Death of a Salesman Psychological Lens

In Death of a Salesman, Miller focuses a lot on the psychological state of Willy. Through Willy, Miller expresses the toxicity that can arise from such a single minded focus on the American Dream above all else, including familial relationships. The key areas of Willy's psyche that Miller brings forth are his pride, denial, and insecurity. These three concepts are closely intertwined in Willy's actions.
In Willy's flashbacks, his true desires are revealed. When he is not fighting to preserve his pride, even his innermost consciousness still shows his insecurity.
WILLY: Bigger than Uncle Charley! Because Charley is not - liked. He's liked, but he's not - well liked (Miller 18).
Even in dreamland, Willy is reminded that Charley is doing better than he is. He can't escape it. His most hated idea in the world is that he, Willy Loman, is not number one. So, to make sure he can still consider himself as the most loved man ever, he must repeat the lie until he believes it.
When Willy talks to Bernard, Bernard reveals that something happened between Willy and Biff- something Willy adamantly refuses to acknowledge.
BERNARD: ... Did he have a talk with you then?
...
WILLY: What do you mean "What happened"? What's that got to do with anything?
Willy on some level knows what happened. He knows that his mistakes cost him his relationship with Biff, but he cannot acknowledge that. If he does, then he, Willy Loman, is a failure. That can't be true, so it must be the case that nothing happened in Boston. Bernard, who is no longer close to the Loman family, is more in touch with reality than Willy because Willy is buried in his own denial.

Willy compensates for his insecurity and uses his denial by forming a fortress of pride. He has constructed a self image of the most beloved and successful salesman who simply fell on hard times and then reinforced it so many times that he believes it. It's a coping mechanism. He always wanted that to be true, because he thought it would make him happy. When he didn't achieve it, he pretended he did, so he could justify pretending to be happy. While he may not know the difference on the surface, on some level he knows the extent of the self-deception, and it is ruining his life. Towards the very end of the play, Willy is contemplating suicide. As he does so, Ben approaches once more as a representation of Willy's pride.
BEN: He'll call you a coward.
WILLY: No, that would be terrible.
BEN: Yes. And a damned fool.
WILLY: No, no, he mustn't, I won't have that!
BEN: He'll hate you, William.
Ben is a representation of Willy's pride. Even though Biff shatters it in the end, here, Willy's pride is what stops him from committing suicide. His pride manifesting in Ben is an important detail to note as well. Ben throughout the play has been the most supportive of Willy. He treats him like an adult, calls him William, and gives the approval Willy so desperately wants. Through Ben, Willy is able to justify his pride in order to cover for his insecurity.
The psychological depth of Willy's character is a central part of Miller's play, and offers serious depth to how Miller views that style of life.

Death of a Salesman Quote & Question

HAPPY: I get that anytime I want, Biff. Whenever I feel disgusted. The only trouble is, it gets like bowling or something. I just keep knockin' em over and it doesn't mean anything. You still run around a lot?
BIFF: Naa, I'd like to find a girl - steady, somebody with substance.
HAPPY: That's what I long for.

This scene was interesting to me. They've just finished talking about how they would love to go out to a ranch and make that their lives, rather than being salesmen. As the topic shifted back toward more immediate things, Happy's current lifestyle is shown as being empty. For all their talk about sex being the focus of their lives at one point, it seems that they no longer see it that way- but Happy at least goes through the motions. He even shortly after mentions that he hates doing it- but loves it at the same time. Why does Happy do this? Is it to cling to the memories of what made him, well, happy? Or has it gone long past that to the point where his past controls him, whether he enjoys it or not?

January MOR: Julius Caesar

Looks like things are building up in Rome already. Caesar is on the rise, and the people love him. Of course, Cassius and some of the other elites are not happy. Cassius is already trying to corrupt Brutus. We already know how that turns out though. This play is going to be mostly about getting to the assassination and what the survivors do afterwards. Cassius is the main corrupting influence, and is clearly a bad dude-  

"I will this night,

In several hands, in at his windows throw,

As if they came from several citizens,

Writings all tending to the great opinion

That Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely

Caesar’s ambition shall be glanced at." I.ii.311-316

Brutus is Cassius target because he is so close to Caesar. If Cassius can turn Brutus, then the assassination will go well for them. Of course, we know that Brutus will turn. The end result is going to be that these two men are Caesar's chief opponents. Cassius the shady corrupter and the noble Brutus who's been convinced that this is the best way to go about it.

