Death Of A Salesman American Dream

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.

Happy is really building himself up to Biff make it appear as if he is really extravagant and that all his coworkers are below him, when in reality he is one of a few assistants to the assistant manager. Nonetheless he leads his family to believe that he is on the brink of becoming a manager and thus becoming successful when in reality he is not. Similarly, Biff also lied about which position he held while he was working at a sporting goods store. Biff and Happy concocted a new business plan that would make them both successful, however it relied on outside investments. Biff says that his former employer Bill Oliver “always said he’d stake [him].’(Miller 62)

The claim that “nobody” believes anything is once again false as it is, once again, impossible for truly everybody to share a belief. Willy feels the compulsion to shut down any feeling of joy he brings about because he is under the control of his grumpy side, who is exhausted with life. This leadership doesn’t reign for long, though, as just a few lines later, Willy completely changes and suggests that Biff should do the epitomical opposite. To “Start off with a couple of your… stories to lighten things up” and that “personality always wins the day”. This is the precise moment when a shift in tone begins and, therefore, Willy's lighthearted side fights back and takes control of Willy’s mind.

His tendency to make impulsive and irresponsible choices, such as borrowing money from his brother and falsifying his expenses, leads to financial strain and mistrust from his family. Additionally, Willy's decision to prioritize his own desires and goals over the well-being of his family, such as getting caught in his affair by Biff. He says that "I get so lonely- especially when business is bad "(Miller 1.1.38) to excuse his mistakes, but it creates a blockade around his connection with Biff. Furthermore, his lack of insight and self-awareness led him to blame others for his own failure and refuse to take responsibility for his own shortcomings, which further alienated him from his family. He takes this to an extreme by ending his life even though "he had no right to do that"(Miller 2.2.129), because his family “would've helped him"(Miller 2.2.129).

Willy believes that it is vital to have a job in business, a wife and financial stability. Biff then reveals his point of view, mentioning how he doesn’t want to live his father’s life, or follow his version of the American dream. Miller’s play portrays the idea of how there is no true definition of the American dream, which is demonstrated

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

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.

He goes to see his boss the next day but gets fired instead. Because of Willy’s bad emotional state, Biff tries to get a job in business to make Willy proud but gets turned down as well. Biff, Happy, and Willy all go to dinner afterward and Willy refused to listen to Biff’s bad news. He begins to have a flashback to the point Biff changed into disliking his father. Willy was cheating on his wife with a woman he called “Ms. Francine” when Biff comes to visit.

While he is better off than Biff, Happy is still not very successful as he has a low position at a company and has not produced a family. Willy teaches his sons many things, one of them being that one should be well liked.

Willy died when he committed suicide, so his family could get the insurance money because he felt he would never be successful. He heard Biff tell him that he loved him and he felt happy but thought the only way his family could be happy was if they had enough money to live comfortably. He didn’t realize that his family needing him around was more important to them then the amount of money he brought home. “WILLY: You wait, kid, before it’s all over we’re going to get a little place out in the country, and I’ll raise some vegetables, a couple of chickens… LINDA:

Willy was able to acquire a nice home, but was seriously lacking in the family and job department. Willy did have a family but then constant complaining and fighting with his kids made it unbearable to live as a family. In regards to his family communication with biff and having open talks with his wife would insure a better living environment. Willy also tried hard to obtain a great job that had the ability to provide for his family, but after he became older it was harder and harder to keep his same skill and friendliness that it takes to be a

This serves as an ironic counterpoint to Linda 's comment that Willy is idolized by his children; the fact that he is having an affair shows that Willy is not a man worthy of such fervent admiration. He displays the same callous disregard for women that Happy demonstrates as an adult, yet where Happy disregards women with whom he has insubstantial relationships, Willy is unfaithful to the devoted Linda. The flashback also demonstrates that Willy is not a man respected by others. A very important fact is that Biff felt betrayed and did not finish college because he found his father having an affair with another woman, so he did not retake math to spite his father. He could not believe that his father would betray Linda in such a way.

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.

He lost this dreams that he was chasing in high school. At the start of the play, Willy and Biff’s relationship is not very good because Willy cannot accept Biff to be soeone working in a farm; he wants him to be in the business world. For Willy, being successful is the most important thing in a man’s life and Willy thinks that money can show if a man is successful or not. But Biff just want to work in a farm and be with those animals everyday, and he is really pleased when he is doing that, Biff thinks that in a man’s life, happiness is more important than money. Willy and Biff fight against each other because they don’t understand each other.