Essay Arthur Miller's Death of a Saleman

At one point in the play, Willy says, “Biff is a lazy bum”(16). Moments later in the same conversation with Linda, Willy adds, “There’s one thing about Biff, he’s not lazy”(16). Even when confronted by his boys, Willy is unable to deal with the truth, that his sons won’t amount to very much at all. He ignores reality very well, and instead of pointing out that Biff hasn’t established himself yet, Willy tells Biff, “You’re well liked, Biff….And I’m telling you, Biff, and babe you want…”(26). The boys are clearly aware of their status and the status of their father, and Happy is found putting Willy’s personality in a nutshell, “Well, let’s face it: he’s [Willy] no hot-shot selling man. Except that sometimes, you have to admit he’s a sweet personality”(66). Obviously, Willie’s failure to bring up his children effectively, and his delusional thinking including denial of reality helps fortify his depleting condition and confusion.

While Biff is in some ways desperate to impress his father, he is also conscious about the fact that Willy has failed his attempt to be successful in his career. He considers his dad’s dreams materialistic and unreachable. As a matter of fact, in the Requiem, even after his father’s death, Biff says: “He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.” Unlike Happy and Willy, Biff is self-aware and values facts; Willy never was a successful salesman and he never wanted to face the truth. On the other hand, Biff is conscious about his failures and the weaknesses of his personality. During an argument with his father, Biff admits that his dad made him “so arrogant as a boy” that now he just can’t handle taking

Willy’s biggest issue with his son is that he let him down by not being any more successful than him. He feels like Biff is failing on purpose just to make him look bad. Although, he has no decent job and is single; Biff has become disoriented about life. Earlier in the play Biff tells Happy, “I tell ya Hap, I don't know what the future is. I don't know - what I'm supposed to want” (Miller266). Biff once looked up to his father as a role model, but lost all faith in him once finding out that he was having an affair. Ever since he has rejected Willy’s commitment of being a husband and also a father. To add to his ruins are Willy’s ideas of how Biff should get ahead in life. Willy taught Biff that popularity was the right way to get to the top, rather than hard-work and dedication. Trying to live by his dad’s standards caused Biff to fail high school and become unable to put forth the effort to become

When one confronts the unknown, calamity may outbreak in order to achieve knowledge of what it is. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that the unknown may cause calamity through the corruption of the Witch Trials of Salem. Throughout the novel, Miller shows that the unknown will destroy a civilization if the higher-class allow it through the accusation of Rebecca Nurse, the actions of Abigail Williams to rid of Elizabeth Proctor, and the structure of the village

Many crucial events lead to the Salem Witch trials. The trials ended in a gruesome manner, and conflicts were at the root of the cause. The Salem Witch trials were the result of illogical-mass hysteria, and were induced by grudge holding people who used the trials to harm their foes.

Biff and his brother, Happy, overhear Willy talking to himself. Biff learns that Willy is usually talking to him (Biff) during these private reveries. Biff and Happy discuss women and the future. Both are dissatisfied with their jobs: Biff is discontent working for someone else, and Happy cannot be promoted until the merchandise manager dies. They contemplate buying a ranch and working together.

As a result of these lies, as the months past, his debt grew bigger because he had to get loans to cover up his lie. To the damage of his son’s moral, Biff knew about his father’s deceit to his mother and therefore saw dishonesty as a good thing. In the footsteps of his father, Biff went ahead to lie to his mother that he was ready to sire a family with a woman. He only lied to please Linda, his mother just as his father did. Willy should have taught his sons that dishonesty was against social norms and ethically incorrect and unacceptable.

