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Willy's Destruction

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Recommended: The plot analysis of the play Death Of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Willy Loman, protagonist of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, is the embodiment of the tragic hero Northrop Frye is discussing when he said “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them,... Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning.” Willy’s lofty and unattainable goal of the American Dream that he set for himself and his family causes him to suffer, as well as all those around him. His attitude and actions most negatively affect his son Biff, who was never the same after he caught his father in the affair. In addition to Biff, Willy is the cause of the suffering of his second son Happy and wife Linda. The destruction …show more content…

Throughout his whole life, Biff has had to deal with the lofty expectations projected onto him by his father. In the early stages of his life, Biff believes in his father and believes what he is telling him. There is no reason in Biff’s mind to doubt him, as he is a loving father and honest man. Early on, Biff wants to grow up to be just like how he saw his father, as a successful, well liked salesman. Everything changed for Biff when he caught Willy in his affair. Imagine the feeling of disappointment Biff felt when he realized that the man who had been building him up and up all these years, the man whose words you use to judge your self worth, is nothing but a disloyal liar. Suddenly, he did not want to be anything like his father. He does not want to resemble his father in any light, including being a salesman. The decision to be a farm hand on the west coast rather than following his father’s dreams of him becoming a salesman only widens the rift and deepens the resentment between Biff and Willy. All of Biff’s negative traits, including his anger and kleptomania, can be traced back to Willy. There is not a doubt in the world that Biff drew the short end of the stick when he ended up with Willy as a father. Without Willy, Biff would have led a much happier, more successful

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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.

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Unlike his father and brother Biff ends up changing by the end of the story. He was always the apple of his father’s eye being the sport star of the family. But, after failing high school and finding out about his father’s infidelities his went downhill. His actions of not going back to finish school and disregard for authority showed his immaturity. Although he started out as immature by the end of the story he had stood up to his father and decided to take charge of his life.

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Biff is extremely affected by his father’s myopia; in high school, he was a star athlete who was recruited by various universities and colleges. However, like Troy, Willy ignores Bernard and his worries about Biff:“What’re you talking about? With scholarships to three universities they’re gonna flunk him?” (Miller 19). Due to the excessive pride that his father forced onto him, he flunked math, which nullified his chance into getting into a good school: “And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody!”

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Biff thought and believed this to a point that he followed everything his dad said and is now struggling to find himself in life without the popularity. Bernard on the other hand thinks the complete opposite, he thinks that you need good grades to be successful. Bernard 's beliefs are cemented when Willy says, "Bernard can get the best marks, y 'understand, but…" This

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Biff does not have the sufficient control of his father’s life to stop his father from committing suicide. Per contra, Biff trying to pull his father from his delusional word as well as giving his father hope helps elongates Willy’s grasp on life. Linda may assume that Biff will be able to save Willy through the two men’s relationship due to Willy’s self worth defined by Biff; however Biff while being able to help his father, has no substantial control or access to his father’s mind, being then unable to force his father away from his dangerous false reality driving Willy to suicide.

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“The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead” (33). In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller uses foil characters to elucidate Willy’s flaws that ultimately prevent him and his family from succeeding. The contrast between Charley and Willy and Bernard and Biff serves to highlight how Willy’s obsession with achieving his version of the American Dream impacts both his life and his children’s. His poor values are passed on to his children producing even more failures. ¬¬¬¬Both Charley and Willy work as salesmen, however Charley represents what Willy desired to become – successful.

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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

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Biff and Willy both struggle with being successful but they handle it in different ways. Biff was the star football player and was destined to attend a top-notch university. However, he failed a subject, which would have forced him to attend summer school, which he was

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But, unlike his father, he faces, and learns from, his shame. Consequently, the play suggests that he can rebuild his sense of self-worth and re-establish his relation to others on healthier grounds. He makes sense of his guilt by confronting the shame buried deep in his sense of identity. Ultimately, the ability to do so enables him to empathize with his father” (10). This is telling us that in the end Biff does come to terms with everything and can gain a new perspective into life.

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In line with his disillusionment of Willy, Biff rejects the confidence Willy tried to instill in him. He decides that Willy just “blew [him] full of hot air” (131), and that in reality, he is nothing special, just “a dime in a dozen” (132). This lack of confidence then leads to poor decisions that trap Biff in a cycle of self-deprecation. After stealing Oliver’s pen, Biff asks himself: “what the hell am I grabbing this for? Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be?

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On the other hand, Willy in his flashbacks is a loving father and husband, the difference is ultimately obvious because he cannot live with the realization that he has failed, therefore in his last chance he decide to commit a suicide to leave his life insurance money to Biff to begin a new life. Many critics have asserted that Willy is a modern tragic hero and his tragedy lies in his belief in the American dream, Willy Loman is represented everyone, most people see themselves in Willy, the situation in which he stood and to which he was reacting, Willy Loman is represented the modern psycho character who carry contradicting feelings and emotions together, but the most effective one is his anger which turn his life to hell (Murphy 86). Biff

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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.”

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This cancelled his plans to be a collegiate football player. Ever since then, things have kept going on a downhill path for Biff. Willy and Linda both notice this and it devastates them. But, instead of helping his son, Willy becomes agitated for the rest of his life. He expected his son to be better but, Biff did not want to be better.

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He comprehended his failure and managed it. After he went in Bill Oliver’s office, Biff deduced that he had to break the lies that were surrounding the Loman family, in order to come to realistic terms with his own life. Biff belongs to the outdoors ( the free west ) but his dream is obscured by Willy Loman’s blind faith and materialist vision of the American

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Over dinner Biff tries to tell Willy what happened and he does not want to be a salesman but Willy keeps interrupting and neglects to hear what Biff is trying to say. As the play starts to come to an end, Willy and Biff have one last confrontation. Here Biff tells Willy they should not meet again or ever come in contact with each other. Biff expresses to Willy that he is “no leader of men” but just a common man. Willy refuses to believe this and tells Biff he could have been such a great person.

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