"Death of a Salesman"

Paper Summary:

In "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman finally realized that he had been living a life of illusion and self-deception. The paper shows how his son Biff has seen the truth about his father's self-delusions much earlier then Willy. This causes clashes between the two, as Willy still believes that Biff will amount to something and Biff finally confronts his father about his low station in life and the fact that the two of them will always be nobodies. The paper examines the relationship between Willy and Biff Loman based on Willy's self-delusions.

From the Paper:

"Willy developed the theory that if a person is well liked and is very good looking then doors, i.e. opportunity, will automatically be opened for him. In essence Willy believes in style over substance. Willy Loman, raised his two boys to embrace the same illusions about life and the keys to success that he has. Both boys, in their 30's in the play, grow up to be failures as well. Hap, like his father, is blind to this fact; Biff on the other hand has had those illusions removed a long time ago. Biff, unlike his brother and mother, sees the truth about his father and feels a compulsion to seek the truth about himself. This conflict between Biff and Willy is the central conflict in the play that the story revolves around."

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