The Characters of Willy Loman and King Lear

The characters of Willy Loman and King Lear both share very dissimilar stories that come with a host of disssimilarities in their environment. For example, Willy Loman is a modern character, written in the Western world, in modern and plain English. King Lear was written in a European, Elizabethan society, by a renown poet. These are evident reflections in the two characters as they are analyzed.

Arthur Miller, the writer of Death of a Salesman composed Willy Loman in a way that he depicted an average man of average stature, and his attitude and driving force in modern times, in a world driven by money. He is somewhat of a family man, in that he has a family, but he is not very affectionate and has a problem in expressing love. He resides in a building which has little room for the things of luxury. He seeks advice from a brother who, to him, has reached the ultimate goal of life as a man, wealth. Ben is dead however and constantly seeking advice from him stirs up some trail of thought in the audience's mind that Willy may be crazy. He rebukes his favourite child, even speaks in contradictory ways, and his wife has uncovered his secret attempts at suicide. The writer allows for the audience to see into the mind of Willy Loman and uncover his story, identifying the sources and incidences that lead to his undoing. Belief in the wrong dreams and letting aspects like family fall apart because of preoccupation with achieving the dream the easy way.

King Lear was much different. King Lear had all the luxuries he could ask for, abundance of ealth and space to call his very own, a title in his entire country of supreme power. His family was seemingly well put together and he has no problem in expressing affection and has very high expectations in it being expressed back to him. He seeks advice from a man who is 'below' him but has great value to the merit of wisdom and friendship. Quite contrary to Willy Loman, he very willingly gives up his power and wealth for the name of love. King Lear, however also does things that challenge the wellbeing of his mind. He too, rebukes his favourite child, casts out his source of advice, and in the end winds up carrying himself and speaking like one who has gone crazy. Shakespeare allows the audience to identify the sources and incidences that lead to his undoing through his external and present situations and a source to his inner thoughts are only through the devices of soliloquys. King Lear's undoing was a transformation which was also attributed to belief in the wrong dreams and letting aspects like family fall apart because of his preoccupation with this dream the easy way.

One major characteristic between the two is their 'dream'. For Willy Loman, it was the wealth that he would give up anything for. For King Lear it was flattery. What links the two, Willy Loman felt that the wealth and material things was what accompanied love that was worth anything; King Lear felt that the flattery was what accompanied love that was worth anything. In both incidences they lost sight of the love that proved to be of the best worth. For Willy, throughout the play one sees the journey of this man to aspire to heights of great wealth, For King Lear, the audience witnesses the journey of this man from his heights of great wealth to having nothing. In both cases, the writer very classically depicts a point of the true value of things like self worth, appreciation of others and of the things that really matter.