Comparing Biff And Willy Loman's Death Of A Salesman

Today, mental health is a well-respected and discussed topic. However, this has not always been the case. Wrongful diagnoses and a lack of understanding have long caused much to be dismissed from traditional practices. In Arthur Miller’s work Death of a Salesman, the protagonist, Willy Loman, battles his undiagnosed mental condition throughout the story. Similarly, R. P. McMurphy from Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s

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.

The main character, Willy, is a salesman who has not had much success in his career and is struggling to provide for his family, leading to his failure to live up to this ideal American Dream. On the other hand, his son, Biff, is a former high school football star who is unsure of what he wants to do with his life. Throughout the play, Willy constantly reminisces and projects his hopes and dreams onto his son. He wants his son to be successful and live up to his expectations, but he fails to understand or accept Biff's lack of ambition. However, Biff is resentful of his father's unrealistic expectations and frustrated with his failure to meet them.

Often individuals are prevented from achieving satisfaction due to a fundamental flaw in their character. In the case of Willy Loman, this flaw is his excessive pride and ambition. For the majority of his life, Willy has been primarily influenced by his brother Ben’s success. This has caused him to develop a sense of ambition that is both unrestrained and idealistic. Over the course of his lifetime, both Willy and his sons fall short of the impossible standards of this dream.

and I go right through.” (21) This quote shows how Willy exaggerated how being well-liked and good looking would get people further in life. Although Bernard was a hard working student, Willy still believed his son, Biff, who failed math and never studied, would be five times more successful than Bernard. The readers know that being successful only comes with hard work, therefore creating humour. This was used to satirize people who did nothing to achieve their goals yet expected to obtain positive results.

In one scene, Biff admits to his father that “he is a dime a dozen”. This proves that Biff is aware of the fact that he has wasted his life chasing something that will never be. In his final conversation with his father, he attempts to make him see that he is a failure as well by saying “You were never anything put  hard-working drummer who landed in the ash van lieke all the rest of thgem! I’m one dollar an hour, Willy!”. Willy, however, never admits the fact that his son and him are both losers.

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.

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

The point of conflict, it is between: The imaginary order → Biff drawing similarities to his father; Willy’s philosophy of life and his rendition of The American Dream. The symbolic order → The True American Dream.

Both characters realized that hard work is necessary to get what they want and that success is not a result of popularity. Bernard recognizes this much earlier in his life and becomes successful from an early age. This highlights how fathers play a crucial role in character development. Ironically Biff is similar to Willy, even though he refuses to admit it. Through this, Miller implies that all humans have inherited traits from their parents that cannot be denied.

Another way in which Willy causes suffering for Biff is through the affair he has with a women on business trips. Biff finds out on his own by walking in on his dad and the women, who is wearing his mom’s stockings. This traumatizes Biff. He ends up not retaking a failed high school math class, “not graduating”(110;2), as Bernard warned, which wipes out his scholarships to college. Lastly, Willy Loman creates suffering for Biff by teaching him bad morals.

Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?...to bed” Willy says “Isn’t that isn’t that remarkable? Biff he likes me”(Miller 106)! So, Willy felt like Biff hated him, but Biff did not hate him; he was just hurt. Being soft and insecure is also equal up to men and

As the old saying goes, not all heroes wear capes. This is especially true for Willy Loman in the Death of a Salesman. Death of a Salesman is a rather tragic tale depicting the fall of Willy Loman and, to some degree, the fall of his son Biff Loman. There are two ways in which one could interpret Death of a Salesman, with Willy as the protagonist, or with Biff as the protagonist. Either way, the story is not made a tragedy by its plot, but rather, it is made a tragedy by its characters.

During a monologue, a long speech by a character that is directed towards another character. Biff confesses to Happy that he is conflicted and confused about what he wants. He cannot hold a job until he finds some happiness working as farm laborer. This arises tension and conflict between Biff and Willy. So much that Linda convinces Biff to please Willy once again.

The main character Willy had big dreams and ideas for his family future. He maybe saw himself in one of his son’s named Biff, Willy wanted him to be a great worker on the business world but after Biff failed math he believed that he had ruined his life. In Willy’s eyes biff failing