death of a salesman conflict between willy and biff essay

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Arthur Miller

  • Literature Notes
  • Play Summary
  • About Death of a Salesman
  • Character List
  • Summary and Analysis
  • Act I: Scene 1
  • Act I: Scene 2
  • Act I: Scene 3
  • Act I: Scene 4
  • Act I: Scene 5
  • Act I: Scene 6
  • Act I: Scene 7
  • Act I: Scene 8
  • Act I: Scene 9
  • Act I: Scene 10
  • Act I: Scene 11
  • Act I: Scene 12
  • Act II: Scene 1
  • Act II: Scene 2
  • Act II: Scene 3
  • Act II: Scene 4
  • Act II: Scene 5
  • Act II: Scene 6
  • Act II: Scene 7
  • Act II: Scene 8
  • Act II: Scene 9
  • Act II: Scene 10
  • Act II: Scene 11
  • Act II: Scene 12
  • Act II: Scene 13
  • Act II: Scene 14
  • Act II: Requiem
  • Character Analysis
  • Willy Loman
  • Linda Loman
  • Happy Loman
  • Character Map
  • Arthur Miller Biography
  • Critical Essays
  • Miller's Manipulation of Time and Space
  • Major Themes in Death of a Salesman
  • Full Glossary for Death of a Salesman
  • Essay Questions
  • Practice Projects
  • Cite this Literature Note

Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 13

Biff informs Willy that he is leaving home forever, severing all ties with the family. Willy refuses to shake Biff's hand and tells him to "rot in hell if you leave this house!" Willy accuses Biff of wasting his life out of spite. Biff confronts Willy with the rubber hose and tells him he will not pity him if he commits suicide. Biff blames Willy for his inability to keep a steady job. According to Biff, the Lomans have not ever been truthful with one another or themselves. Biff is tired of fighting and blaming Willy for his own lack of success. Biff says that he and Willy are nothing but ordinary people who could easily be replaced by others. He and his father argue, and, when Biff breaks down and cries, holding onto Willy, Willy is amazed and "elevated" at Biff's love for him.

Scene 13 provides the final break between Willy and Biff. Both men struggle with their emotions and their inability to reconcile. Biff realizes in Scene 8 that he has been reinventing facts just like Willy. His realization is significant because once he verbalizes it to Willy, Linda, and Happy during Scene 13 he separates himself from them. Biff refuses to participate in the charade any longer. He chooses to accept himself on his own terms, not the way Willy imagines or desires him to be. His choice alienates him from Linda and Happy who are committed to maintaining Willy's fantasies at all costs. Biff is able to see beyond their shortsightedness because he realizes that denying reality is more dangerous and costly in the long run. This is exactly the trap Willy is caught in.

For Willy to admit that he is "a dime a dozen" is too painful. Such an admission would force him to openly contradict every grand story he has ever told or is planning to tell. Willy cannot deprive himself of his dreams by admitting he is only average. Even though he knows that he has failed his family, he cannot acknowledge such failure openly; instead, only Ben can share in this revelation. As a result, it is not surprising that Willy responds so dramatically to Biff's claim that their lives have been based on deception. To condemn Willy's fantasies is to threaten Willy's existence. Biff levels the final blow when he confronts Willy with the rubber hose. Not only does Biff force Willy to recognize the hose and his suicidal intention, but in so doing, Biff destroys Willy's dream that his suicide will redeem him.

spite a mean or evil feeling toward another, characterized by the inclination to hurt, humiliate, annoy, frustrate, and so on; ill will; malice.

blow [Informal] to brag; boast.

contemptuous full of contempt; scornful or disdainful.

dime a dozen an expression used to imply that something is available in large quantities. The fact that the item is not rare suggests that it is not of great value.

mutt a mixed-breed dog; an insult if applied to an individual.

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Arthur Miller: Relationships in the “Death of a Salesman” Essay (Review)

Willy’s conflict, biff’s conflict, works cited.

Death of a Salesman is a figurative play that uses death not only symbolically represent physical/mortal death but also to allude to the end of personal dreams, wishes, and aspirations. It is a satirical play that highlights the life of Willy Loman, the main character, a traveling salesman who has worked for Wagner Company for thirty-four years and ends up a failure because it is not his trade to be a salesman. Willy is a gifted carpenter. In this paper, Death of a Salesman relationships shall be analyzed.

