Preview

Comparing Biff And Happy As Willy's Sons

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
321 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing Biff And Happy As Willy's Sons
Compare and contrast Biff and Happy as Willy's sons. How do they reflect or reject Willy's philosophies? Willy Loman is a salesman with a fragile grip on reality. All his life he has strived for his version of the American dream –being "well liked" and making money– to the point where he is forced to deny reality in order to achieve it. His mind is full of delusions about his own abilities and accomplishments, and the accomplishments of his sons– Biff and Happy. Biff, the eldest son, admires his father's drive and "notoriety". He believes in his father's dreams and aspirations until he finds out he is having an affair. Learning this destroys Biff's image of his father and he rejects his philosophies while labeling him "a phony little
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Comparing Biff Loman And A Raisin In The Sun
    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Comparing Biff Loman And A Raisin In The Sun

    Biff from Death of a Salesman and Walter ,jr, from A Raisin in the Sun , both have a common attitude towards dreams and goals in their plans. They both want the end result of success, and yet they don’t want to put forth the effort necessary to achieve their goals. Biff’s dream to be a college football player was dependent on him passing math so he could graduate and get the scholarship. Still he failed the class and instead of going to summer school, he didn’t do anything about it, letting the summer slip away along with his scholarship. Even though this was apparently due to the fact that he caught his dad cheating on his mom while on business, it still seems as if biff is not a motivated person by any means. If he really loved football…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chrysanthemums vs Death of a Salesman
    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Chrysanthemums vs Death of a Salesman

    Unlike Willy and Happy, Biff feels compelled to seek the truth about himself. While his father and brother are unable to accept the miserable…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Biff Loman In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman
    • 109 Words
    • 1 Page

    Biff Loman In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

    While Biff (Willy’s eldest son) was growing up, he did everything he could to be like his father - he idolised and respected him always. However, as much as his son Biff tried to be like his father, he is, in actuality quite the different to him. Biff’s overall nature is an opposition of what a normal model for the American dream is; he has understood that it is just a myth and a pointless dream- and has acknowledged that reality. Biff’s character is stronger than that of his father, just because of that realisation. The acceptance of that reality can be seen on page 18 when he…

    • 109 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Biff And My Father In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman
    • 1311 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Comparing Biff And My Father In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

    One of the many reasons that I feel a connection with Biff and his relationship with his father, Willy, is in the play there are many moments when Willy contradicts himself. At the beginning of Act I, Willy is back home to find out that his sons are back living at home and he is really upset about this at first. Then he mentions, “‘...work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there's nobody to live in it’” (15). Later, he starts a fight with his wife Linda, saying that Biff is a lazy bum. Linda is fighting against Willy, saying that Biff is just trying to find himself and that Willy should not criticize him so much and Willy ends up changing his mind very easily and agreeing with Linda that Biff is not lazy, but even hardworking (16). Willy says many times in the play that…

    • 1311 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Willy Loman's Life Is Symbolic of the Failure of the American Dream Essay Example
    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Willy Loman's Life Is Symbolic of the Failure of the American Dream Essay Example

    Willy Loman’s failed life isn’t quite symbolic of the failure of the American dream, because Willy’s dreams and aspirations do not follow the American dream. Willy is focused on being well liked. He thinks you need a special personality to get anywhere in life, and that he and Biff have that. Biff says, “He had all the wrong dreams all, all wrong”. He wants to be a self made man but is not going the right way. He says, “I’m not a dime a dozen.” He tries to break out of the barrier stopping him, he is not special but this attempt at showing the world he is not an average man, actually makes him special. He is refusing to accept it. He becomes a tragic hero. They have a downfall, but there is a small light of hope. The audience are hoping for a happy ending, but it is obvious that it cannot end that way. Willy brought his kids up to think they are special and they can accomplish anything, until they grow up and reach the real world. For example, Years ago at Biffs football match before his maths exam. Bernard tells Willy that Biff needs to study, but Willy is focused on…

    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Death Of A Salesman Who Is To Blame For Willy's Father Essay
    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Death Of A Salesman Who Is To Blame For Willy's Father Essay

