Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Willy Loman finally realized, to an extent, that he had been living a life of illusion and self-deception. Towards the end of the play he concludes that would be worth more to the family dead then alive, "After all the highways, and the trains, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive." His son Biff has seen the truth about his father's self delusions much earlier then Willy. This causes clash 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 nobodys.

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.

When Biff was growing up he was a star football player with scholarship opportunities from two universities. Sliding along in high school on his good looks and athletic ability Biff ends up flunking his math class. Biff takes a trip to Boston to find his father, who he is convinced will be able to persuade his math teacher to give him a passing grade. Biff finds his father in a Boston hotel room with another women. Biff's illusions, nurtured by Willy for his entire life, are shattered. Biff could not deal with his father's adultery and from that point on he considers his father to be a fake.

Biff's rejection of Willy's values leads Biff to become a failure in his own right. He works in the west on a ranch and has not been able to hold down steady work since leaving school. Willy does not see that his sons are failures. Through the illusions that Willy believes, he cannot see that Biff is nobody and not bound to be successful, as defined by Willy.

The real metaphorical death in the play is the death of Willy's dreams that Biff will one day want to follow in his father's footsteps.

Willy became a salesman because of his awe for an old time salesman that he once knew. His admiration is evident when he states, "He died the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers..." For Willy this pedestrian death seems to be the evidence of the mans success. Biff rejects Willy's beliefs in a steady job with the same company. Biff disparages this idea when he says, "To suffer fifty weeks a year for the sake of a two-week vacation." Biff's conflict with his father hinges on Biff's desire to know himself and to be true to finding his bliss. Biff believes that Willy rejected this a long time ago, "He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong."

Biff has rejected his father's concept of how to make it in the world. He has chosen to be basically a ranch hand somewhere in the west. For Willy this seems unfathomable.