Inception Style Play That's Just As Confusing and Intriguing: Style of DOAS

WILLY [turning to Ben]: Business is bad, it’s murderous. But not for me, of course. (Act 1)
Because this play is told through the memories and delusions of Willy it can be kind of hard to follow. He will be talking to what we believe to his son or his neighbor then in walks his brother who we believe to be dead. He will continue to have a conversation with this dead brother but only when his kids try to get him to stop talking to himself do you actually see that it's all in Willy's mind. As if his flashes between reality and delusions and the present and the past weren't confusing enough, sometimes other flashbacks begin to mix in with the others. He will be recalling a memory from the boy's adolescence and then the Woman's laugh with ring out in the memory. If not read carefully (and maybe a couple of times) it can be hard to decipher what scenes belong in which part of Willy's life or if they aren't even real. These confusing scenes though both help to understand how Willy got to this failing stage in his life, and they also show just how much Willy's life is falling apart. At first I wasn't sure if his illusions were causing his life to break down, or if his life breaking down caused the illusions. Then it seemed like it was a never-ending cycle that left Willy trapped in a broken world. It's hard to feel sorry for Willy because of his pride but it seems heartless to look at a depressed, crazy older man and not feel some sympathy for him, no matter how he got this way.