As a distraction from the fact that Happy is not the most successful businessman, the job he pursued to impress his father by following in his footsteps, Happy turns to women. Happy tries to prove this believed rank to himself by sleeping with the girlfriends of fellow employees and then going to their weddings. However, he is dissatisfied because he feels as though he is a higher rank and a better person than his coworkers. When it seems that all the attention is on Biff and his scholarships for football, Happy is left feeling unappreciated from the man he admires the most and sets out to prove himself. In a flashback to high school, Happy repeatedly asks his father, “I’m losing weight, you notice, Pop? ” (33). Growing up, Happy would constantly aim to please his father and make Willy proud of him. On the contrary, Happy Loman, the younger of the two Loman siblings, has always felt less favored than his brother Biff. Having a lying failure of a father leaves Biff to believe his own failure is because of his father. Willy lives a life of illusion believing success at the cost of losing his family if his lies catch up with him. In reality, his “perfect life” is shadowed by the affair. Willy is convinced that selling has made him a respected and successful man. I bring you fellas up, there’ll be open sesame for all of us, ‘cause one thing, boys: I have friends” (31). Willy acts as though he is perfect, when talking to his sons he says, ”And when After failing in comparison to Bernard, who becomes a successful lawyer, Biff feels justified to blame it all on his father because of Willy’s actions. However, Biff risked future self-happiness in order to fall under his father’s beliefs of success. ![]() Biff was good at sports and such, but was not living up to other’s expectations, such as keeping passing grades in order to go to college. Growing up, Willy taught Biff that appearance is what determined your status in life which led to Biff striving for success in sports and popularity in an attempt to feel prideful.īeing unsuccessful and seen as lazy through his father’s eyes makes Biff feel as though it is not his fault. After the failure of this interview, Biff is left to feel as though his father is the one at fault and the reason that Biff is unsettled at his age, especially when Willy will not listen to Biff when he tries to explain his failure. When home, Biff tries everything in his power to attempt the path Willy has set out for him, even meeting with a possible job employer to create a new business.īiff confides in Happy and says, “And then he gave me one look and- I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been” (Miller 104). Biff’s dream is to move out west and live out on a cattle ranch while his father wants him to follow his footsteps to become a salesman: the job that Willy feels is the ultimate dream. The affair changed Biff’s views on his father, someone who he used to greatly admire then questions his father’s hopes for Biff. Biff Loman’s future looked bright when he was in high school- being the star football player with three major scholarships to colleges looked pretty promising- but yet returns home when he is much older claiming that he is “finding himself.Īfter flunking math his senior year, Biff looked to his father for help, only to catch him in the midst of an affair. Willy Loman being unable to realize his mistakes and correct them as well as not changing his morals has set up his sons’ for failure. The diminishing level of confidence the boys have towards their father has created a terrible fate for the two sons. ![]() Happy, the younger of the two siblings has found that he has a growing obsession with women, similar to his father’s own affair. Willy’s own actions and mistakes in his everyday lifestyle, influence Biff to believe that he has become a failure at the age of thirty-four. ![]() Willy, a man in his mid sixties, has not only strived to become a successful salesman, but also acts the successful father role, something that was lacked in his own childhood. Willy Loman: Failing Fatherhood Willy Loman, the main character in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, has a powerful father role in the lives of his two sons, Biff and Happy.
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