This play is a case of reality versus illusion. Willy is a delusional character whose search for higher ideals, far higher than he can attain, leads to his disillusionment. Willy spends his entire life trying to be a successful salesman, like his mentor Mr. Dave Singleman who was a successful and famous businessman. Thus Willy forms the opinion that to be successful, one has to be physically attractive and liked by many.

He tries to impose these ideals to his sons Willy and Happy to no avail. The result is that he ends up a failure and decides to kill himself, hoping the insurance premium will benefit his family. This play is, to some extent, a reflection of Arthur Miller’s life. Biff reflects Miller the real character: Miller was not much an academician and surprised his teachers when he wrote this play. The author was attracted to sports and physical activities rather than books. It was, therefore, a surprise that he would end up an author of a playwright.

Three characters in this play highlight Willy’s unique relationships with people. Biff, Willy’s eldest son, and the two enjoy love-hate. During his childhood, Biff adores his father but later comes to loathe him upon discovering that his father had led him to live a lie. It is through Biff that the reader sees Willy’s disillusionment.

Willy’s mistress is a secretary of one of his clients and represents Willy’s craving for love and affection rather than for pleasure. She makes Willy feel loved. Lastly, Willy’s brother, Ben, a successful businessman, is an illustration of Willy’s unwillingness to come to embrace reality; Ben only appears to Willy in daydreams.

Even though these three characters, as well as the other characters in the play, highlight Willy’s delusional self, it is Biff, the eldest son who illuminates Willy’s disconnect with reality. This paper endeavors to explain Willy Loman and Biff Loman’s relationships and how each is affected by this relationship.

Although Biff Loman is Willy’s and Linda’s eldest son and the personification of Willy’s wildest dreams and desires, father and son enjoy an emotional love-hate relationship throughout their lives. Biff represents everything Willy wanted in life: success.

Biff is the illumination of Willy’s notions of popularity and physical attractiveness rather than hard work honesty and integrity as the way to success. However, being popular does not help Biff to succeed. Willy had created a false impression (in Biff, as well as other family members) about his popularity and how it brought him much success (Miller 100).

Biffs’ search for success through popularity ends up in failure and he later notes that “(he has) always made a point of not wasting (his) life, and every time (he) comes back (he knew) that all (he will have) done is to waste (his) life” (11). Thus Willy’s delusional theory on happiness and success ends up having a very negative impact on the very son that he loved and wished to nurture to success.

Initially, there is so much love between father and son. Willy loves his son so much that during one of the football games that Biff is playing, Willy tells Linda that Biff is “(a) star… magnificent, (and) can never really fade away!” (51).

This love is informed by the unrealistic need to make him attractive and thus liked by many, which is to eventually lead Biff to succeed in life and also as a salesman. Willy encourages Biff to a positive image of himself through dress and not to talk too much less Biff makes a false impression, as the right personality would win him success (21, 48).

Willy goes to great length to prove that popularity is the key to success and encourages Biff to fight with his uncle Ben, something that has an important meaning and infuriates Lindah so much.

However, Biff falls to his uncle Ben who advises Biff, “Never (to) fight fair with a stranger, boy. (or) You’ll never get out of the jungle that way” ( 34). Biff believed in his father so much that he did not put any diligent hard work in whatever he did. His adoration for his father stated to take a toll on his life because, as Willy commented that “his (Biff’s) life ended after that Ebbets Field game because from the age of seventeen, nothing good ever happened to him” (71).

Biff’s belief in the essence of popularity take s him to seek his father in Boston as he thought that Willy’s popularity would make Biff’s math teacher change his grade and allow Biff to graduate. However, their relationship takes a sudden change for the worst when Biff realizes that his father has been unfaithful to his mother, by keeping a mistress in his hotel room in Boston.

The changing nature of their relationships in Death of a Salesman is reflected through their dialogues and conversations, which expresses anguish, pain, and betrayal. Biff no longer trusts his father and realizes that Willy had led them all in living a lie and a pretentious life (104). Willy retaliates by telling Biff that he has been nothing but a failure (103). As such, Bill comments that:

“(he had been) trying to become what (he didn’t) want to be… (And asks Himself) What (he was) doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of (himself), when all (he) wanted (was) out there, waiting for the minute (he) say (that he) knew who (he) wanted to be! (105).

