Compare And Contrast Biff And Willy Loman

Willy Loman is a businessman who is forced to work for Howard, who doesn’t see Willy’s true potential. Willy is convinced that Howard should let him go work in New York because of how hard and how long he has worked for the company. He

Arthur Miller demonstrates this in his play The Death of a Salesman, through the actions of Willy Loman. Since Willy has perpetually dreamed of his oldest son Biff being successful, he takes matters into his own hands after discovering that his son has not yet accomplished anything in life. Willy tries to “get him a job selling and make him big in no time” (16). Things for Biff turn out to become more complicated when Willy interferes with his life, along with his fantasy of fulfilling the American dream. Willy trusts that the most effective job a man could wish for is selling; however, Biff believes that “there’s nothing more inspiring or-beautiful than the sight of a mare and a new colt.” (22). Willy’s dream is broken after he discovers that his son does not wish to attempt what his father desires him to do. Willy has always considered Biff the star of the family and trusted that he would bring incredible fortune into his family after e received scholarships for football; however, is left alone with his dreams not

Willy Loman is a businessman who is forced to work for Howard, who doesn’t see Willy’s true potential. Willy is convinced that Howard should let him go work in New York because of how hard and how long he has worked for

“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.

In conclusion, all of Willy’s slogans throughout the play Death of a Salesman are merely created out of the hopes of achieving the American Dream. As the readers of the play we are well aware that these slogans are simply just part of his fancy. These are the things that keep Willy going in life until the day he commits

From an outsider perspective, Willy Loman lives a normal life. He is a traveling salesman with two grown up sons, and a beautiful marriage. But is that really the life he has? No, it is not. One of the first disappointments Willy experiences is with his son. “Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such -- personal attractiveness, gets lost.” (207) The story flashes back to when Biff is a senior in high school. He failed a math class which was needed to graduate. 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. He did not want to become that star football player as much as his father

It is evident, there is a change in societal values from King Lear’s time period of the eighth century to Willy Loman’s time period of the late 1940s. In Death of a Salesman Willy’s idea of success was not love from his family, but love from the outside and strangers. Willy wanted nothing more from his sons than their participation in his idealistic dreams and for them to be the utter best in everything. While in King Lear, however, Lear’s idea of success was for his daughters to love him and cherish him as their father and ruler. It is evident the major shift in values due to the time period. In far past times there was a stronger emphasis on the family and love from family. There was a shift from those values in the late 1800s, as the car was invented, and the family was no longer the center of an individual's world. That switch is present in Miller’s character, as he values not the love of his family, but the love of strangers. Willy wants his family to be a perfect success so he can, in turn, brag about them to strangers and receive the strangers love. As Willy mentions, he wants to be as good as his inspirational salesman, who had people mourning his death all around the cost. It is also important to note that Willy spent most of his career in a car, the machine that has been destroying the closeness of the family. It was this difference in the time period

Unfortunately in the end Willy receives appreciation for his inner talents rather than his skills being a salesman. This goes to show how one will never get attention from others by pretending to be who they are not. Furthermore, the author reinforces Willy 's talent with his hands when he plants seeds in his garden prior to committing suicide. The planting of the seeds can be considered a form of symbolism and Willy 's acceptance that life would go on without him. The seeds Willy plant also represent the legacy he leaves behind as a handyman rather than a salesman. While planting the seeds Willy says, "A man can 't go out the way he came in, Ben, a man has got to add up to something" (Miller 125). Essentially, he is telling Ben that a man has to become something, which is his way of indirectly telling others the man he has become. However, due to Willy 's illusion, he is unable to come to terms with the fact that he is happy working with his hands as opposed to

Antigone is the play by Sophocles. It opens with the deaths of Antigone’s two brothers, Polynices and Eteocles. Creon, the new ruler of Thebes, doesn’t allow Polynices to be buried on the ground because Polynices attacks his own city. Antigone thinks burying her brother is her duty, so she violates Creon’s decree and throws some dusts on her brother’s corpse. Creon is offended by her behavior and gives an order that is locking Antigone into a cave with a little food. When Antigone’s fiancé, the son of Creon, finds her death, he kills himself.

