Abstract The paper discusses how Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" is a tale about the failure of the American Dream. The paper explains that except for Willy himself, that sentiment is hardly better explained than in the character of his son, Biff Loman. This paper is used to examine Biff's character, from his inception, through his transformation and into whatever future that might wait for him.
From the Paper "The Beginning of Biff: The first image of Biff that the reader gets of Biff is that of him shaving with his brother in the bathroom, one behind the other. The image is a homey one, a happy one and the "boys" appear to be close. The image, of course, is an illusion and is quickly revealed to be so. The first hint that there is a disparity in Biff's character comes with Willy's depiction of him."
Abstract This paper explains that Biff Loman's dream of escaping the American frontier is just as much a lie and a false American Dream as his father's dream of easy material success and societal approbation through sales. The author points out the brilliance of the scene where Biff comes upon his father with his father's mistress, indicating the materialism of the American Dream even translates into their feelings and fantasies about women. The paper relates that the role of Biff's cousin, Bernard, in contrast to Willy and Biff, is seen as the embodiment of the American Dream because he works hard and makes something of his profession and his life, not needing to 'sell' his success.
From the Paper "Willy Loman fantasizes that he lives in an America where material success it easy and where anyone can succeed if one is liked. However, in the memorable phrase of another salesman, Loman is liked but not well liked, within corporate America-and that, it is implied, makes all the difference. However, whether one is liked or well liked, it is certain that pure emotion, to Loman's surprise, cannot be translated into long-standing American capital. One must work hard as well, and Willy Loman works hard mainly at being liked in an easy fashion, and encouraging his sons to be admired for sports rather than the gymnastics of the mind and the efforts that yield real financial reward."
Abstract This paper explains how the character of Biff is a reflection of his father and carries on in his own life the same sorts of failures seen in his father. The writer provides a character sketch of Biff and his father, Willy Loman, and then examines how the characters interact to form their unique relationship.
From the Paper "It is Willy's wife who states that attention must be paid to the life of Willy Loman. She understands him and his problems, and she forgives his shortcomings. She is, after all, the one who has been most wronged by his behavior on the road and by his leaving her to handle the problems at home. In the end, Willy leaves a legacy behind in the form of his sons, and this is a mixed legacy. Happy accepts the American dream, and more specifically Willy's dream of success, while Biff finally rejects it and proves to be strong enough to face reality as his father never could. He has learned a lesson from the life of Willy Loman, and this is a lesson that others could learn as well if they paid closer attention to his life."
Abstract This paper discusses Author Miller's play, "Death of a Salesman," and looks at the various father-son relationships in the play. More specifically, the paper examines how these relationships demonstrate the different legacies that can be imparted from a father to a son and the unique impacts these legacies have. The paper discusses four different father-son relationships in the play and the effect these relationships have on the sons. The four relationships that take place in the play are the following: 1. Willy and his father, 2. Biff and Happy and their father Willy, 3. the neighbor Charley and his son Bernard and 4. Willy's boss Howard and his father. The paper then examines the last three of these relationships, showing the various elements that compose a relationship and how the actions of the fathers influence the lives of their sons. The paper relates that, when examined together, these relationships show the maladies that plagued the central relationship between Willy and his two sons, Biff and Happy.
Outline:
A Bad Beginning: Willy and his Father
The Mirror of Perfection: Bernard and Charley
Inheriting the Tangible: Howard and his Father
Where It All Went Wrong: Willy and his sons, Biff and Happy
From the Paper "Willy Lohman is the central character of the play "Death of a Salesman" and is the axis of two father-son relationships: one between him and his father, and the other between him and his two grown sons. Towards the last half of Act 1, it is revealed through Willy's daydream that his father abandoned the family when Willy was only three or four years old and his older brother Ben was about seventeen. Willy's father leaves him and Ben when Willy is very young, leaving Willy neither a tangible nor an intangible legacy. Willy and Ben are left without any money or even a history of who their father was. This sudden desertion by his father left a scarring image on Willy and the feelings of inadequacy and abandonment that will haunt Willy throughout his lifetime. "
Abstract In Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman", Willy Loman causes his son Biff to go through the three stages of an initiation and to learn that a person's worth is not based on material values but on spiritual values. This paper presents a brief analysis of Biff's maturation.
