Because he was the favorite he has a lack of accountability, lack of self-identity and a feeling of entitlement. Biff’s sense of entitlement that was never corrected led him to a path of petty theft. Seeing that Biff had a sense of entitlement and would steal little things Willy never corrected it since he thought Biff could do no wrong. Since Willy never took the time to teach Biff the difference between right and wrong therefore Biff never learned that it was wrong to steal. Since Willy didn’t punish Biff for stealing, Biff continued to steal as if he was entitled to everything regardless of whether he deserved it or not. 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
The potential for change to Biff Loman and The Lawyer lies in their experiences with the title characters of their respective pieces (Willy Loman and Bartleby), as well as changes in the environment in which they have grown accustom to. Willy inhibited Biff from being able to successfully change and become the person he wanted to be because Biff was guided by Willy’s impractical expectations. Though Biff does revere Willy’s values and ethics throughout his entire childhood, he catches his father having an affair, which causes him to realize he never desired nor was able to uphold Willy’s expectations. Only until Willy died was Biff truly free from his father’s expectations and able to pursue his passion. Unlike Biff, the Lawyer’s inhibitor of change was not a person, but rather his job and environment. The Lawyer lived a majority of his life as the perfect model for a hardworking lawyer on Wall Street. The Lawyer approached life safely and automatically. It
Biff begins to have hatred for his father. He feels like his father ruin his expectation of being a great man, so he is now lost. Willy tells Linda that, “Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such—personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker. There’s one thing about Biff—he’s not lazy.” As a young Biff, Willy and Biff are really close together and their relationship is very well going. During Biff’s high school career, Willy was not
Biff failing math and not going to summer school may have been instigated by Willy encouraging him to blow off his studies and Biff discovering that Willy was having an affair. One cannot lay the blame totally on Willy because while he may have been the catalyst Biff made that decision not to study or go to summer school. Willy is kind of responsible for his family not being wealthy. He turned down an opportunity to go to Alaska with his brother a decision that would eventually cost him. Had he gone with Ben he could have been rich from finding a diamond mine in Africa. Although in a way one can understand him not taking the risk and going to Alaska. Finally, Willy is responsible for his own death. I see this as a tragedy because Willy felt that the only way for him to make up for the fact that his past actions contributed to Biff’s failure in life was to commit suicide. In order that Biff would get an inheritance that would allow him to achieve the “American
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.
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
Willy had high hopes for his son Biff and wanted him to follow in his footsteps of having a career in business. In the past, Willy believes Biff was capable of achieving anything. He pushed Biff to be a confident and well-liked individual by telling him “The man who creates personal interest is the man who gets ahead.” (Miller
Bartleby, from Bartleby the Scrivener, and Willy Loman, from Death of a Salesman, are in many ways opposites. Bartleby is an extreme individualist; only doing what he wants to, no matter the personal or professional cost. On the other hand, Willy Loman is a conformist; he does what he is told, lives an average life, and pursues the “American Dream” like most Americans do. Bartleby and Willy also share similarities: both are physiologically broken and their respective individuality and conformity lead them to their deaths, albeit in different ways. The stories themselves are also similar in that they both critique American society. Bartleby and Willy are like two sides of the same coin, no matter which side faces up the coin still falls.
All of Willy Loman’s family suffers because of him. This is an example of how one person affects the whole family. Willy Loman believes success in life is having nice things, having money, and being known by people. Unfortunately, Mr. Loman never realises that success is much more than having material things. Hopefully Biff and Happy learn from their dad’s mistakes, and reach the real American
Tennessee Williams’, A Streetcar Named Desire, is a play upon how a mentally unstable woman, Blanche DuBois, keeps an unbelievable amount of secrets hidden from her younger sister while her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski, is determined to uncover the truth. In Arthur Miller’s, Death of a Salesmen, is a twenty-four hour play that displays how bent on Willy Loman, a mentally unstable, 63 year-old man, is to leave his mark in the world. Williams and Miller illustrate the needing desire for men to not be deprived of their masculinity through Stanley Kowalski and Willy Loman’s need of control towards their lifestyle, the obligation of being unvarnished when situations they loath occur, as well as enraging themselves and acting inappropriately when the sense of their masculinity is tested. The author declares throughout their plays the cause and effect of what can happen when all they crave is control, in addition to the two men are not healthy role models for anyone to follow.
What separates him from most, is in order to make himself happy, like Gatsby, he creates these lies that help him think that he is successful. An example of this is when he paints the illusion that his son was a big shot salesmen “ Well, Bill Oliver- very big sporting goods man- he wants Biff very badly…” ( Miller 70). In order for Willy to be a successful father, he needs to feel that his kids are respected and accomplished. However this shows that Willy is such an outsider, because Biff is quite the opposite, as the Bill Oliver that is references has no idea who Biff is. Another example that shows how Willy’s goals and dreams turn him into a misfit is when he asks for a promotion “ Well, tell you the truth, Howard. I’ve come to the decision that I’d rather not travel anymore.” ( Miller 59). In this instance Willy, under the delusion that he will get the promotion, and his kids will be getting their deal with Bill Oliver, tries to take the final step in becoming a successful father, which is partial retirement to full retirement. Since his whole premise of asking his boss is not reality he fails, which is why it is possible that both Gatsby and Willy failed because they were unwilling to forget the past. Another point that shows that Willy aspires to be what he cannot is that “Loman's dreams
Without knowing, Biff Loman had responsible man inside of him stand up. Biff knew that he could not be around his father because it ultimately ends up hurting both Biff and Willy and everyone around them. Biff knew he needed to leave but he wanted to leave differently than he had in the past. He wanted to leave on a good note. “Pop, get this now, will you? Everytime I’ve left it’s been a fight that sent me out of here. Today I realized something about myself and I tried to explain it to you and I—I think I’m just not smart enough to make any sense out of it for you…”(Miller 128) In this last attempt to mend the shattered relationship between Biff and his father, Willy continues to hide behing the mask of a man that is not happy with who he is but refuses show it. He is stuck in his way even when Biff try’s to be the bigger person he can not allow himself to back down and admit what he has done
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
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.
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. To ease his mother’s worries, Biff decides to ask for a loan to start a sporting goods business, only to later realize that he does not share his father’s work ethic and ambitions. Instead of beginning a sporting goods business, Biff decides that he is going to buy his own ranch. Biff’s decisions prove that unlike, Willy, he believes that success is truly obtained with strong work ethic and being happy with the work that you do.