Biff In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Since Willy has only seen success come to those who are well liked he has a firm belief that success can only be achieved through being well liked by others, Willy sees great potential for success in his sons, especially his oldest son Biff whom is his personal favorite. “One such deficit that has long been suggested in the traditional clinical literature as playing an etio-logical role is that abusive parents have unrealistic expectations of their child's behavior (i.e., they overestimate their child's capabilities; Steele & Pollock, 1968).” Biff is the golden child, the one whom he had dreams of greatness, and the first born. “The order in which a person is born into their family plays a substantial role in the individual’s development of personality, character, intelligence, and career choices.” (Stewart et al., 2001).

Because he was the favorite he has a lack of accountability, lack of self-identity and a feeling of entitlement. Biff’s sense of entitlement that was never corrected led him to a path of petty theft. Seeing that Biff had a sense of entitlement and would steal little things Willy never corrected it since he thought Biff could do no wrong. Since Willy never took the time to teach Biff the difference between right and wrong therefore Biff never learned that it was wrong to steal. Since Willy didn’t punish Biff for stealing, Biff continued to steal as if he was entitled to everything regardless of whether he deserved it or not. As Biff got older, he continued to struggle to find or keep a steady job due to the fact that Biff had a tendency to steal. Since Biff is the apple of Willy’s eyes, Biff never got punished for his wrong doing. Biff is struggling in life because Willy loved him too much that he could not correct his wrong