Death Of A Salesman By Willy Loman

The play is a guide toward contemporary themes foreseen of the twentieth century, which are veiled with greed, power, and betrayal. Miller’s influence with the play spread wide across the country. The play is grouped in family dramas; however, it tells the story of a man desperate to challenge his failures in a society that values fortune and fame; his delusions of reality direct him down a tragic path, which eventually leads to the protagonist, Willy Loman to suicide.

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

In a sense there are two Willy Lomans in this play. There is the present broken, exhausted man in his sixties, soon to end his life, and there is the more confident, vigorous

As stated before, Happy is only in this for himself, he is selfish and would push his father aside in a second if it would not make him look like a huge jerk, since the father is just a high maintenance baby to him. For some reason, though, Happy feigns interest in the plan to go out west and start a farm with Biff, “Listen, why don’t you come out west with me?” (Miller 23).

His older son Biff is his favorite of the two and he proves this during his flashbacks to their high school years. Biff and Happy’s years in high

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

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

Willy’s unreasonable expectations of Biff creates a hostile relationship between Biff and Willy. Ever since Biff was in highschool, Willy always expected Biff to be very successful without instilling the tools

In the requiem of the play, Biff tells Happy, “I know who I am, kid”. Biff meant that he has found himself and will not be going on the same path as Happy, who plans on finishing Willy’s dream of being a popular salesman. Instead of teaming with Happy, Biff will find his own road to venture to seek for his

Early on in the play, Death of a Salesman, it is evident that both of the Loman sons seem unfulfilled and lost. Biff feels lost and unfulfilled because he doesn't know what he wants out of life. He works as a farmhand, not making enough money, for most of the year then goes back home in the spring. Because he's thirty four years old and doesn't have a steady job of his own or a home, his father Willy sees him as a lazy bum and constantly expresses this. This lowers Biff’s self esteem and causes him to be lost even more. “Hap, I've had twenty or thirty jobs since I left home before the war, and it always turns out the same.” This shows what bothers Biff and why he’s so lost. On the other hand, Happy has everything he’s ever wanted. He has a

Richard J. Foster states, "Biff, who in the play as an amplification or reflection of Willy's problems, has

His tragic flaw, however, is more than evident. Like Jason in the classic tragedy Medea by Euripedes, his sense of pride clouds reality. His business is in the work of a simple carpenter, but his pride won?t leave him to settle for such low-class work. ?Biff: What the hell do you want from me? What do you want from me? Willy: Greatness-? (Miller, 220.) His judgment is so skewed by his dreams that he even begins to try and live his fantasies through his sons, leading to his eventual end. ?I?m losing weight, Dad, can?t you tell?? (51), Happy says as Willy boastfully rambles on about Biff?s great achievements in football. The resentment that builds up because of the lack of interest in Happy?s life on Willy?s account, also lead up to the tumultuous animosity between  the two song and their father.

The play Death of a Salesman greatly portrays a specific ideology in regards to values, dreams, goals, and success in our consumer-driven society. It helps showcase the American dream that society tends to strive for even in the early 1900’s (the play is set in the 1940’s). That dream of being a successful business person or vendor. As well as the theory that image and physical attributes are most important to gaining fruition. Willy Loman plays a man in his sixties who has strived for this American dream for over 30 years but realistically has failed miserably on his goal in life – a wealthy salesman like his idol Dave Singleman (a fellow who could make a fortune selling without even leaving his hotel room). He spends his entire life in

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