This is an emotional realization of the betrayal that Willy led him to believe was the truth. Their relationship was never the same again.

Willy’s greatest need was emotional and psychological. Willy needed to feel liked and loved not only by his family but also by his clients and friends. From his mentor Dave Singleman, Willy thought that success was brought by popularity and attractiveness, and these two ideals subordinated virtuous ideals such as honesty, integrity, and hard work.

As the analysis essay on Death of a Salesman shows, this is delusional and far from reality. Willy strived to make his son Biff like him so much and instead of rewarded his mistakes instead of reprimanding. This ended up destroying not only Biff but also the relationship the two had, which displays the main theme and tragedy of the play. The play is also a reflection of how self-denial can lead to failure. Arthur miller encourages people to discover who they really are and not to be influenced by the successes of others as this is just an illusion.

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin Books, 1986. Print.

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Interesting Literature

A Summary and Analysis of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Death of a Salesman is that rare thing: a modern play that is both a classic, and a tragedy. Many of the great plays of the twentieth century are comedies, social problem plays, or a combination of the two. Few are tragedies centred on one character who, in a sense, recalls the theatrical tradition that gave us Oedipus, King Lear, and Hamlet.

But how did Miller come to write a modern tragedy? What is Death of a Salesman about, and how should we analyse it? Before we come to these questions, it might be worth briefly recapping the plot of what is, in fact, a fairly simple story.

Death of a Salesman : summary

The salesman of the title is Willy Loman, a travelling salesman who is in his early sixties. He works on commission, so if he doesn’t make a sale, he doesn’t get paid. His job involves driving thousands of miles around the United States every year, trying to sell enough to put food on his family’s table. He wants to get a desk job so he doesn’t have to travel around any more: at 62 years of age, he is tired and worn out.

He is married to Linda. Their son, Biff, is in his thirties and usually unemployed, drifting from one temporary job to another, much to Willy’s displeasure. Willy’s younger son, Happy, has a steady job along and his own home, and is therefore a success by Willy’s standards.

However, Happy, despite his name, isn’t happy with the life he has, and would quite like to give up his job and go and work on a ranch out West. Willy, meanwhile, is similarly dreaming, but in his case of the past, rather than the future: he thinks back to when Biff and Happy were small children and Willy was a success as a salesman.

The Lomans’ neighbour, Charley, offers Willy a job to help make ends meet, but Willy starts to reminisce about his recently deceased brother, Uncle Ben, who was an adventurer (and young Willy’s hero). Linda tells her sons to pay their father some respect, even though he isn’t himself a ‘great man’.

It emerges that Willy has been claiming to work as a salesman but has lately been borrowing money as he can’t actually find work. His plan is to take his own life so his family will receive life insurance money and he will be able, with his death, to do what he cannot do for them while alive: provide for them. Biff agrees reluctantly to go back to his former boss and ask for a job so he can contribute to the family housekeeping.

Meanwhile, Willy asks his boss, Howard, for his desk job and an advance on his next pay packet, but Howard sacks Willy. Willy then goes to Charley and asks for a loan. That night, at dinner, Willy and Biff argue (Biff failed to get his own former job back when his old boss didn’t even recognise him), and it turns out that Biff once walked in on his father with another woman.

Willy goes home, plants some seeds, and then – hearing his brother Ben calling for him to join him – he drives off and kills himself. At his funeral, only the family are present, despite Willy’s prediction that his funeral would be a big affair.

Death of a Salesman : analysis

Miller’s family had been relatively prosperous during the playwright’s childhood, but during the Great Depression of the 1930s, as with many other families, their economic situation became very precarious. This experience had a profound impact on Miller’s political standpoint, and this can be seen in much of his work for the theatre.

Death of a Salesman represented a decisive change of direction for the young playwright. His previous success as a playwright, All My Sons , was a social drama heavily influenced by Henrik Ibsen, but with his next play, Miller wished to attempt something new. The mixture of hard-hitting social realism and dreamlike sequences make Death of a Salesman an innovative and bold break with previous theatre, both by Miller and more widely.

