Movie Comparison

Movie Comparison

The second quasi-flashback has Ben placed into a scene in Willies mind, when he was never there. Miller leads us to believe before the original flashback that Ben actually only came just once, as evidenced in Charlie's line "You never heard from him again, heh? Since that time?" However, suddenly he is appearing in another scene, appearing the same as before. This is a demonstration to us as to the way that Willies mind works, how he envisions things as they might have happened, and then comes to actually believe them until forced not to. For example, when he was telling Linda how much he sold, he actually believed that he sold more then he did. In his mind, if certain different things had happened, he would have actually sold that much. However, when forced to confront the truth, he backtracks and realizes the truth. Ben is used in Willies mind again as an out for him. He has just been fired, and Willy cannot deal with the truth. He "remembers" a flashback that never actually happened, and is in fact talking to Ben as he might if Ben were actually there in the present. "Oh Ben, how did you do it? What is the answer?" We can see that Willy is looking towards his brother for help, for advice on how to make it in life. He is feeling desperate with his current situation, supposedly in the past, as he is remembering this, yet it makes sense that this conversation with Ben actually be in the present, in his mind.

The character of Ben in Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman functions towards the development of his main character, Willy. Miller uses him as the guiding light for Willie's character; he provides the backbone for what Willy strives for throughout life. Ben functions as Willies idol, and through exploration into which Ben is, we see who Willy is. By viewing Ben's morals, and actions, we are able to see what Willy himself wishes for and believes in. By allowing for our understanding of who Willy is, Ben is also used to contribute to our understanding of the theme of the novel, that you can't allow yourself to get lost in the "American dream (Michael 2008)." Ben appears but three times throughout, first in a flashback, second in a quasi-flashback where Willy has inserted him into a scenario that actually ...