From the Paper "Finally, in the third and final stage of Biff's initiation, Willy causes Biff to become enlightened. Biff looks up and sees "the sky" and asks himself, "what the hell am I grabbing this [pen] for? Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be? What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself . . . ?" (1943). He understands that Willy's teachings and set of values will not work because he has tested them and they all fail. He realizes that he and Willy are both "a dime a dozen," that he is not "a leader of men," and that he is regu-lar and that is alright (1943-1944). He says, "I'm nothing!" and breaks down and cries to Willy (1944)."
Abstract Discussing Willy Loman and his desperate pursuit of the American Dream. A brief description of the contents of the play and the main characters of Biff and Happy and their relationship with their father, Willy. The paper discusses how Willy Loman, and his family have a misguided perception of success.
From the Paper "Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a tragic play about an aging and struggling salesman, Willy Loman, and his family's misguided perception of success. In Willy's mind, being well-liked is more important than anything else, and is the means to achieving success. He teaches this flawed idea to his sons, Biff and Happy, and is faithfully supported by his wife Linda. Linda sympathizes with Willy's situation, knowing that his time as an important salesman has passed. Biff and Happy hold their father to impossibly high standards, and he tries his best to live up to them. This causes Willy to deny the painful reality that he has not achieved anything of real value. Willy's obsession with a false dream results in his losing touch with reality and with himself."
Abstract This paper discusses two characters in two very different books set worlds apart, namely Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" and Fugard's "Master Harold and the Boys". The author explores the two characters, with examples from the texts, and how they both find disillusionment in a world that they were too young to fully understand.
From the Paper "Hallie tries to do his home-work. That is his reality. On the other hand, the two dancing black men have a different sense of reality. The reality is that dance takes blacks away from the everyday agonies of their existence. "...like being in a dream about a world in which accidents don't happen..." That dream world of the three is shattered, when the teen-ager talks about the conversation he and his father have about "a nigger's arse" Sam now sees Hallie as the son of his father: "Well, you've done it...Master Harold. Yes, I'll start calling you that from now on. It won't be difficult any more...You've hurt yourself, Master Harold." As Sam describes the times he had to carry Hallie's drunken father home, with the little white boy following behind, the relationship is now different."
This paper compares and contrasts two sets of dramatic characters: Eliza and Higgins in George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" and Biff and Happy in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman."
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts the characters in two plays, "Pygmalion" and "Death of a Salesman." Through this comparison, the reader gleans insights into the character development in each play and the resolved and unresolved issues in each play. The paper gives a brief plot summary of each play and describes the traits of the major characters. Also cited are the unresolved conflicts. The author concludes that both Eliza and Higgins in George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion," and Biff and Willy in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" consistently reveal only half-truths about themselves to each other, and to other characters in the play
From the Paper " If "Drama is the art of significant juxtaposition" (H.D.F.Kitto), that is to say that dramatic conflict springs from a dialectical opposition of ideas; e.g., a half-truth in debate with another half-truth, in analyzing two pairs of dramatic "opponent" characters, then, first Eliza and Higgins in George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and second, Biff and Willy in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman one may define the nature of the respective "half-truths" of these characters according to how their confrontations are dramatized and resolved (or not). I will explore the issue of whether the dialectic between either of these two pairs of characters, Higgins and Eliza and Willy and Biff, is ever resolved."
Tags: Death of a Salesman, Pygmalion, George, Bernard, Shaw, Arthur, Miller
Abstract The paper explains that Arthur Miller wrote "The Crucible" to establish a parallel between the unjust Salem witch trials and the Second Red Scare when Communists were believed to have quietly infiltrated American life and security. The paper discusses how Miller, like his character John Proctor, kept his silence and refused to testify to the Committee in protecting his business and personal friends and was thus blacklisted by the American government. The paper also examines "The Death of a Salesman" where Miller centers on the attainment of the American dream in the main characters, Willy Loman and his son, Biff. The paper discusses how Willy, unlike John Proctor, does not attain the status of a tragic hero because he does not come to a full self-realization.
From the Paper "John Proctor, as Arthur Miller's tragic hero in "The Crucible," is essentially an honest and upright and honest man with just one weakness, a secret affair with Abigail Williams, which he at first hides in order to protect his public reputation as an honorable man and husband to Elizabeth (Miller 1953, Wikipedia 2006). The witchcraft hysteria occurs at this time when the spurned Abigail expresses her jealousy and vengeance by implicating Elizabeth as a witch to the court. John presents Mary Warren to the judge as a witness in an attempt at saving his wife but without exposing his adultery, but the attempt fails and John finds himself trapped in the turmoil when Mary accuses him of being a wizard himself."
