From what I understand, Willy had no practical soution to hand. Believe me, his homelife was intolerable with woman descended into a scold. she must hae been. Don’t blame will for being unmanly. He was a victim of marriage. Thank goodness for the gay movement and the pill. Sexuality can be seen as one of life’s essentials and can be, handled responsibly, cost free, without the insufferable tolls of being hitched.

Thank goodness that marriage along with religion are now concepts of the past. That does not make a de facto relationship foolproof because it is fools only who participate. Things can go swimmingly well and much better if a man meets a woman by stealth for coitus. I don’t deny Willy his one remaining chance of pleasure with his mistress. She obviously had had to have loved him and that was all he wanted and needed.

Have you guys seen the play or just read the book? Seeing it on stage changes the perspective a lot. Willy is a broken man by the beginning of the play, he is becoming senile. He imagines and talks to his dead brother. That is proof positive that he is mentally unstable. He was just a victim of the times, and yet he tried to the last. He was misguided but a man nonetheless.

And he didn’t take the easy way out when he committed suicide. It wasn’t an act of passion but a resolution to help his family. He couldn’t take his neighbor’s offer for help not because of pride. He didn’t know why he couldn’t but he just couldn’t.

To perk up, I’m checking out The Crucible. That should lift my spirits.

I’ve been wondering, what this blog’s stance on suicide is. Pro or anti suicide, I’ve observed, usually comes from the difference in western and eastern philosophies or belief systems about the subject. I hope to see some posts on it in the future.

Eastern thinking usually is okay with suicide, while western thinking generally is not.

Now, in my opinion Mr. Loman’s suicide was avoidable and not exactly necessary. Leaving behind children that need a parent I don’t think was worth his death.

Now, that I think about it , I should probably search to see if you guy’s have written anything about the subject…

Of course every character and every man is a complex being. When we have done the “Lessons in Manliness” articles, the men we have profiled have not been perfect men. But we can learn from the things that they did right. Similarly, Willy Loman was not 100% unmanly, but we can learn from the things he did wrong. It’s a profile of lessons learned, not a complete life analysis. After all, if Willy Loman can’t be presented as an example of unmanliness, who could really? Every man, no matter how debase, has his aspects we can emphasize with. But we’re looking at things as a whole here, a life in summation.

I realised early in life that if I wanted something – I’d have to go out there and make it happen, things dont just fall into your lap!!

The crux of the article for me is “The true lynchpin of success is tireless ambition and hard work. Neither Willy nor his sons ever learn this” – people are capable of so much, yet because they lack courage they life a life of mediocricy!!

Life is a daring adevnture or nothing, someone once said

@ Anna- I think it’s the other way around. The Brazilian rock band leader looks like me.

@ David- Agreed.

Oh, please! “Rugged Individualism” means to be self-reliant and resourceful. To be able to stand resolutely against what the ’sheeple’ are doing. Denuded of relationships? Spare me.

“It’s a tragedy. The guy tried. The guy struggled. The guy failed. The guy died.”

The guy tried, ineffectually. The guy struggled, half-heartedly. The guy failed. The guy took the easy way out. waah.

Death of a Salesman is a perfect example of the burden that many men suffer quietly through. And believe you me considering the economy this story is going to become pretty timely.

Manliness is having a heart and understanding human vulnerabilities.

See the 1966 version Lee J. Cobb, it will break your heart.