“She 's got a dream! He 's got a dream! They 've got a dream! We 've got a dream!. . . Yes way down deep inside, I 've got a dream!” (Tangled). Every person has a dream for their life, something they want to accomplish or a position they want to ascend to. Whether it be farming the country side or being President of the United States, every one’s dream is different. Willy Loman knew he wanted the American Dream. He wanted to be happy, well liked and to own his house and appliances. The only way Willy thought was possible to achieve that dream was by being a salesman. Biff Loman, Willy’s oldest son, thought he wanted to be just like his father, but through a series of events involving his father, he discovered his own dream. …show more content…
Biff grew up watching his father and wanted to be just like him in every way. He wanted the American Dream, but it took him many years through many obstacles and adventures to realize that his own dream was entirely different. “Biff: Dad, I don’t know who said it first, but I was never a salesman for Bill Oliver. . . I was a shipping clerk” (106). When Biff went to see Bill Oliver, he realized that he was nothing more than a shipping clerk. He understood that being a salesman was not his strength in life. In his frustration, Biff stole Bill’s fountain pen and ran away. “ Biff:. . . I ran down eleven flights with a pen in my hand today. When I suddenly stopped. . . I saw the sky. I saw the things that I love in this world. The work and the food and the time to sit and smoke. . . What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there. . .” (132). During the last argument with Willy, Biff reveals his mistake, but also the fact that he loves being out west, working in the sun. Being a salesman would not make him happy, but he had finally come to the realization of what does make him …show more content…
Willy Loman’s ego triggered Biff to get a false perspective on life. Biff failed math in high school, due to his father’s lies and influence. Since he could not go to the University of Virginia as planned, he headed to texas to work on a ranch. Upon return, Biff learned that his father has been fired from his job of 36 years. He saw that the American Dream is not a possible goal, but still attempted to follow his father’s dream. Attempting to start a business, Biff decideed to visit an old boss of his to ask for loan. When he got there, he realized that he was nothing
Biff says, "How the hell did I ever get the idea I was a salesman there?" I even believed myself that I'd been a salesman for him!.We've been talking about dreams for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk (1760). Willy's high demands of Biff cause Biff to experience the same difficulties of living in the present and the desire to live in a fantasy world. This conflict is only resolved in Biff's mind when he releases himself from his father's dominance and establishes his own identity.
...me speech about becoming successful as he did from when before he was fired. It wasn’t his self-worth delusion that was the main one, it was the one about his legacy that he would pass on toward his children, mainly and maybe only Biff. When this delusion of how well that his teachings were going is thrashed and loses the support of another character, when at the end of novel Biff declares that Willy’s path that he kept trying to set for Biff was just not working so Biff was going to set out on his path, that is when Willy collapses. It was after this admission of Biff’s that Willy went and killed himself.
Happy, Biff’s younger brother, has always felt neglected by his father, because he was not as a...
Willy doesn’t want to accept that he is not successful anymore, he still recognize his son as handsome heroes. Biff as the football star when he was at high school and Happy an...
