Linda written by Johanna image sourse from:

Linda?--written by Johanna

 image sourse from: http://www.alleytheatre.com/productions/deathph.html

Linda, Willy's wife, has great influence on Willy's death. We know that Linda realy loves Willy, and what she did to Willy seem give him great support, but I think just the contrary. What she did to him sometimes is really the cause and the guidance lead to Willy's death.

Here are my conclusions. First, she is always protecting him and worried about him, and she always tries her best to let him not to close to the danger. But she was too protect him. This leads Willy not willing to face the music. For example, Willy often tells lies to his family and Linda knows it. But she never stops him. Once when Willy came back from selling, Linda asks him now many he has sold. Willy has great self-esteem and he don't want to lose face so he can't just say what he really sold instead, he tells more than real one, but Linda says nothing but just keeping give him the praise. The actine seems very touching and considerate but I think this makes Willy easy have a feeling of quilt and he might blame himself inside his mind. And then next time he has been used to tell lies, so this casue him never wantsto say the truth. Maybe if Linda tell him not to afraid to tell the truth, he would feel much better inside and then never went to death.

There's another example. When Linda finds Willy want to commit suicide, what she did is just pretending she know nothing. I think not only Willy is escaping the truth, Linda is escaping the truth, too. She can't fave the truth that Willy want's to kill himself, so she refuses to face that question. And she might think that if she lets Willy know she knows everything, he might be hurt inside. And once when Biff tries to tell Willy the whole truth, Linda even stops him not to tell Willy the truth. If Linda herself could face the music and also help Willy to face the music maybe the tragedy would never happen.

Second, Willy is good at his hands, if he is not a salesman, he could be a carpenter or do some other jobs which he could make good use of his hands. But he didn't be anyone of it but just be a salesman. Linda must know him a lot but she never encourage him to do what he really good at or he wants to. When Ben invites Willy to go to Alaska with him, although Willy seems wants to go but Linda stops him. Willy himself, I believe, that he knows he is not a good salesman, either, but maybe because he ahs been always encouraged by Linda and Always heard Linda's compliments, so he just think he must a good salesman. This becomes a invisible pressure to Willy. Because Linda is always telling him that he is a good salesaman, so he also think he must be a good one and he could do as good as Linda says, but he can't make it, and then Linda's compliments become a pressure to him.

For Linda, Willy is just like one of her cheriest thing, is an object, and she is quite afraid she will lost it and also afraid someone will take him away from her and someone will hurt him, so she do everything to protect him. Maybe she thinks this is the best way to show her love to him, but imperceptibly she really lead's Willy's death.

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