act one. And Linda’s blind support of Willy’s dream， her lack of knowledge of Willy， her refusal to confront the scary truth of Willy’s suicidal attempts and not shouldering the obligation of educating her children are Linda’s moral weaknesses which are the partial reason for the tragedy of the family.

2. Impact of Ethical Issues on Relations of the Characters

The relationships of some characters are complicated. There is love between Willy and Biff， "Willy and Linda， and friendship of Willy and Charley. Yet each character’s ethical and moral problems exert great influence on their love and friendships， and cause the dilemma of the relationships.

2.1 Love and Hatred between Willy and Biff

Willy and Biff’s complicated relationship is most appealing in the play and draws many studies in the world. There is no doubt they lovedeach other. When "Biff was little， he admired and loved his father so much. "There used to be warm conversations between Willy and Biff. "Because Biff plays football well， and is the captain in the team， Willy is proud of his son. From the play， we also tell Willy loves his elder son more than anything. He compares his son to gods Adonis and Hercules， who are well-known for their beauty and Heroic deeds. Willy loves Biff deeply so that he cannot stand any harsh words or criticisms on his son.

2.2 Loyalty and Betrayal between Linda and Willy

As it is discussed in the previous chapter， Linda loves Willy devotedly. Willy also loves Linda， but he cheats behind her. Moral flaws in Willy and Linda make "their husband-wife relations twisted.This is the moral dilemma in this relation.Compared Linda’s loyalty with Willy’s， Willy loves Linda in different ways. He loves her because she is his wife and his sons’ mother， taking good care of him and his family; he loves her because she seldom bothers him or disobeys his orders or argues against him. Whereas， the worst is， opposed to Linda’s fidelity， Willy has an affair with another woman in Boston. But he has never changed his attitude to Linda. He is still rude to disturb Linda when Linda tries to express her thoughts in the conversation.His betrayal and no sense of regret come from his moral value. To him， success is the most important in his life.

3.Conclusion

Death of a Salesman is one of Arthur Miller’s masterpieces， which draws many

critics and scholars to study in the world. Many studies emphasize a common man’s tragedy. But the meaning of this creation is beyond that tragedy.This play can be analyzed from the perspective of ethics and morality. Willy symbols of the old generation with many flawed or twisted values and ethics under the money-oriented society. Linda’s problematic ethics are her blindness to her husband’s moral problems. Biff and Happy， under the negative influence of their parents， develop some twisted ethics.The significance of this study is to point out Miller’s consideration for twisted ethical and moral concepts. Moreover exhibit author’s ethical concerns for the young generations healthy relationships and their life.

Works Cited

[1]Atkinson， Brooks. Death of a Salesman： Arthur Miller’s Tragedy of an Ordinary Man. New York： The Modern Library.

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