Biff’s love for his father shows at early age, being a salesman Willy is nearly never home leaving his children as well as his wife alone without his company. In result, Willy’s arrival brings bright smiles and gloomy words describing how heartbroken they are when Willy is absent for example, Biff states “Where’d you go this time, Dad? Gee we were lonesome for you”(19). Unfortunately, the exchanges of kind words no longer occur after the discovery of the affair. Once Biff uncovers this secret constant arguments with poor perspectives on one another are always present. Biff explains, “Everything I say there’s a twist of mockery on his face. I can’t go near him”(12). Also, many know about the low thoughts and persistent disrespectful remarks, Willy’s wife tells her son Biff about their constant fighting “But you no sooner some in the door than you’re fighting”(38). Additionally, after the hidden relationship was discovered Willy changes the way he thinks about his eldest son Biff. Willy looks at sons Biff and Happy highly. Also claiming how blessed he is to have the “That’s why I thank Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead” (21). Now after having his secret uncovered by his son Willy has no approbation for his son, he finds him as a failure and this is shows when he criticizes Biff’s life “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace”

In high school, Biff’s peers “used to follow him around in high school” (Miller 6) and he was a star on the football team. In willy’s mind Biff had unlimited potential because he was so well liked, but simply being well liked could not carry him through school. Biff ended up flunking math, and seeing his father with another woman in the same day. This moment haunts Willy and he spends the rest of his life trying to find out if he was the reason his son, instead of following through with his father’s dreams, “laid down and died like a hammer hit him” (Miller 71)

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an interpretation of the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Puritan Massachusetts in which religion, self- preservation and self-dignity play a vital role. The three factors I listed played a huge role in John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, Danforth and many other lives. Many other characters such as, Abigail Williams and her friends can be characterized by being greedy, bitter, and selfish. In the play, Miller reveals how people can go against their own morals, therefore they can protect themselves. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, he reveals to readers how fear escalated in Salem because of people's desire for personal gain.

For example, his two sons. Willy had thought highly of them back when they were younger, especially Biff because they were both hotshots at their high school. Even Biff admits that his dad pressured him to much to do well in school, which led him to getting nowhere in life saying “Biff: I stole myself out of every good job since high school! Willy: And whose fault is that? Biff: And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That’s whose fault it is! Willy: I hear that! Linda: Don’t, Biff!” (131). This conversation Willy had with Biff had changed his mindset on how he raised his child, he once thought he was motivating his sons but it ended up making his sons so pressured to not end up doing anything with their life. When Willy had come home from a business trip to see his sons broke and jobless not even achieving success themselves, it had ruin Willy’s success as well, wanting his children to exceed in life.

In addition to Willy and Biff, there is another family member who have been living in a dream. Willy’s younger son Happy has been a part of his family living in a lie. He is thirty-two years old, and has been living in the shadows of his brother his whole life. He is a younger version of Willy. He grew up always listening to his father talk so highly of his job, so he does the same thing. He embellishes the truth to create a life of illusions. Happy is also still caught up in high school, because back than him and his brother Biff were popular. The author states, “Happy and Biff formulate schemes to synthesize values, hoping to attain prominence and to reunite as brothers. Their short-lived dream of a Loman ranch in the West attempts to synthesize sports and commercialism, the pastoral and the urban, playfulness and seriousness,

Biff and Happy idolized their father when they were young. The stories they were told made them picture their father as a popular, successful, well-known salesman. As Biff grew up, he found himself being told things about his father like "A salesman has to dream, it comes with the territory." At the end of the story when Linda says they we free, Biff is free to realize

She doesn't help him or confront him in any way about his behavior and communication troubles especially between Biff. Biff shows hatred for his father because he has cheated and gave his mom stocking away. Also Happy doesn’t help by only saying good things about themselves and never understands the situation or spends time with him. The family talks about Willy in front of him or behind his back.They seem to want to help but they're actually not trying to. Without a doubt, both families have different tones towards the main characters making themselves change the way that helps with

Willy didn’t have the wrong dreams, he just went about them the wrong way. He never appreciated the little things that mattered, he only cared about being liked. He had the wrong attitude, and if he had the right attitude, he could have reached his American Dream. Not only did he have the wrong attitudes, but he taught his sons to have them as well. Along with that, he tells biff that he doesn’t need good grades because of he is good at football and has three scholarships. Willy says, “Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him.”(Page 21) He believed that Biff would make it further in the business world because he was talented at football and well liked. Bernard ended up succeeding and becoming a lawyer. If Willy had pushed Biff to do well in