The Death of Reality and the Reality of Death - 1341 Words

The Death of Reality and the Reality of Death Death is never easy. Afterall it is the only sure thing anyone will ever do. Yet how one dies is determined by how they live. One who lives their life to the fullest will be content and open to death, while one whose life has been empty will fear it; but what if the difference between full and empty was not so easily differentiated? What if reality and falsehood were the same? This idea is contemplated in both Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy. In the world of the salesman, Willy Loman, who can not see who he is nor distinguish reality from fantasy, and the world of Ivan Ilych, who can not see his life for what it is nor find true happiness,†¦show more content†¦So he decides to kill himself. He believes that he is worth more dead than alive and refers to his plan as a diamond, â€Å"rough and hard to the touch† (Miller 126), something attainable that makes up for all of the failures he has endured in the past. Willy does not know who he is and this falsehood becomes his undoing. Similarly, falsehood brings about Ivan Ilych’s death. The biggest deceit for Ivan is his failure to admit to his mortality, as well as his idea of what happiness is. Ivan has spent his entire life trying to rise the corporate ladder in his two faced aristocratic world. He loves playing bridge and presiding over the courts, his family life is in shambles, yet he does not mind at all and still considers his life to be pleasant. Ivan is totally concerned with only his career and appearances. He tries to look more successful that he really is by making his middle class home look upper class, but â€Å"his house was so like the others that it would never have been noticed, but to him it all seemed to be quite exceptional.† (Tolstoy 530). It is while he is decorating this house, climbing a ladder to hang drapes, that he injures his side, an injury that will cause his death. Ivan’s desire to climb the ladder of success, failure to recognize his false sense of happiness, and his concern with appearances leads to his death. However, Ivan recognizesShow MoreRelatedDeath And Its Effects On The Reality Of Death1423 Words   |  6 Pagesother names, as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death itself. pg. 19 To someone just picking up this book, this scene would simply look like some poor soldiers developing a temporary and innocent coping mechanism to deal with Death as they face him head on. But in reality, this scene shows the gradual devaluing of death and leads up to a permanent dark future for the characters as they lose their ability to feel remorse, turning morbid deaths into a punch line. The soldiers slowly go insaneRead MoreDeath of a Salesman Illusion vs Reality1336 Words   |  6 Pagesanother or possibly a temperamental father. An example of this dysfunctional family can be found in the tragic play Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller. The family presented in this play is the Loman family. They drown themselves in each others lies and dreams in hope of solving their problems, only to cause the destruction of their family. Until you are ready to face reality, living in an illusive world, will lead your life to be full of misery. 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You keep thinking, â€Å"Quit dodging the truth Willy†¦Don’t get your hopes up, it’ll never work†¦Why are you guys avoiding all Willy’s signs that he wants to commit suicide†¦Why am I getting my hopes up for a plan that I know will never work for them?† One delusionalRead More Illusion Verses Reality in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller 972 Words   |  4 PagesIllusion Verses Reality in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Death of A Salesman, by Arthur Miller, is a play that tells the story of a traveling salesman, Willy Loman, who encounters frustration and failure as he reflects on and experiences his own life. Willys quest for the American Dream leads to his failure because throughout his life, he pursues the illusion of the American Dream and not the reality of it. His mindset on perfection, his obsession with success, and his constantRead More Illusion and Reality in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman Essay785 Words   |  4 PagesIllusion and Reality in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman       In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy is depicted as living in his own world. The play centers around the end of Willy’s life, when the real world comes crashing through, ruining the false reality he had created for himself and his family. Throughout the play, Willy Loman uses the concept of being well liked to build a false image of reality, as shown through his teachings to his son, what he considers successful, and hisRead More Reality and Illusion in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Essay1088 Words   |  5 PagesReality and Illusion in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman In Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, a major theme and source of conflict is the Loman family’s inability to distinguish between reality and illusion.   This is particularly evident in the father, Willy Loman.   Willy has created a fantasy world of himself and his family.   In this world, he and his sons are men of greatness that â€Å"have what it takes† to make it in the business environment.   In reality, none of them can achieve