Biff could be argued to be one of the contributing factors to his father, Willy’s constant confused state of mind. This is shown early in the play when Willy calls Biff “a lazy bum” then shortly after states that Biff “is not lazy”, highlighting his mercurial behaviour.
Biff complains about Willy as a father, saying, “He’s got no character - Charley wouldn’t do this. Not in his own house - spewing out that vomit from his mind.” (Miller 56). Biff does not understand how his father has gotten to such a state of existence. Biff is also clearly frustrated, as even though he loves his father, he resents him for his emotional absence from Biff’s life, and compares him to other people that seem more stable on the outside, like Charley.
Any son who loves his father will always tell the truth. I know this first hand from my excellent relationship with my son, Bernard. Despite his father’s willingness to deny the truth, Biff continues to explain that his life has not been what Willy thinks. Biff’s ability to be truthful to his father, no matter how long it took him to convince Willy, illustrated to me the undying love that exists within that
Instead, Tack chases the path that makes him more accepted and this prevents him from uncovering his hidden potential. Similarly, in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” Willy Loman desires this same approval and acceptance. Willy, having grown up without a father figure, is extremely doubtful of his parenting and admits that, “[he is] afraid [he is] not teaching [Biff and Happy] the right [values]” (Miller 52). Due to his own insecurity in his parenting ability, Willy turns to Ben for approval and asks him “how [he] should teach [Biff and Happy]” (Miller 52). By continually looking for Ben’s approval, Willy limits his abilities and fails to be an adequate parent for Happy and Biff.
(Act 2), which shows the moral dilemma that haunted Biff as a result of his father’s influence. The past recognition of Biff’s false achievements and Willy’s previous affairs would be elicited as a result of this argument, changing the dynamic of the family and destroying both Biff’s and Willy’s
Some would say that Willy and Biff do not see them self in each other In the novel Death of a Salesman. This may be the case, however, it overlooks the fact that the Death of a Salesman they do see them self in each other and they hate themselves for it. In the novel, Willy and Biff think that that they are both bums. As Willy talking to his
Thurman writes about fear in chapter 2, a fear that is different in its oppressive, relentless pursuit to dispossess and marginalize. The fear Thurman talks about is the concrete, real presence of political and religious powers who use their powers and religion to crush the spirits of people. He writes: “Fear is one of the persistent hounds of hell that dog the footsteps of the poor, the dispossessed, the disinherited… When the power and the tools of violence are on one side, the fact that there is no available and recognized protection from violence makes the resulting fear deeply terrifying.” (36-37) And: “There are few things more devastating than to have it burned into you that you do not count and that no provisions are made for the literal protection of your person.”
While Linda enabled him, Willy could not help himself too keep ruining the good opportunities he had and turning them into some factious reality. At Willy`s funeral Biff comes to the realization that his father had all the wrong dreams and visions of success. Willy`s only dream was the fake “American Dream” that people believe will happen overnight. Willy`s failed attempts and happiness bonded into one and played a part into him creating this false reality and persona that he was the best salesman and that he was well loved by everyone around him.
Death of a Salesman BIFF’S PHILOSOPHICAL CONFLICT - Schema L Biff’s self before realizing his father is a “fake” can be illustrated by Lacan’s Schema L illustrated on the right. Biff Biff recognizes Willy as a model.
Willy is the father of Biff and Happy. Willy is desperately wants Biff to be successful, but Willy takes it into his own hands. Willy and his wife Linda have a conversation about their oldest child Biff. He just got home because he doesn’t know what to do with his life. Willy criticizes Biff saying that he's lazy and he will never make money on a farm.
Death of a Salesman was written in the year 1949, this was the period when World War II ended and it was when Americans started a period of unparalleled national prosperity. This was the period when American businesses invested a lot of money in new business materials and revolutionized old equipment with new equipment. The number of independent nonfarm businesses grew by about a third. Housing and construction of buildings expanded rapidly. This all created high inflation and prices of everything went high.
In the drama, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller analyzes the topic of fathers and sons. He states that Biff, son of Willy Loman, was greatly impacted by his father's deceptions and as a result, remained shattered and a failure in life. His father, a struggling salesman, held the wrong dreams and passed those dreams onto his son. Biff credulously believed in Willy and was led to follow in his father’s footsteps. Throughout the play, Biff believed his father's delusions and followed his philosophy, whether or not they are well-liked determines an individual’s success.
Death of a Salesman fits into a post-romantic worldview because of its lack of reality. In Death of a Salesman, Willie Loman creates an alternate world for himself because of how bad he believes his life is. Eventually, Willie convinces himself that this alternate world is his reality. Death of a Salesman does not fit into the 19th century because, in a romantic worldview, everything is/was based off of reality.
The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a story about a salesman, Willy Loman, dealing with immense stress due to his job and his sons’ futures. As he starts to experience hallucinations due to the stress, but he soons to become hopeful of his family’s future. But once he attempts to get a promotion and gets denied, he gets fired from his job and ends up committing suicide, leaving his wife and his two sons to fend for themselves, but not before paying off his house payments. Though this story takes place during the late 1940s, I believe that this story is not only inspired by a failing salesman from the Great Depression, but also inspired by Miller’s own uncle.
In Death of a Salesman , Arthur Miller displays utter disillusion as a recurring obstacle. He proves that tragedy can strike anywhere, including within the most optimistic. The protagonist, Willy, mistakenly believes that someone’s reputation complements tangible success. Like many other characters, he was blinded by the belief that charisma can change one’s social status. The question remains: How far can one be substantially benefited by only faith?
