ipl-logo

Depression In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

1589 Words7 Pages

Depression can lead to people acting in ways that don’t seem rational Willy died because Biff and his relationship is not well. His wife, Linda knew he was suicidal but she doesn’t try and stop him. Also when. Willy’s life leading up to his final 48 hours was in a downward spiral. Willy Loman ended his own life because of the neglect of people around him. Throughout the play it is obvious that Biff and Willy have a bad relationship. Their relationship fell apart when Biff came to Boston and discovered Willy having an affair in this quotation. WILLY (without hesitation): Hurry downstairs and... BIFF: Somebody in there? WILLY: No, that was next door. (The Woman laughs offstage.) BIFF: Somebody …show more content…

Originally Biff saw his father as a hero that was perfect in every way as supported by the fact that he believed his father could help him pass math by just talking to the teacher. It is apparent that Biff and Willy have a poor relationship when Happy and Biff take Willy out to dinner and within the first 5 minutes Willy and Biff are arguing over Biff not being able to keep a steady job. Their relationship contributed to Willy committing suicide because Willy feels terrible about when Biff walked in on Him having an affair. Biff realizes that he and his father have an abysmal relationship and tries to solve it by Biff leaving and never coming back. Linda, his wife knew about his suicidal tendencies but she didn’t confront him about it she just let him keep crashing the car and inhaling gas and she didn’t even attempt to get him professional help. Linda shows that she knows about his suicide attempts but doesn’t think that she can help him in this quotation. LINDA: He’s dying, Biff. (Happy turns quickly to her, shocked.) BIFF (after a pause): Why is he dying? LINDA: He’s been trying to kill …show more content…

LINDA: Last month... (With great difficulty.) Oh, boys, it’s so hard to say a thing like this! He’s just a big stupid man to you, but I tell you there’s more good in him than in many other people. (She chokes, wipes her eyes.) I was looking for a fuse. The lights blew out, and I went down the cellar. And behind the fuse box — it happened to fall out — was a length of rubber pipe — just short. HAPPY: No kidding! LINDA: There’s a little attachment on the end of it. I knew right away. And sure enough, on the bottom of the water heater there’s a new little nipple on the gas pipe. HAPPY (angrily): That — jerk. BIFF: Did you have it taken off? LINDA: I’m — I’m ashamed to. How can I mention it to him? Every day I go down and take away that little rubber pipe. But, when he comes home, I put it back where it was. How can I insult him that way? I don’t know what to do. I live from day to day, boys. I tell you, I know every thought in his mind. It sounds

Show More
Related
741 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
857 Words | 4 Pages

I always heard yelling and screaming from their house, and it was often an argument between all four members of their family. The constant arguing always led me to believe that Willy yelled at his family because of his experiences as a child, and it worried me about how it would affect Linda and the children. Furthermore, my preconceived notions especially intensified when Biff would disappear for months at a time. However, there was one loud argument that, oddly enough, made me realize that all the yelling and arguing were done out of love. During the altercation, Biff was trying to tell Willy the truth about the nature of situations he (Biff) found himself in over the last decade of his life.

Read More
1086 Words | 5 Pages

He went to New England to talk to his father about failing math, and much to his surprise, there was a woman, naked, hiding in the bathroom, Willy tried to make excuses at first saying it was a party next door, then when the woman walked out, he told Biff, “They’re painting in her room so I let her take a shower here. Go back, go back” (119). Biff didn’t believe him, especially after the woman demanded her stockings, and that’s what hurt Biff the most. Not only was Willy having an affair on Linda, but he was buying her things she should have been buying Linda.

Read More
975 Words | 4 Pages

He tells Happy that, “Everything I say there’s a twist of mockery on his face. I can’t get near him.” Biff is tired of telling lies to his father instead of the truth. All Willy want is the lie and never the truth. He never let Biff tell him what his son wants him to know.