In his essay ‘ Tragedy and the Common Man ’ (1949), which Miller wrote to justify his artistic decision to make an ordinary American man the subject of a theatrical tragedy, Miller argued that the modern world has grown increasingly sceptical, and is less inclined to believe in the idea of heroes.

As a result, they don’t see how tragedy, with its tragic hero, can be relevant to the modern world. Miller argues, on the contrary, that the world is full of heroes. A hero is anybody who is willing to lay down his life in order to secure his ‘sense of personal dignity’. It doesn’t matter what your social status or background is.

Death of a Salesman is an example of this ethos: Loman, who cheated on his wife and lied to his family about his lack of work and his reliance on friends who lent him money, makes his last gesture a tragic but selfless act, which will ensure his family have money to survive when he is gone.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Miller is somehow endorsing the hero’s final and decisive act. The emphasis should always be on the word ‘tragedy’: Loman’s death is a tragedy brought about partly by his own actions, but also by the desperate straits that he is plunged into through the harsh and unforgiving world of sales, where once he is unable to earn money, he needs some other means of acquiring it so he can put food on the table for his family.

But contrary to what we might expect, there is something positive and even affirmative about tragedy, as Arthur Miller views the art form.

For Miller, in ‘Tragedy and the Common Man’, theatrical tragedy is driven by ‘Man’s total compunction to evaluate himself justly’. In the process of doing this, and attaining his dignity, the tragic hero often loses his life, but there is something affirmative about the events leading up to this final act, because the audience will be driven to evaluate what is wrong with society that it could destroy a man – a man willing to take a moral stand and evaluate himself justly – in the way that it has.

Does Willy Loman deserve to be pushed to take his own life just so his family can pay the bills? No, so there must be something within society that is at fault. Capitalism’s dog-eat-dog attitude is at least partly responsible, since it leads weary and worn-out men like Willy to dream of paying off their mortgage and having enough money, while simultaneously making the achievement of that task as difficult as possible. When a younger and better salesman comes along, men like Willy are almost always doomed.

But by placing this in front of the audience and dramatising it for them, Miller invites his audience to question the wrongs within modern American society. Thus people will gain a greater understanding of what is wrong with society, and will be able to improve it. The hero’s death is individually tragic but collectively offers society hope.

So it may be counter-intuitive to describe a tragedy like Death of a Salesman as ‘optimistic’, but in a sense, this is exactly what it is. Miller takes the classical idea of the tragic flaw, what Aristotle had called the hamartia , and updates this for a modern audience, too: the hero’s tragic flaw is redefined as the hero’s inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the face of what he conceives to be a challenge to his dignity and rightful status in society.

There is something noble in his flaw, even though it will lead to his own destruction. So really, the flaw is not within the individual or hero as much as in society itself.

A key context for Death of a Salesman , like many great works of American literature from the early to mid-twentieth century, is the American Dream: that notion that the United States is a land of opportunity where anyone can make a success of their life and wind up stinking rich. Miller’s weaving of dream sequences in amongst the sordid and unsatisfactory reality of the Lomans’ lives deftly contrasts the American dream with the American reality.

1 thought on “A Summary and Analysis of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”

This is a very insightful and convincing appreciation. What it misses is any idea that Miller’s being Jewish may have had a hand in helping him to see why the American dream and its popularity-cult needed to be criticized. The word “cult” in “populairty-cult” says it all, because “The Death of a Saleman” is at its core a play about idolatry, the Ol,d Testament theme against which its prophets railed the most.

Willy is portrayed as an idol-worshipper, whereas his friend, Charely, and Charley’s son, Bernard, are both seen as devotees of the “true” God, in whose religion the human being is always endowed with dignity and always seen as an end in himself, never as a means to some other end. The play, in fact, asks a very Jewish question. If the true God and the false god both require sacrifice, how can you ever know which is which? And its tragedy supplies us with Miller’s answer: those who worship idols discover in the end that THEY are the sacrifice!