On the other hand, perhaps taking Caesar down would be a good thing. He has incredible power and authority. Should he go bad, it might be impossible for anyone to stop him. These opening scenes have introduced three of the most important characters, and set them up in how they will be interacting. How do you think this will develop? Will Cassius' plan work on Brutus easily, or will Brutus find out but still choose to side with him anyways? What could the turning point for Brutus be?

November MOR - Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus has changed. In Oedipus Rex, he was proud and headstrong. Now, Sophocles has shown how age and blindness have humbled him. The opening section is mostly just to establish the setting, that being a holy site outside of Athens. However, this holy site has some interesting divinities attached to it-
"STRANGER Inviolable, untrod; goddesses, Dread brood of Earth and Darkness, here abide. OEDIPUS Tell me the awful name I should invoke?
STRANGER The Gracious Ones, All-seeing, so our folk Call them, but elsewhere other names are rife."
We would know The Gracious Ones as the Furies- spirits of vengeance, who hunt down the wicked at destroy them. The immediate presence of the gods shows that Sophocles is certainly not going to veer from his favorite conflict of man versus divine, but the Furies bring a different spin to this. Previously, the gods have simply given laws or decrees and the conflict has come from mortals trying to ignore or subvert them. The Furies are not a decree to be followed- they are punishment for breaking one. So then, Oedipus has stumbled upon an interesting place. He has apparently also committed a grievous error in treading there, according to the Chorus. Once again, he goes against the divine. However, he immediately moves to try and mitigate the damage. Has Oedipus learned to fully submit to the gods in his old age? Do the Furies symbolize Oedipus' punishment, or something else?

Chorus: "Of happiness the crown and chiefest part is wisdom, and to hold the gods in awe. This is the law that, seeing the stricken heart of pride brought down, we learn when we are old" (162).

This is the closing line of Antigone, and is the part where the Chorus speaking as the audience, says what they have learned. This is the closest thing the play gets to simply saying "The moral of the story is-". It certainly fits with what the play has had happen, but I feel like it was forced. It's a little odd to say something so obvious, and almost detracts from the theme. On the other hand, perhaps it is nice to have it all summed up in a single statement.

Creon is naturally the instrument used to demonstrate this theme that happiness is brought by following the will of the gods, as the play revolves around him fighting it. I just wish there was more representation for Creon's point of view that wasn't obviously going overboard, as Creon wound up playing the part of a strawman for a philosophy Sophocles didn't like.

Antigone

"Antigone: Even so, we have a duty to the dead.

Creon: Not to give equal honor to good and bad" (140).

This quote is where Creon and Antigone fundamentally differ in viewpoints. Both, admittedly, have reason behind them. Do we not owe it to the memory of those lost to respect them? But on the other hand, who deserves to be respected? Do murderers and madmen get the same honor as heroes and saints? Who gets to decide who is worth honoring?

This expansion of this quote is one of the major moral conflicts of Antigone. Does Creon's have the right to decide which dead are worth honoring?

Discussion Quote

In the epilogue, Dostoevsky writes "'Now, what do they find so hideous in my action?' he kept saying to himself. 'That it was an evildoing? What does the word 'evildoing' mean? My conscience is clear."

This quote is quite relevant to the discussions we were having about the survey about how its all about what someone perceives as evil or good. Can we call other people's actions good or bad if they have a differently aligned moral compass? This example is extreme of course, as most would certainly agree that murder is evil. But Rodion is not part of the most, at least at this part of the epilogue. For a different example, if someone breaks the speed limit, they have technically broken the law. Have they done something evil? In this case it's almost not even worth discussing, but where between murder and being in a hurry do we draw the line where people can't just say it was alright with their conscience and move on? When it affects us? When it affects others we know? Can we ever?