Throughout my report I have chosen to illustrate how Willy Loman in the story of Death of a salesman has lived by all his life by searching for perfection rather than reality. Willy lived to chase his unachievable dream rather than living the reality. His unrealistic connection between his reality and what he dreams to be has led him to death. His wrong judgments’ that are based on materialism and capitalism are a symbol of Willy’s dream to become a wealthy person. My presented report symbolizes realistic circumstances in which Willy build up a fear of abandonment, this feeling what made him want his family

Even when his neighbour Charley offers him a job with a salary, Willy declines because he is too proud to work for Charley. He rather blames his failure on the superficiality of the business world and fixates himself on the idea that personality, not hard work, is the key to accomplishment. Perhaps, this is because Willy is living in a world where the pursuit of the American Dream is a predominant part of people’s lives, and the materialistic pressures of the superficial were beginning to permeate its actual values. Under this particular pressure, Willy has been fighting his entire life to achieve "the dream," but unfortunately, no one ever explains to him what its true values are or how to really make it. Therefore, Willy manages his life based on his overwhelming sense of pride and ambition, and in this way, Miller seems to criticize the idea of compromising happiness for success-- even though Willy truly believes that happiness is achieved through success. It is Willy’s blind faith in his ill-advised version of the American Dream that leads to his rapid decline, as he becomes unable to accept the disparity between his dreams and his own

The Narrator justifies keeping Bartleby and ignores his internal issues with confrontation. When Bartleby refuses to do anything but copy the Narrator forgives the behavior because Bartleby asked so politely. When Bartleby refuses to work all together the Narrator allows him to stay because he thinks it is a good thing to help Bartleby. Even when the Narrator realizes the he can’t have Bartleby in his office anymore he moves offices instead of making Bartleby leave. All these acts show us that the Narrator does not know how do deal with confrontation so he instead fools himself with excuses. Willy Loman behaves similarly with his perception that he is well liked. Willy insists that being well liked is the key to success and he is very proud of being liked. He also teaches his sons that being well liked is more important than getting good grades. This leads Biff to fail math in high school. Biff wants to retake the class in the summer but when he catches his father having an affair his perception of his father, his biggest role model, is shattered causing him to give up on the things he used to want to do. Willy represses this memory entirely and tries to blame others for Biffs behavior instead of himself. Willy also fools himself into thinking he is well liked and successful. In small moments of clarity Willy admits that people have made fun of his physique and no one talks to him anymore when he goes

Tragedy can spread. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is the protagonist, however he not the only person in the play who’s story ends tragically. His view on life spreads to those close to him. Primarily, Willy teaches it to his children who look up to him while his wife simply attaches herself to him, rooting for him in blind support while really she should be waking him up to the cold and dark reality that is their life. Throughout the play, the Loman family evolves differently. Willy finds out his dream of being an popular, well respected salesman is impossible and takes his own life. Linda supports Willy despite the abuse and confusion he puts her through with his various attempts to take his own life, with his delirious ramblings and hallucinations, and with his constant deception. Happy still sees his father as a hero and Biff finally begins to grasp the truth of the “American Dream”. When Willy kills himself, all of the Loman family, including Willy, break free from the web of false dreams he spun and begin to understand Willy’s failings. They also realize their own flaws. In doing so, they show the audience how each and everyone of them was slightly to blame for Willy’s tragic fate.

The tragic play of Death of a salesman by Arthur Miller tells a story about an old man of 84 years old named Willy. Willy was captured by the American dream. He believed that hard work and ambitions could take him to a life of fame and popularity like the american dream was supposed to be. In Death of a salesman, the american dream reveals disappointment, failure and loss of hope. Thus showing that the american dream is not a great dream after all.

Willy Loman is the central figure of the play. He’s an untalented but energetic man gripped by the American dream. Willy’s personality disintegrates as he moves into his 60’s and his strength begins to fail him. He commits suicide in hope of earning thousands in life insurance for his wife and two sons. Over the course of the play, he is presented as a complex person who hides deep insecurity beneath bluster and drive, relying on his handsome and athletic sons to compensate for his own sense of inadequacy. His willful hopefulness and exaggerated expectations betray him in the end by rendering him incapable of accepting himself or his children for who they are (Nadine). In this play, Willy would be a representation of failure to the American dream. Willy believes that personality, not hard work and innovation, is the key to success. Throughout time, Willy wants to make sure his boys are well-liked and popular. In the story Willy has said,” You and Hap and I, and I’ll show you all the towns. America is full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England. The finest people. And when I bring you fellas up, there’ll be open sesame for all of us, ‘cause one thing, boys: I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England, and the cops protect it like their own. This summer, heh?” (Miller 1). Willy characterization of American people as kind and righteous to anyone who is personally good-looking signifies his faith in his own version of the American Dream. Willy believes that having a good personality will bring you to success in the American Dream, and having popularity will bring the American dream at ease. It was obvious that this didn’t work to Willy’s advantages,