Self Acceptance In Death Of A Salesman

Most children look up to their parents and see them as being nearly perfect. Unfortunately, that often is not the reality. As many people age, they begin to see their parents' mistakes, and the dream of following in their footsteps fades. Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, portrays a similar experience. The drama centers around Willy Loman and his family leading up to his death. It contrasts Willy’s desire to provide a favorable life for his family and his son, Biff’s, longing to break away from the family tradition. In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller analyzes the disparities between members of the Loman family to develop themes of self acceptance and the difficulties involved in doing what is best for you. Biff Loman, Willy’s eldest

Happy says to Biff, “Wait! We form two basketball teams, see? Two waterpolo teams. We play each other. It’s a million dollars’ worth of publicity. Two brothers, see? The Loman Brothers. Displays in the Royal Palms — all the hotels. And banners over the ring and the basketball court: »Loman Brothers«. Baby, we could sell sporting goods!” (Miller 1033). His dream to help Biff be successful in part comes from Willy’s craving for fame. Because they grew up constantly hearing how important it is to be successful, Happy is determined that he needs to meet that goal and wants to help Biff do the same after his professional football dreams are crushed. Once Biff is unable to meet with Bill Oliver, Happy advises him not to inform Willy about his perceived failure because he would be agitated. Happy forms a plan saying, “You leave the house tomorrow and come back at night and say Oliver is thinking it over. And he thinks it over for a couple of weeks, and gradually it fades away and nobody’s the worse” (Miller, 1058). Miller stages Happy as a buffer for Willy’s anger throughout the play. His main role is to keep Willy content as Biff constantly rattles him. Neither son is fond of seeing their father distressed or yelling, but Happy will do anything to prevent it whereas Biff tries to calm him down after upsetting

He believes that being a salesman is the only way to be successful. This notion came from his older brother, Ben’s, achievements. Like most younger siblings, Willy looked up to and admired Ben his whole life. Robert Martin writes, “Although Willy talks grandly of heroic deeds, of great feats of salesmanship, it is evident to everyone (including Willy himself), that his life-long dream of success is flawed” (100). It is most notably flawed in that Willy never experienced success or satisfaction while working as a salesman. Through Willy’s life, the audience can see a common theme of actions speaking louder than words. He continuously boasts of his great achievements, but has nothing to show for them. Willy is unable to admit he has not been successful as a salesman because he is very prideful and does not want his kids to see him as a