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."

Tags:biff, miller, salesman

Abstract
This paper analyzes Biff and Happy, Willy Loman's two sons in "Death of a Salesman", to determine which is more likely to lapse into his father's fate and which is redeemable. The paper argues that Biff is the redeemable one.

From the Paper
"In Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman", Willy Loman and his sons Biff and Happy are all plagued by failure. Willy has fixated on imitating a successful salesman, Dave Singleman, who never had to leave his hotel room to make an abundance of sales and whose funeral was attended by many people. Willy sees being well liked as the key to achieving similar success. Encouraging his older son Biff to be well liked, Willy leads Biff to steal which causes him to be..."

Tags:Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller, Biff, Happy, Hap, character analysis

Abstract
This paper argues that Biff Loman is a dynamic character in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman." The paper traces Biff's evolution from his realization of his father's imperfections to his rejection of his father's plans and ends with Biff at Willy's funeral. The paper highlights how while other characters honor Willy and his dreams, only Biff is honest about the situation while choosing to follow his own dreams.

From the Paper
"What precipitated Biff's evolution? His discovery of his father's affair led the young man to change. Biff was unable to graduate high school as planned because of academic problems. He left home when he discovered his father's infidelity. Biff was so distraught at discovering that his father was unfaithful that he essentially drifted for years. Biff wrestled with economic problems, unemployment, and even jail. These difficult circumstances eventually caused Biff to return home and to evaluate his life and that of his family members. "I looked up and I saw the sky... and I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been wrong" (Miller 94).
"Unlike his father, Biff is able to recognize that he is changing. When he returns home, his mother accuses him of being hateful because he is critical of his father. Biff's response demonstrates that he is capable of evolving in a way that no other character is in the play. "I mean to change. I'm tryin' Mom, you understand?" (Miller 54). This statement suggests many things about Biff. First, Biff is aware that his opinion does not necessary coincide with that of his parents. Second, Biff is struggling to forgive his father's weakness and to reconcile his views with that of his parents. Unlike Linda, who is constantly avoiding confrontation, or Willy, who refuses to see any options that do not correlate with his own feelings, Biff alone recognizes the unspoken conflict between the characters."

Tags:Willy, Linda, Happy, dream, success

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."

Tags:material, sales, mistress, dream, bernard

Abstract
This paper argues that like his father, Biff Loman suffers from the tumultuous interplay of self-knowledge and self-delusion throughout the play; but that unlike Willy, this inner conflict in Biff breaks out into the open and ultimately enables him to acquire a degree of true self-understanding that his father failed to acquire.

From the Paper
"The play "Death of a Salesman" is probably the most well-known work of Arthur Miller, and since it was first published and performed in 1949, it has become a staple of the American theater and beyond. It has also become a much-examined and discussed play both in academic circles and popular culture. Although the majority of the attention in analyses of the play over the decades has been upon its main character, anti-hero Willy Loman, there are other characters in the play who are also worthy of comment and exploration. Arguably the second most important character in the play is..."

Tags:miller, plays, character

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."

Tags:willy, loman, character

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."

Tags:literature, characters, apartheid, comparison

Abstract
This paper is an analysis of the interactions between Biff and Willy, two major characters in the play "Death of a Salesman." The case is made that Biff believes that Willy is a dreamer; Willy refuses to approach life on a realistic basis in which expectations and objectives are matched by hard work and sincere behavior. The paper posits that Willy was in denial of reality and therefore was constantly musing on possibilities and chasing women rather than focusing on what objectives were realistic for Biff and himself.

From the Paper
"Willy was a dreamer. He placed the promise of the American Dream on a subjective plane. Willy created his own personalized picture of how success could be gained through what he consider as the proper behavior and demeanor. There was a great disconnect in his perspective. The actuality of American life was far too brutal for his idealistic and..."

Tags:illusions, expectations, reality

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)."

Tags:Charley, Linda

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