Miller, like Philip Roth later on, was a Jewish-American inheritor of the Old Testament’s prophetic tradition, a tradition in which Amos, Isaiah, Jeremia en Ezekiel continually used their verbal art to expose Israel’s stinking moral corruption, foreseeing nothing but doom if it continued in irs idolatrous ways. Change ancient Israel to America, change the average Israelite of that time to Willy Loman now: both wind up destroying themsevles for the very same reason: with all the good will in they world, they have no self-knowledge and spend their whole lives worshipping a false god, deluded in the belief that they are worshipping the true one.

Their mistake in both cases only becomes apparent when it is time to offer the sacrifice, but by then, of course, it is always too late!

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death of a salesman conflict between willy and biff essay

Death of a Salesman

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The central conflict of the play is between Willy and his elder son Biff , who showed great promise as a young athlete and ladies' man, but in adulthood has become a thief and drifter with no clear direction. Willy's other son, Happy , while on a more secure career path, is superficial and seems to have no loyalty to anyone.

By delving into Willy's memories, the play is able to trace how the values Willy instilled in his sons—luck over hard work, likability over expertise—led them to disappoint both him and themselves as adults. The dream of grand, easy success that Willy passed on to his sons is both barren and overwhelming, and so Biff and Happy are aimless, producing nothing, and it is Willy who is still working, trying to plant seeds in the middle of the night, in order to give his family sustenance. Biff realizes, at the play's climax, that only by escaping from the dream that Willy has instilled in him will father and son be free to pursue fulfilling lives. Happy never realizes this, and at the end of the play he vows to continue in his father's footsteps, pursuing an American Dream that will leave him empty and alone.

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The Importance of Biffs Role in Death of a Salesman

Biff is an important character in Death of a Salesman. He is the son of Willy and Linda Loman, and he represents the hopes and dreams that his father has for him. Biff struggles to figure out his place in the world, and he often feels like he’s not living up to his potential.

Biff plays a key role in the story, and his interactions with Willy are some of the most important scenes in the play. Biff is able to see the flaws in his father’s thinking, and he tries to help Willy see the mistakes he’s making. Biff wants his father to be proud of him, but he also understands that things might never change between them.

Death of a Salesman is a tragedy, and Biff’s role in the story is an important one. He represents the hope for a better future, and his interactions with Willy help to show the flaws in the older man’s thinking. Biff is a character that people can relate to, and his story is one that touches many people.

Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman follows Willy Loman, a deluded salesperson who lives in denial and constantly fails to reach his goal. His immediate family members Linda, his wife, and his two sons Biff and Happy support him. Biff’s personality is crucial because he is the one character in the play who faces Willy’s inner turmoil and aspirations, and he is the only one who appears to achieve any development.

As the play opens, Biff has just returned home from a cattle drive out west. He is dirty, tired, and hungry, but instead of being welcomed home with open arms, he is met with his father’s disappointment. Willy is angry that Biff didn’t become a success out west like he was supposed to, and Biff is resentful of his father’s unrealistic expectations. The conflict between them sets the stage for the rest of the play.

Throughout Death of a Salesman, Biff tries to come to terms with his failed relationship with his father. In one key scene, he confronts Willy about his lies and half-truths, telling him “I’m not gonna settle for what you were! I’m not gonna end up like you!” (Miller, Death of a Salesman, Act 2). This line speaks to the heart of the play – Biff wants to break free from his father’s shadow and create his own identity.

Sadly, Biff never gets the chance. In the final scene of the play, he has a mental breakdown after confronting Willy about his role in Bernard’s death. Biff had always suspected that his father was somehow responsible for Bernard’s suicide, and this final confrontation is too much for him to handle. He collapses on the floor, screaming “I’m nothing!” (Miller, Death of a Salesman, Act 2).

Biff’s role in Death of a Salesman is essential, as he represents the hope of a better future. He is the only character who shows any real signs of growth, and his struggles with his father are emblematic of the play’s larger themes. Death of a Salesman is ultimately about the failure of the American Dream, and Biff’s character provides a glimmer of hope that things can get better.

Biff is essential to the play because he helps to focus Willy’s conflict for much of the time, his own conflict is largely attributed to Willy, and finally, he is the only character who achieves growth or a sense of closure in the play. Biff’s absence from life continues to gnaw at Willy. Biff, who is now in his thirties, remains mobile from place to place, job to job. Most recently, he has worked as a farmhand again.

