Death of a Salesman Essay

Discuss the role and importance of the first â€Å"flashback† scene in Death of a Salesman. This scene is the first in the play which gives us any real insight into the past of Willy, the protagonist of the play. Its purpose is to show the audience of some of where Willy went wrong; we see some of his mistakes through his memories of his own past. We see the way that he treated his sons, and how this relates to what they are like now; we witness the difference between what the impression of himself he gives and the failure he really feels; we discover his affair with the woman, why he had it, and the terrible guilt that overhangs him because of it. This then explains some of the tension and unhappiness that we have seen so far in the play. This, though, only takes us so far; we do not learn the full story, of why he and his son do not now share the bond we see in the flashback scene, and of why he becomes so depressed. He does not want to see the truth – he is not ready to realise where he went wrong. The scene gets more and more dramatic as it gets on. At first, it shows us an idyllic, happy time; Willy is apparently a fantastic success, who is idolized by two loving sons. The eldest son, Biff, is popular with the others at school and with girls, a great sportsman, and generally â€Å"well liked†. They all live in a beautiful house, surrounded by fields. But we then find about Biff stealing and then his poor academic achievement, that Willy lies about how successful he really is, and finally the affair with the woman before the whole thing spirals out of control and turns into some kind of terrible nightmare. We move into Willy’s memories using a number of stage effects – the lights brighten, we hear soft music, possibly flute music, and the background turns from the harsh orange of the brick apartments to the cool green fields of the countryside. This has a calming, nostalgic sense on the audience, who are therefore encouraged to share Willy’s feelings at the start of the flashbacks; we feel that we are entering a happier, more pleasant past. When he talks about himself to his sons, he presents himself as a great success; he uses lots of boxing language, such as â€Å"knocked ’em cold† and â€Å"slaughtered them†. He knows that his sons praise athletic ability, and so likens himself as a boxer, and a winner. Phrases like â€Å"open sesame† suggest that success in his glamorous job comes easily to him; he is a person who takes coffee with the Mayor of Providence, who deals with â€Å"the finest people†. But Willy, although he does not realise it, does a lot of harm to his sons through the lessons that he teaches them. In congratulating his son on taking the ball from school, he teaches them that, so long as you are â€Å"well liked†, you do not need to obey the rules, that popularity is more important than honesty and integrity. He also teaches them that the key to success is not in schoolwork, but in being popular, and in turn, the key to being popular is through good looks and sporting skill. He tells them that Bernard will not go far, because, although he is good academically, he is not well liked, but Biff, being as popular as he is, will become a success. Bernard is â€Å"anaemic† and a â€Å"pest†, whilst he is clearly proud of his own son, Biff. This, of course, is unrealistic – Bernard’s hard working attitude is more likely to render him a success than Biff’s sport aptitude and looks, and we see this in the play. In the next episode, with Linda, what he tells her contrasts greatly with the story he told his two sons. This does not happen immediately though; firstly he tells her he â€Å"was sellin’ thousands and thousands†; then he says he sold â€Å"five hundred gross in Providence and seven hundred gross in Boston†, before revealing that he actually sold â€Å"roughly two hundred gross on the whole trip†. When he is talking to his sons, he is trying to gain their love and respect, but he knows that he already has Linda’s, and so does not try to impress her. After claiming to his sons that he is â€Å"well liked†, he reveals to Linda that the other sellers laugh at him behind his back, and refer to him as â€Å"walrus†. He greatly exaggerates his successes; his earlier claims of easy access to wealth contrasts with his resignation that he has to be â€Å"at it, ten, twelve hours a day†. Linda is lovingly loyal and caring to Willy; she accepts and is used to his exaggerations. She patiently ignores the lies, and awaits the true answer to her question. She attempts to comfort him and make him feel good about himself, to display her love for him. When he tells her that he talks too much, she replies â€Å"you’re just lively†. She tells him that he is, to her, â€Å"the handsomest man in the world†. We are then presented with the Woman from Boston, whom Willy has the affair with. Firstly, we hear her laugh, progressively loudening, whilst the Willy continues his conversation with Linda. She appears on stage through the use of a scrim, a fabric sheet which, with the use of lighting, can make whatever is behind the scrim gradually fade onto the stage. The use of the scrim and the laughter is reminiscent of a haunting ghost. This makes the audience feel like this is not a welcome memory; it plagues Willy’s thoughts like a ghost, a memory Willy would like to be rid of, but cannot leave behind. The memory of Linda darning some old stockings after he buys this Woman shows the audience his guilt over what he is doing, and we feel some sympathy for him. He appears to be having an affair with this woman simply because it makes him feel respected. He wants someone to laugh at his jokes, to compliment him, and to make him feel that he is not worthless. He looks pleased when she tells him that she â€Å"picked† him. What he has forgotten, of course, that he has the respect he so greatly desires from his wife, Linda. The Woman and Linda both appear on stage simultaneously, which gives us the feeling that although he doesn’t want to between them, he needs both; he has a burning need for attention, which is provided by the Woman, and needs support from Linda. From when he tells Linda to throw away the stockings that she is repairing, the end of the scene becomes less strictly realistic, and more a nightmare, spiralling out of control. Both Linda and Bernard become very out of character, seemingly unceasingly listing problems with his son Biff, despite his cries of â€Å"Shut up! † and â€Å"Get outa here! â€Å". He is dramatically trying to shut out the memories, to prevent him from coming to the realization that Biff was not perfect, and a lot of it was his fault. Willy is in between Bernard and Linda with a verbal onslaught of complaints about Biff. This peaks with an explosion of anger, with Willy telling himself that Biff was not a failure, comparing his son with Bernard. He finally just denies it – â€Å"I never in my life told him anything but decent things†. This scene is not, by any means, simply a memory. Its purpose is to provide us with an insight into the workings of Willy’s mind. It helps us begin to understand how Willy got into the mental state that we have seen in the play. As we have seen, the use of staging, language and structure have all been important for us to begin our understanding. But Willy does not completely confront the whole truth about his son, but he shuns it, leaving us wondering when he will inevitably confront his past mistakes, and how he will react.