Read More
211 Words | 1 Pages

Prior to the acknowledgement of Willy’s suicide, Miller provides Biff with a defensive but harsh persona in which he degrades Willy’s morals, and by doing so, Biff feels that he provides Linda – his mother and also role-model – further protection and admiration. This is illustrated as to when Biff suggests that Willy ‘[spews]..vomit from his mind’ and also as to when he is presented to be ‘[evasive]’. Biff’s unreasonable and ambiguous manner is significant as Miller induces dramatic irony towards the audience, along with catharsis: an emotional release for the audience, as Biff is the only character that knows of Willy’s affair. On the other hand, after being exposed to the true nature of Willy’s mind set, Biff is presented to show sympathy

Read More
1015 Words | 5 Pages

Biff failing math and not going to summer school may have been instigated by Willy encouraging him to blow off his studies and Biff discovering that Willy was having an affair. One cannot lay the blame totally on Willy because while he may have been the catalyst Biff made that decision not to study or go to summer school. Willy is kind of responsible for his family not being wealthy. He turned down an opportunity to go to Alaska with his brother a decision that would eventually cost him. Had he gone with Ben he could have been rich from finding a diamond mine in Africa.

Read More
3822 Words | 16 Pages

Willy’s relationship with his son in the present is vastly different from his past memories because Biff discovered his father’s affair at the age of 18. This incident is a catalyst for the events in the story and plays an integral role in Willy’s antipathy towards his son and the world. In his youth, Biff was Willy’s pride and joy. As the leader of the high school football team, Biff and his father often showed love and empathy towards one another. The incident changed all of this as Willy and Biff began to resent each other.

Read More
514 Words | 3 Pages

Due to his own misconceptions, Willy suffers from working long hours at a job he doesn’t like and is not good at. Willy fails to realize his own misconceptions throughout “Death of a Salesman,” and expects the same out of his own sons. And since Biff fails to meet his father’s expectations, most of the conflict in “Death of a Salesman” comes from the relationship between Willy and Biff.

Read More
482 Words | 2 Pages

Whilst reading the last two pages of Act One in, “Death Of A Salesman”, one cognizes Willy’s deterioration in mental health. Willy is crestfallen, contemptuous, and mercurial, which leaves the reader with no sense of bewilderment when he/ she finds out that Willy is suicidal: “He’s dying, Biff… he’s been trying to kill himself” (42). Willy’s mental instability leaves everyone in his family on edge, especially Linda.

Read More
844 Words | 4 Pages

Linda also explains to her children that willy has even tried to attempt suicide, and accuses Biff of being the cause of Willys depression. Biff then tries to get a loan from his former employer to start up a business, but that turned out to be unsuccessful. Willy later meets up with his sons at a restaurant, however, Biff does not want to break the bad news to his dad about the loan because being fired from his job causes Willy to hallucinate more. So when Willy begins to get confused the sons ditched him for two girls. At the end of the story, Willy decides the best thing for his family is for him to kill himself so that they can collect the insurance money.

Read More
589 Words | 3 Pages

At the very end of the play Biff and Willy get into an argument about being truthful and telling the truth. In that moment he realizes that he is vital to nothing in his life, and at that same moment everything seems to crumble

Read More
496 Words | 2 Pages

Him being cruel to her could show his attempt to keep his status over her and his attempt to keep her in line, because it is the only way he can show dominance over her. Willy’s harmful actions are significant to the story because they are the motivation behind a large portion of Biff’s concern and dislike of his father. Willy cheating on his wife is a massive plot twist in the story and finding out about it is part of the climax. WILLY:

Read More
2361 Words | 10 Pages

Although Linda did not do the actual deed of killing Willy, she did not do much to prevent him from hurting himself either. She knew he was suicidal and even found the rubber pipe full of carbon monoxide that he was using as a suicide tactic, and left it there for him. When Biff asks her why she did not just take it away, Linda says, “I’m — I’m ashamed to. How can I mention it to him? Every day I go down and take away that little rubber pipe.

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Biff, a consequence of Willy, attempts to bring Willy out of his fantasies and his see the realities of his life, but in the end fails to. The two are different in their ideas, demeanors and personas, yet have some akin characteristics.     Willy and Biff’s physical traits are different. At what point, Willy tells his wife Linda, “I’m fat. I’m very foolish to look at, Linda.”

Read More
722 Words | 3 Pages

It is revealed in a conversation between Linda and Biff that shortly after Biff returned from Boston, with knowledge of his father’s affair, Biff was kicked out of the house. Willy found success in his children’s admiration of him. Now that Biff no longer admires him because he knows of his father’s repulsive decisions, Willy must get rid of this constant reminder of his failures. Willy desperately needs to create the illusion that he is leading a fruitful life. Also, Willy’s continually lies about the success of his sons in order to create the appearance of success within himself.

Read More

More about Depression In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Open Document