Biff never kept a steady job during his young adult life, and did not possess a healthy relationship with anyone that was in his life. As the play progresses the reader sees how much Biff becomes more self- aware. An online source states, “Unlike the other members of his family, Biff grows to recognize that he and his family members consistently deceive themselves, and he fights to escape the vicious cycles of lies.” When Biff returns home it becomes a struggle to keep a healthy relationship with his parents. Once Willy and Biff decide together that Biff will go and ask Bill Oliver for a loan is when the differences between the two characters are truly seen. Biff accepts reality for the first time in his life, and realizes how ridiculous it is to ask Bill Oliver for a loan, when he barely knows the man and worked for him about ten years ago. When Biff meets up with Willy after the ‘meeting’ Biff is talking to his Father and says, “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, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am!” This quote reveals that Biff recently has just experienced an epiphany, and realizes that what he was doing was making no sense. Biff is escaping the self- deception he was caught in with the rest of his
It is stated by Standage that, “Sandage believes Willy Loman was a success. But the message of the play, he says, is that “if you level off, you have to give up. You might as well not live”” (Baird 25). This is quite ironic because all Willy does is push to be successful and he when he can’t he puts expects his son’s to follow through so he gives up. He constantly reminds them, “the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead” (Miller 67). This is also ironic because Willy is the man who creates personal interest in the business world, but when everyone passes away he is left with nothing but the past to remember. This false reality that Willy creates for Biff brings on the conflicts between the father and son duo due to the fact that Biff fails as a result of the way he was raised. So by the time Biff goes to interview for his first job he thinks that his success will come with no effort
Biff’s story was told in an honest way because he couldn’t deal with lies anymore. His endurance with all the cover-ups was over. He honestly admitted that his father’s job has been on the downside and implicitly agreed it was a suicide, but we still see his respect for his deceased father because Biff only vague...
But they were both able to understand that people must sometimes put aside the dreams for the better cause. The death of Willy shows Biff what can happen if you get obsessed with your dream. Likewise the lose of the money from the death of Walter, Sr., shows Walter, Jr., what will happen. Both of them finally understand in the end that life is not about money, power and possessions, but about family and friends. Family and friends will be there in your times of need and in your times of success, and will always love
Through a series of events, Biff gradually comes to a realization of what is necessary for success. First, we are shown a part of his childhood where Biff is told that "the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead." This idea appears in direct contrast to Bernard, one of Biff's childhood friends, who works and studies hard. Biff decides that Bernard will not succeed because he is "only liked, not well-liked," and being well-liked is the cornerstone of success. Nonetheless, later in the play we see that Bernard has become very successful, underscoring one of the messages in the play, that success is not just a result of popularity. Second, we are shown a scene in Boston soon after Biff has just failed math for the year. He discovers his "heroic" father having an affair. Biff comes to the painful realization that his father's values, his views, and everything that Biff had made the foundation of his life, are all completely "fake" and "phony." Unfortunately, he has nothing with which to replace it. Lastly, Biff decides to leave to try and find himself, but an argument develops between Biff and Willy. Biff begins to see himself as like his father, "nothing," just an average man trying to make a living, and quite possibly failing. Biff's earlier image of his father's greatness has crumbled entirely, leaving a lost young man trying to find his way. Biff realized that he now needs to find his own values in life. He has finally tasted reality and now must dive head first into the pot, without any real preparation.
In the restaurant, Willy, Biff and Happy are discussing Biff’s encounter with Bill Oliver, the man Biff goes to see about getting money to start his sporting goods business. During the conversation, Willy begins being drawn into a delusional flashback with The Woman, and he is unable to continue his discussion with his sons:
You phony little fake! You fake!" During his adult life, Biff drifted from job to job. Willy sees Biff as an underachiever, whereas Biff sees himself trapped by Willy's flamboyant fantasies. After his moment of realization while waiting in Bill Oliver's office, Biff begins to realize that his life up till now has been a complete sham; he no longer wants to pretend to be something he`s not.
was and dreams of the great man Biff can be, he just fails to realise
...before something happens?” (Miller 133). Biff is getting frustrated with Willy because he is trying to turn his son into somebody that he does not want to be. Willy’s tragedy is due to the fact that the truth for him is far fetched, since he is always seeing life in a flashback, which leads to his demise.
Stewart, Summer. "Death of a Salesman: Biff's Struggle." Yahoo Contributor Network. Yahoo, 19 June 2008. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
One important event that caused friction between Biff and his father Willy was about college. Since Biff did not pass math, he had to attend summer school. However, Biff refuses to do so. This made him realize he is going nowhere in life, which prompted him to return home. On opposing ends, his father Willy only sees Biff as lazy. “Biff is a lazy bum!” (Miller 859). Biff wants a simpler life, he knows the