Abstract This paper discusses the contention that the families of Hamlet and of Willy Loman drove them to their deaths. It looks at how, in the first instance, the faithlessness of Queen Gertrude, the stern injunction of the vengeful ghost of Hamlet's father and the evil-doing of Claudius push Hamlet towards the commission of a terrible crime that ultimately costs him his own life. It also looks at how, Willy's pain at seeing his son Biff fall short of his full potential drives the elder Loman to first melancholic madness and thence to death. In the end, the plays both reveal how the environmental stimuli provided by those around us are often the very stimuli which push us into the abyss.
From the Paper "In Hamlet, it is soon enough apparent that the young prince's family is the chief cause of his descent into brooding madness. For example, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, has married the sly and sinister Claudius - the brother of Hamlet the Elder and the man who has profited handsomely from his brother's death (Shakespeare, 154). For Hamlet, who would seem to venerate his father as only a son can, the decision of his mother to join hands in holy matrimony with a fellow Hamlet finds repugnant (Shakespeare, 163) is basically beyond the earthly power of Hamlet to endure."
Abstract The paper shows how in his play, "Death of a Salesman", Arthur Miller brings to light a serious breakdown in the moral values associated with family life. The paper discusses how Miller depicts a trend of desertion by the men in the Loman family, Willy, Biff and Happy, that fosters a cycle of abandonment that is then passed down to the next generation. The paper highlights Miller's lesson that abandoning basic family values such as loyalty, honesty and integrity can have far reaching consequences for generations to come.
From the Paper "In his play, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller brings to light a serious breakdown in the moral values associated with family life. This crisis of values is framed by the internal turmoil of Willy Loman who, being unable to admit his failure, is confronted with the reality of his mistakes. Willy's inner turmoil manifests itself in a series of hallucinations. These signs of degeneration take shape as Willy has conversations with people from his past. Set in the late 1940's, Miller depicts a trend of desertion by the men in the Loman family. This trend fosters a cycle of abandonment that is passed down from one generation to the next, affecting all that is good within them."
Abstract 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."
Abstract In "Death of a Salesman", Arthur Miller uses the character of Linda Loman as a looking glass through which the characters see their true selves. This papere explains that Linda is a character that does not have as many lines as the characters of Willie and Biff, but her comments and speeches make a poignant statement as to the situation of the family and expose the flaws of the other characters.
From the Paper "The dynamic between Linda and Willie is similar to that of a mother and a child. She provides encouragement and has effect of unconsciously causing Willie guilt because of his past actions of infidelity. Linda is the character that borders on the lies that have been told in her home for years and the truth about who the people in her life really are. Linda acknowledges the shortcomings of her husband and sons, but goes along with the charade that things can and will eventually become better because she realizes that the destruction of the lies is the ultimate destruction of her family."
Tags: character, filter, glass, looking, Arthur, Miller
Abstract The paper examines the character, Willy, in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". The author shows how Arthur Miller uses several literary devices to portray the last days of Willy, and offers insight into the perceptions, expectations and illusions that Willy has used to keep up his appearance of apparent success. He shows that Willy's problems with acceptance and denial tear apart his family life, which is overshadowed by his relentless pursuit of the American dream.
From the Paper "All in all, "Death of a Salesman" gives the audience a harsh picture of Willy Loman, and his family at the final breaking point for all members involved. Miller uses colors to express the angry, overpowering world that Willy once considered the beginnings of his success. The set is a symbol for the suppression and failure of Willy's dreams, with seeds in a procrastinated garden representing the procrastinated legacy that Willy never got around to "planting". "
Abstract This paper presents the writer's opinion about the characters in two books being trapped by their families. The writer uses Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" and James Joyce's "Eveline" to illustrate the way a person can be trapped by families and obligations. The characters of Eveline from "Eveline" and Biff from "Death of a Salesman" are compared and contrasted for the way in which they are entangled in seemingly hopeless situations because of their families.
From the Paper "Many times in literature writers depict an underlying theme that they may not even have been aware of when they wrote the piece of literature. Eveline in James Joyce's "Eveline" and Biff in Miller's Death of a Salesman the authors depict and portray characters who are ultimately trapped by their families with no way out. While the story does not directly address their entrapment it is obvious when one studies the fabric of their lives that they were indeed trapped by family for different reasons and circumstances."
