Comparing Biff And Happy In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Lazy — Biff Does not like to study or do anything related to hard work other than farming. This is because he grew up being taught you only need to be popular to be successful. Things might have worked out for him even with believing this illusion, however he flunks math and loses all his scholarships.

Friends are an important part of life. Friends are useful to help one get through the hardships of life. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, we see the small (but present) friendship of Biff and Bernard. Biff is a football superstar, with scholarships lined up and friends galore. Bernard, his neighbour and childhood friend, is very much a book worm who decides to focus his time on his academics and unfortunately, doesn’t have many friends. Bernard had always idolized Biff throughout high school for his undeniable talent and charisma. On many occasions Bernard would offer to help Biff through his weaknesses by holding him accountable for his academics and help him

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

    In Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, Miller probes the dream of Willy Lowman while making a statement about the dreams of American society. This essay will explore how each character of the play contributes to Willy's dream, success, and failure.

Biff says, "Well, I spent six or seven years after high school trying to work myself up"(22). This situation came up when Happy was telling Biff that he heard their dad talking about how he does not like the situation Biff is in. One thing that is interesting is how Biff and Willy are both in the same situation since they both do not have a job. Willy said, "Howard, are you firing me” (83). This is showing how they both do not have a job since Willy got fired from his job. This argument overlooks how Willy is showing hatred over how Biff does not have a

In “Death of a Salesman”, there seems to be a crisis amongst Biff and Happy, the sons of the main character, Willy. Both of these men appear to be facing inner crises in which they each seem to be trying to figure out who they are and if they really matter in life. Both of the men have a quality or two that are good ones. But they also possess traits that could label them as failures. The difference in the two men is that when they finally come to a point of realization there seems to be a glimmer of hope for one where the other appears hopeless.

Biff came back home this spring, because he didn't know what he was doing with his life. Willy has mood swings and sometimes thinks very highly of Biff sometimes but other times he hates him. The day he came home Willy yelled at him, and because Biff admires his dad, he was depressed. He later reveals to Happy, after their double date, that all he wants is to work on a farm,

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

Even Biff is surprised by Happy’s discontent and asks: “You’re a success, aren’t you?... You’re making money, aren’t you?” (23). Another effect that Happy’s climb to power has brought is that he does not have a long term, stable relationship.

In many ways Biff is similar to his father. In the beginning of the play we see that Biff shares many of the same ideas as Willy. He values being well-liked above everything else and sees little value in being smart or honest. One of Biff's main flaws is his tendency to steal. Early in the play we learn that he has stolen a football from the school locker. When Willy finds out about this, instead of disciplining Biff, he says that the coach will probably congratulate him on his initiative. We also learn that Biff once stole a box of basketballs from Bill Oliver. This foreshadows the scene in which Biff steals Bill

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

Biff and Happy once deeply respected and looked to their father for advice and encouragement, as in the past Linda says “few men are idolized by their children the way you are”⁶, but as they realise his advice was false and he had been living a lie throughout life. As soon as Biff finds out about his father’s affair he no longer respects him and Willy remains unable to win back his trust. “You fake! You phony little fake”⁷. Willy feels that by his suicide, it will prove to Biff that he was truly committed to providing for his family. He still believes that Biff will become successful by having the money from his life insurance showing how he never learnt from his mistakes. “Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty thousand dollars in his pocket? ...When the mail comes he’ll be ahead of Bernard once more”⁵. It is more tragic that Biff is the one who realises that “he had the wrong dreams”⁴ at his funeral. Rather than feeling proud, Biff he pities his father. Ironically it is

On the other hand, Willy is also emotionally involved with Biff because his son’s success of failure is his own. By becoming rich and influential, the handsome, personable Biff was slated to provide his own modest advancement. By making his fortune in the business world, Biff would prove that Willy had been right in turning down

Biff is the apple of his father’s eye. Young, handsome, strong, intelligent, and full of ambition, Biff is going to take the world by storm, and Willy intends to living vicariously through him. This is not to be however. After Biff’s disastrous attempt to get his father to discuss grades with his math teacher, Biff gives up. Entirely. At one point, he wanted to work and to succeed in order to please his father, but after he discovers Willy cavorting with another woman, Biff does not want to give his father the satisfaction of a flourishing son. Suddenly, Willy is a liar in his eyes, and later in life, this causes Biff to have an almost violent relationship with him. (1268) What makes the strain worse is Willy’s guilt, because he knows whose fault the tension is, yet he cannot bring himself to admit it.

Biff Loman and Jamie Tyrone are similar. These two characters are similar in failure, they never made a named for themselves or lived up to their father’s expectations. Certain people who have read or will read The Death of a Salesman as well as Long Day’s Journey into Night, will say that the only similarity to these two characters is that they didn’t lived up to their father’s expectations and those people are right but theirs more to it. Yes, they are similar in failure, but they are also similar in how they became who they are. They are similar in what made them, or the events that lead them to this point in their lives.