July 7, 2014 | Death of a Salesman: Abandonment | |

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Dr. Haim Ginott, a well-known child psychologist once said “Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.” An individual of young age is highly susceptible to their environment, especially to the first agent of socialization: family. Without the natural stimuli one gets at a young age from their parents, that allows growth and understanding of norms, people will have difficulty with many human functions that come normally to others. In particular children who have experienced the loss of a parent undergo such difficulties. They tend to feel abandoned and as a result carries this fear of abandonment throughout their lives; consequently affecting their ability to develop healthy relationships. Arthur Miller explores this theme of abandonment in his play Death of a Salesman through the life of William“Willy”Loman, using father-son relationships. The author demonstrates how an individual like Willy who was abandoned in the past has insecurities caused by such trauma, which can affect their future.

At the tender age of 3, Willy and his older brother Ben were abandoned by their father, who had left for Alaska. Willy who was young at that time never had the chance to fully understand what a “father” actually was, as he didn’t know his own. In act 1, when Ben enters the scene the two brothers begin to reminisce about old times and Willy shows his curiosity and lack of knowledge about his father when he says: “No, Ben! Please tell about Dad. I want my boys to hear. I want them to know the kind of stock they spring from. All I remember is a man with a big beard, and I was in Mamma’s lap, sitting around a fire, and some kind of high music.” He grew up without knowing what it means to be a parent, and reflected this upon his own family and children, by holding unrealistic dreams