This is in direct contrast to Biff’s view of himself, which is that he is a total screw-up. This creates an ongoing battle between Willy and Biff as they attempt to understand each other.

One of the most important scenes in the play takes place when Biff finally confronts his father about his disappointment in him. In this scene, Willy finally understands why Biff has been so angry with him for so long. Biff tells his father, “You never gave me a chance! You wanted me to be something I couldn’t be!” This confession forces Willy to take a look at his own life and see that he has not been living up to his own potential either. The play ends with Biff making the decision to finally take control of his life and forge his own path.

While Biff’s role in the play is essential, it is also important to note that he is not the only character who goes through a journey of self-discovery. Willy, Linda, and Happy all experience their own conflicts and revelations throughout the course of the play. However, Biff’s story is unique in that he is the only one who seems to come out of it with a sense of resolution. The other characters are left in a state of limbo, still struggling to figure out their place in the world. This makes Biff’s role even more important, as he represents the hope that change is possible, even in the face of adversity.

Willy believes that he will be loved if he is well-liked, and thus it is crucial for him to have a positive relationship with Biff. Willy claims that the more likes you have, the less you want (1363). Because of Biff’s lack of motivation and desire to succeed, his role is quite significant in the play.

Biff has always been searching for his purpose in life, and he finally realizes that it is not to please his father, but to find his own way. Biff’s role is important because he is the one who brings about Willy’s downfall, and ultimately leads to Willy’s suicide.

Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances, and has been revived on Broadway four times, winning three Tony Awards for Best Revival. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.

The play is set in an unnamed American city during the 1940s. The story follows the life of Willy Loman, a traveling salesman who has been employed by his company for thirty-six years. Struggling to make ends meet, Willy finds himself increasingly unable to compete in the ever-changing marketplace. When Willy’s son Biff, a successful businessman, returns home after many years away, he confronts his father about the various lies and failures that have marked his life. In the end, Willy Loman takes his own life.

Biff Loman is one of the most important characters in Death of a Salesman. A struggling former high school football star, Biff is constantly at odds with his father, Willy. Biff is constantly trying to please his father, but he is never able to live up to Willy’s impossible standards. Biff is also in conflict with himself, as he struggles to find his place in the world.

Willy Loman spends most of Death of a Salesman focusing on Biff and trying to get him to live up to his potential. It is Biff who finally brings about Willy’s downfall, and ultimately leads to Willy’s suicide. Biff’s role in the play is therefore extremely important. Death of a Salesman is a tragedy, and Biff is the tragic hero.

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  6. Make Mine Freedom

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  1. In Death of a Salesman, what is the conflict between Willy and Biff

    Quick answer: The link between Willy and Biff in Death of a Salesman is mostly seen as a reflection of each other. However, they are more different than they are similar. This can be seen...

  2. Death of a Salesman: Sample A+ Essay: Willy Loman's Constant

    To an unusual degree, The Death of a Salesman interweaves past and present action. Willy Loman, the play's protagonist, repeatedly revisits old memories, sometimes even conflating them with the present moment. But these memories are not the sentimental, slightly melancholy daydreams of a contented man.

  3. Conflict In Death Of A Salesman English Literature Essay

    In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, every character in the play deals with conflict at one point or another. However, Willy Loman is confronted with a large amount of conflicts throughout the play. None of Willy's conflicts, Willy versus Biff, Willy versus himself, and Willy versus society, are resolved by the end of the play.

  4. Scene 13

    Death of a Salesman Scene 13 Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 13 Summary Biff informs Willy that he is leaving home forever, severing all ties with the family. Willy refuses to shake Biff's hand and tells him to "rot in hell if you leave this house!" Willy accuses Biff of wasting his life out of spite.

  5. Arthur Miller: Relationships in the "Death of a Salesman" Essay (Review)

    Biff's Conflict. Willy goes to great length to prove that popularity is the key to success and encourages Biff to fight with his uncle Ben, something that has an important meaning and infuriates Lindah so much. ... As the analysis essay on Death of a Salesman shows, this is delusional and far from reality. Willy strived to make his son Biff ...

