He boasts to his sons, in their young form, about meeting the Mayor of Providence. There is a scene where he is talking about being вÐÑšlikedвÐÑœ and вÐÑšwell-likedвÐÑœ. He asks, вÐÑšwhen the hell did I lose my temper? вÐÑœ as if he didnвЙt at all.Īt times, our sympathies can grow to pity, for Willy and for his sons.
He doesnвЙt even appear to acknowledge things that he does either. He leaps from one topic of converstation to the next with no warning. Another point about the following dialogue in this scene is that WillyвЙs thoughts appear to be disjointed. This encourages our sympathies because we know he is confused. Arthur Miller uses this dialogue to cleverly hint that WillyвЙs mind is not entirely stable. This is where we begin to question WillyвЙs sanity. This is until he starts to contradict himself by saying of Biff that heвЙs вÐÑša lazy bum! вÐÑœ A few seconds later in the scene, his line is вÐÑšThereвЙs one thing about Biff – heвЙs not lazyвÐÑœ. To begin with, Willy Loman seems like a normal, yet exhausted businessman.
He does this in many ways such as using WillyвЙs speech, his troubled mind, the way other characters treat him and by using themes like the past. Arthur Miller does manage to engage our sympathies with Willy in the first act of the play to a certain extent.
