Thesis For Willy's Abandonment

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

The relationship between Willy and Biff is complicated. Actually, Biff is everything for Willy. He doesn’t do well as a salesman anymore, so this situation makes him depressed but at least there is Biff. So Willy believes that Biff will reach the success and his dreams will become true. That makes him want Biff to take some responsibility, in other words this is a big pressure on Biff. “How can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life? A farmhand? In the beginning, when he was young, I thought, well, a young man, it’s good for him to tramp around, take a lot of different jobs. But it’s more than ten years now and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week!” says Willy and then Linda says “He is finding himself Willy.” Then Willy answers again “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!” This shows how Willy mad at him because he thinks they couldn’t reach their dreams because of Biff. Willy says “Sure. Certain men just don’t get started till later in life. Like Thomas Edison, I think. Or B.F. Goodrich. One of them was deaf. I’ll put my money

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

While Biff was in Boston, his discoveries manipulated the course of his life. Willy’s affair damaged the trust Biff had for him. Boys look up to their father. Once Biff saw The Woman, he no longer knew how to act. He had the intention of getting help to pass math. Willy’s affair shattered it all. Bernard explains to Willy that once Biff returned from Boston, things weren’t the same. “…I knew he’d given up his life. What happened in Boston, Willy?”

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’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

Have you ever left everything you loved for a job far from home? In the memoir "Going Solo" written by Roald Dahl, Roald leaves everything he loves and cherishes at the young age of 22. Dahl meets many people on his adventures but, there were two people who really stuck out.

He gives up on his dreams of being rich and prepares to return to a simple life he enjoys. Also being back home and building a stronger relationship with his father,makes him realize how he wants to help Willy. While Biff is speaking, he mentions why he gives up the idea of being successful.“BIFF: He walked away. I saw him for one minute. I got so mad I could’ve torn the walls down! How the hell did I ever get the idea I was a salesman there? I even believed myself that I’d been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one look and — I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been! We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk.” (page 76). He believed this was his only chance of being rich so when his old boss didn’t recognize him , he knew he wasn’t gonna get anywhere . This is when he dumped the idea of being successful. Throughout most of the play, he procrastinates for a simpler life. So the acceptance of the thought of the American Dream not happening, works out well for Biff. A very important aspect through this play is the relationship between Biff and Willy. Biff saving Willy from suicide shows just how much he want to help his father. In act 1 page 51 :Willy [staring through the window into the moonlight]: “Gee, look at the moon moving between the buildings!” [biff wraps the tubing around his hand and quickly goes up the stairs.]This shows biff wanting to protect Willy because he removed the tubing willy was using to try and kill himself, something Linda was telling him about in the beginning of the book. While helping his father Biff also realizes that he is ready to return to a simple life he enjoys. In act 1 pages 13 and 14, Biff even invites his brother Happy to live with him out West to start up a ranch and speaks about it with enthusiasm.Biff says to Happy, “ Why don't you come out West with me?... mabe we could buy a ranch.Raise cattle, use our

Biff tells his father that he is going to see a former employer about a job the next day and Willy gets overjoyed at the thought of this as well as the thought of he, himself, getting a local job. The next day does not go as planned, Willy is fired from his job and Biff does not end up getting the job. Willy can not handle the disappointment and tries telling himself that what is happening is not true. That night when everyone returns home, the whole family gets into an argument and Biff points out that their whole life has been a lie. Willy, later on, realizes that Biff really does love him and decides to commit suicide by crashing his car

Firstly, I cannot help but to pity Biff. His father has set these impossible standards, and refuses to lower them. Biff has done everything to try and get his father to lower those standards, but yet his father has kept them. Willy holding his golden boy up on a pedestal over all these years has caused Biff to fall hard. In the scene right before this outtake, as he declares himself basically worthless and cries to his father, you can see the damage the expectations have caused. Nearly anything Biff did would make him feel inadequate due to the opinions of his father. Not to mention that, while expecting such unattainable perfection of his son, Willy has inflicted emotional damage on his son by cheating on Linda. Biff is damaged beyond the point of being able to achieve greatness, let alone the perfection that even up until his father’s death is expected of him. On the opposite side of the discussion, there is Happy. Right after this, Happy insists that his life is heading in a positive direction, that he is getting married. His father pays no attention to his claims. Prior to this, Happy also had proven himself to be at least moderately successful with a stable job and apartment. Nevertheless, this outtake continues to show that Willy just does not care. One of my least favorite traits of Willy’s is his lack of concern for his youngest son. Up until the end, he only hopes for Biff, only thinks about Biff, and only sees greatness for Biff. Previously, on page 115, Biff said that Happy did not “Give a good goddamn” about Willy. Although I disagree with Biff’s statement, if such were true it would be perfectly understandable. Happy has, throughout the flashbacks of the play, longed for his father to notice him, and always been pushed to the backburner. Up until the end, his father does not care. His father sees no hope for him because he is not Biff. It’s extremely aggravating, and I feel so sad

The reader can note in many flashbacks that Willy always seemed to favor Biff more than his other son. When he was younger Willy goes on about how popular Biff is and how he 'll make a great salesman. Willy tells Biff "The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead." Willy is telling Biff that a man with great social connections and social status gets more ahead than a man who isn 't "well liked." Even at a young age Biff is having it imprinted in his head that being popular will get you ahead of everyone, versus putting in hard work. Later on in the story it is revealed that this is in fact not this care for Biff. His childhood friend, Bernard, ends up being very successful and becoming a lawyer. Biff used to copy off of Bernard in school, and even made remarks but him not being well liked, yet Bernard has gotten further ahead than Biff has. Biff comes to the

He finds it easier to lie and tell his dad what he wants to hear. Even to the point of lying to Willy telling him at one time he used to be a well-liked important employee of Bill Oliver. “I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been” (Miller Act II), this line marks when Biff finally comes around with the actualization of his own behaviors and failings. He attempts to tell his dad the truth; but Willy cannot and seems to not want handle the facts. At first Biff is angry that Willy wont accept reality, “Pop, I'm nothing! I'm nothing, Pop. Can't you understand that? There's no spite in it any more. I'm just what I am, that's all” (Miller Act II). Biff wants nothing more than to get his dad to understand that he’s done trying to be something he’s not. This is where the big separation between the two characters is most apparent. Biff has finally grown past wanting to just satisfy the façade Willy created. But as he sees his father's mental deposition he tries to fix the situation. He eventually recognizes the true problems that Willy has and feels pity the end of Willy's life.

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 perseverance to direct Biff into success has resulted to Biff’s desperate acts to earn praise from his father. However, Biff’s dishonest acts of stealing are often justified by Willy through disregard and excuse, even expressing that the “Coach will probably congratulate [Biff] for [his] initiative”. Instead of correcting his mistakes, Willy continuously expresses his belief of Biff’s predetermined success as a result of being attractive and well-liked. These acts effectively exemplifies Biff’s adherence to self-deception as he imagines himself as an important figure in other people’s lives. It can be seen that his belief of being destined for success prevents him from allowing himself recognize the destruction it brings. As a result, Biff has allowed how Willy views him become how he perceives himself. This self-deception has not only affected the actions in his childhood but as well as his decisions when finding his role in the workplace. As stated above, Willy’s consistent beliefs of his son’s predestined success results to Biff’s immense confidence in himself. However, this confidence have provided him a false perception of himself as he struggle to keep a stable job and even faces imprisonment. It can be seen that Biff’s lack of self-perception and compliance to ideals of Willy has only allowed him to restrain and prevent him from recognizing the difference between illusion and reality resulting in the lack of his

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.