  6. Death of a Salesman Act 1 Summary & Analysis

    In a kind of daydream, Willy's rugged, dignified older brother Ben appears onstage. Willy tells Charley that Ben died only a few weeks ago, in Africa. In his grogginess, he talks to Charley and Ben at the same time. He becomes confused, and accuses Charley, who has just won a hand, of playing the game wrong.

  7. Biff Loman Character Analysis in Death of a Salesman

    Biff Loman. Unlike Willy and Happy, Biff feels compelled to seek the truth about himself. While his father and brother are unable to accept the miserable reality of their respective lives, Biff acknowledges his failure and eventually manages to confront it. Even the difference between his name and theirs reflects this polarity: whereas Willy ...

  8. Death of a Salesman: Full Play Analysis

    His two sons, Biff and Happy, are visiting. However, the play constantly shifts between past and present, creating a disorientation of time that is reflected in dialogue. These shifts emphasize the role of memory and draw attention to one of the main character's internal conflicts: Willy struggles against his own false hopes for his children.

  9. A Summary and Analysis of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

    Death of a Salesman: analysis. Miller's family had been relatively prosperous during the playwright's childhood, but during the Great Depression of the 1930s, as with many other families, their economic situation became very precarious. This experience had a profound impact on Miller's political standpoint, and this can be seen in much of ...

  10. Conflict Between Biff And Willy Loman In Arthur Miller's Death...

    In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman there is a conflict between Biff and his father Willy. This conflict between Biff and Willy comes from many sources such as Willy's infidelity, the pressure Biff feels to succeed, and their family's false idea of the American dream.

  11. Fathers and Sons Theme in Death of a Salesman

    Fathers and Sons Theme Analysis. Fathers and Sons. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Death of a Salesman, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The central conflict of the play is between Willy and his elder son Biff, who showed great promise as a young athlete and ladies' man, but in adulthood has become ...

  12. The Dynamic Relationship Between Willy and Biff Loman in Death ...

    This paper is about two main characters in The Death of a Saleman, Willy and Biff.Willy and Biff are father and son who have an irreparable relationship. According to the author, Biff represents a failure in that his father does not think he has a credible job, his father feels he is trying to spite him, and his father is disappointed in his bad grades.

  13. Death Of A Salesman Conflict Analysis

    In Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman's life seems to be slowly deteriorating. It is clear that Willy's predicament is of his own doing, and that his own foolish pride and ignorance lead to his downfall.

  14. The Importance of Biffs Role in Death of a Salesman

    Willy is angry that Biff didn't become a success out west like he was supposed to, and Biff is resentful of his father's unrealistic expectations. The conflict between them sets the stage for the rest of the play. Throughout Death of a Salesman, Biff tries to come to terms with his failed relationship with his father.

  15. Death of a salesman conflict essay Flashcards

    the play Death of a salesman is a tragedy written by Arthur Miller the protagonist of the play is Willy Loman an unsuccessful salesman with a rapidly declining mental state as he comes to terms with his failures as a father and salesman the play has themes of capitalism, wealth, the American dream and also features symbolism the main conflict in the play is between willy and his son Biff as ...

  16. Death of a Salesman

    In Death of a Salesman,a drama by Arthur Miller, presents the conflict between to main characters, the traveling salesman, Willy Loman, and his son Biff. This discord is founded in the fact that each man is faced with the impractical ideals placed on them by the other. This leads to the subsequent shattering of Willy and Biff's hopes.

  17. In Death of a Salesman, how are Biff and Willy depicted as idealists

    In Death of a Salesman, how are Biff and Willy depicted as idealists? PDF Cite Share Expert Answers Mary Sutton | Certified Educator Share Cite Biff and Willy both look to each other for...

  18. The Plot in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Essay

    Essay on Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. The father-son conflict between Willy and Biff is complex. First of all, there is a strong personal attachment. He wants Biff to love him. He remembers the fondness shown for him by Biff as a boy, and he still craves this. At this point, however, relations are strained.

  19. What contrasts exist between the characters Willy and Biff?

    Arthur Miller 's Death of a Salesman portrays a complex relationship between father and son. And yes, you are right, there are many similarities between the two, and it is obvious that...