Salesman Act 2

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.

When Linda refers to Willy as a "little boat looking for a harbor," another wind blows against Linda, pushing her to act with pity (1247). To her, he is nothing more than a small, helpless old man. She blames the business for forgetting Willy in his old age, and passing him over like an orange peel. Toward the end of Act I, Linda presents a sorry image of Willy, describing his past greatness as a salesman and ending with a sad description of treachery. She tells her sons that Willy is "exhausted" from driving 1400 miles without earning a penny, and that his reward from the ones he loved the most, his sons, is spite and rejection (1237). The picture she paints of her husband is on filled with pity and sorrow.

Finally, Willy failed greatly at achieving the American Dream. People have come to the United States hoping for a life of happiness and success, at the same time, hoping to take pride in what they do and enjoy it. Willy did not achieve the American Dream. He had no pride in what he did, although he hid these emotions. I believe he was so embarrassed because he could not make a single sale or earn a single dollar that he began borrowing fifty dollars a week from Charley, and then pretended it was his salary. He lied to his family and to himself. He did not allow himself to do what he truly wanted to do because he believed that it was more remarkable to be supposedly successful. He therefore failed miserably at the true American Dream, exchanging it for an unattainable fantasy.

Miller develops the relationship of Biff and Willy by exploring the effects of the American Dream on relationships and families affected by it. Particularly in the hotel scene, Miller explores the pressure to conform and to seek acceptance by others in order to meet society’s demands.

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

Willy foolishly pursues the wrong dream and constantly lives in an unreal world blinded from reality. Despite his dream Willy constantly attempts to live in an artificial world and claims “If old Wagner was alive I’d be in charge of New York by now” (Miller 14). As a result, Willy often ignores his troubles and denies any financial trouble when he says “business is bad, it’s murderous. But not for me of course” (Miller 51). Another false segment of Willy’s dream includes the success of his two sons Happy and Biff. Biff was a high school football star who never cared about academics and now that he needs a job says “screw the business world” (Miller 61). Ironically, Willy suggests that Biff go west an “be a carpenter, or a cowboy, enjoy yourself!”, an idea that perhaps Willy should have pursued. Constantly advising his boys of the importance of being well liked, Willy fails to stress academics as an important part of life (Miller 40). Furthermore, Willy dies an unexpected death that reveals important causes of the failure to achieve the American dream. At the funeral Linda cries “I made the last payment on the house today... and there’ll be nobody home” to say that she misses Willy but in essence his death freed the Lomans from debt and the hopes and expectations Willy placed on his family (Miller 139). Very few people attend

Willy’s difficulty with change in his life can be seen when Linda tries to help him. Linda tells Willy outside their bedroom, “...life is a casting off. It’s always been that way.”. (Miller, p.15) She states the truth that life is about change and not knowing the future ahead. She attempts to get Willy to see that he needs to take chances to be successful but he does not want to accept that. Willy wants

To begin, Willy contradicts himself by saying he is both well-liked and ignored, suggesting that he frequently deceives himself about his success. However, the truth seems to always be just under the surface. This tortures him and it eventually drives him insane. He always says that Biff is a “lazy bum” and Linda defends Biff on the assumption that he is trying to “find himself”. Then Willy contradicts his

The play begins with Willy as the antagonist, fighting with his wife Linda and a generally mean person. He insults his sons and scolds Linda for buying the wrong cheese. Willy shows his biggest personality flaws early on in the story; contradicting his own thoughts, being verbally abusive, and showing his over developed sense of pride. Willy loses

As Willy becomes older, his successful career begins to falter and his mental health begins diminishing due to the years of mental and physical exhaustion catching up with him. Despite Willy Loman’s best efforts to turn the American Dream into a reality, his failing career and declining mental health suggest that the American Dream in most cases turns into the American Nightmare. Willy Loman’s story first indicates that the American Dream is rarely realized during events that occur regarding his final days as a career salesman. The play opens with Willy returning home from a business trip complaining of terrible fatigue, while his wife Linda warns him that he cannot keep subjecting himself to this mental and physical overwork. This signifies that Willy is highly dedicated to his job, as often seen in

Eventually Willy gets erratic and starts talking about the past which agitates his boss since it was about his father. In the end Willy gets fired and Linda manages to scrummage some money to finally pay off the last dues of the house. This shows when Willy gets frustrated, he had not been able to handle himself properly which eventually led to his own downfall. Similarly the speaker has the same crisis for food and survival. However when “[he] went to the WPA”, that employer said he has to stay in that town for “a year and a day, Lawd” (Hughes).

But in the beautiful, ironic complexity of her creation, she is also Willy's and their sons' destroyer. In her love Linda has accepted Willy's Greatness and his dream, but while in her admiration for Willy her love is powerful and moving, in her admiration for his dreams, it is lethal. She encourages Willy's dream, yet she will not let him leave her for the New Continent, the only realm where the dream can be fulfilled. She want to reconcile father and son, but she attempts this in the context of Willy's false values. She cannot allow her sons to achieve that selfhood that involves denial of these values" (Gordon p. 316). Linda is also caught up in Willy's lies and therefore does nothing but help fuel the fire in the inferno of their dreams and ambitions. She lets this whole masquerade continue right in front of her instead of doing something to stop their out of control lies.

If Willy is not totally unsympathetic (and he is not), much of the goodness in him is demonstrated in his devotion to his wife, according to his lights.   Though he is often masterful and curt, he is still deeply concerned about her: "I was fired, and I'm looking for a little good news to tell your mother, because the woman has waited and the woman has suffered."  Biff is attached to his mother, and Happy's hopelessness is most graphic in his failure to be honest with, or concerned about, his family.  The family's devotion to one another, even though misguided, represents a recognizable American ideal.

Act one begins as Willy returns home early from traveling and he reveals to Linda, his wife, the reasoning is that he isn’t feeling well and is unable to drive. As a result, Linda suggest to Willy that he speak with his boss, Howard Wagner, to ask that he be transferred to a job at the New York headquarters so that he will no longer have to travel. Willy agrees to her suggestion and their conversation switches to their two sons, Biff and Happy. In particular Willy criticizes his son Biff for bouncing around many different jobs and not having much success financially. Furthermore, Willy feels that Biff has not lived up to the expectations that he has for his son who he sees with such personal attractiveness and as such a hard worker. Meanwhile

The main theme of the plot seemed to be Willy reaching for the "American Dream". Financial success, business success, outwardly perfect family, revered by your peers, and in general respected by all. Early on in the play two things are evident to the reader; Willy 's questionable mental status, and his tumultuous relationship with his sons.