    Willy Loman had set forth expectations for Biff to live the American Dream; however the dream he had for his son was not the dream that Biff wanted to pursue. As stated by Irving Jacobson “Biff, on the other hand, is quite the polar opposite in comparison to his father. Biff’s character is an antithesis of what an ideal candidate for the American dream is- he has realized that it is just an illusion, and a futile dream-and accepted that reality.” This statement summarizes Biff Loman as compared to Willy Loman to perfection. The division the father and son had on realization led to the demise of their…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Willy Loman Dishonest
    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Willy Loman Dishonest

    Willy Loman’s moral compass often does not point true North in his life and the series of dishonest statements over many years eventually lead to his demise and detriment of his family. When his boys were young, Willy makes many promises of great riches and achievements for them, something he lives for, but never really has. While Willy continually puts Biff on a pedestal, setting him up for failure, he barely pays attention to his younger son, Happy, who simply desires respect and affirmation from his father. Further, Willy is frequently dishonest, in particular to his wife, Linda, about his income, his actual stature, and his faithfulness. It finally culminates when he is caught cheating on his wife by Biff, and goes so far to get his son to keep quiet about his indiscretion.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Willy Loman Character Analysis
    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Willy Loman Character Analysis

    One major flaw of Willy is his reliance on false hope. This can stem from his son, Biff. As seen in imaginings, adolescent Biff looks up to Willy as a great man, causing him to seek for his approval. In high school, Biff has many athletic achievements and is well liked. His awards cause for Willy to have high hopes in what he can conquer later in life. This developed vastly and became an influence in Willy’s mood. When he has a sense of hope to hold onto, he is liberated of his daily pressures. When Biff and Happy are at the restaurant with…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Willy Loman's Death Of A Salesman
    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page

    Willy Loman's Death Of A Salesman

    Willy Loman has the confidence of a billionaire. He acts like he is a hero, almost as if he ran the town. Willy’s confident attitude rubbed off onto his kids (Biff and Happy) making them believe that their father was a very successful man and that they were living the high class life. When in reality it was so far from that. Only Willy saw himself as the best. His friends, his bosses all knew he was full of talk, but never mentioned anything to him. “Well, that's the training, the training. I'm telling you, i was selling’ thousands and thousands, but I had to come home.”(34) The reality of Willy Loman's life is quite sad and pathetic, thinking that one is making so much money and is going to be so successful when really none of that is going…

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Tragic Hero Essay
    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Oedipus Tragic Hero Essay

    Willy Loman was an average citizen trying to make a successful living. Willy’s ego of his son Biff caused him to develop a mental problem. I view Willy as the superior tragic hero due to his mental problem that many people can relate to today. Almost anyone knows somebody fighting for their life due to a mental illness. Willy Loman is in the same position as his family watches and tries to help all they can. “The man is exhausted” (Linda, Pg. 59). Linda knows what is happening to Willy, and the audience sees that from her which makes things tragic. Willy also never even realizes that he is losing everything because of his stubbornness to accept the truth. Many times Biff has tried to tell him that he is living in dream, but his mental state won’t let him accept it. Towards the end of the play Willy loses his job and everything falls apart in the family which causes his tragic downfall. Willy took his own life over the same thing people take their life over today, mental illness. I view Willy Loman as the superior tragic hero because today’s society can relate to his struggles and the result of him taking his own…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Death of a Salesman Archetypes
    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Death of a Salesman Archetypes

    Mentor Pupil Relationship - Biff looks up at Willy as a mentor, as well as his father, Willy also tries to teach Biff important lessons.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Willy Tragic Hero
    • 1532 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Willy Tragic Hero

    After his epiphany in Bill Oliver 's office, Biff determines to break through the lies surrounding the Loman family. He wants to come to realistic terms with his own identity. He announces that he is only a shipping clerk and he realizes that he has never been a real salesman. Biff 's identity revelation intends to reveal the simple and humble truth behind Willy 's fantasy. Both of them face disillusionment, reflecting Pleck 's notion of the son being "regarded as extensions of their fathers" (Kimmel, 85). But Biff does a better job in acknowledging his failure and eventually manages to confront it. Willy is the "Father as Moral Overseer" (Kimmel, 84) in the play as he constantly tries to put Biff on the right track. He gets mad at the end because Biff has stolen Bill Oliver 's fountain pen, trying to "restrain the children 's sinful urges and encourage the development of sound…

    • 1532 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Assassination Of Willy Loman
    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Assassination Of Willy Loman

    Willy Loman had many blessings in his life: he had a supportive wife, two healthy children, and talent as a carpenter, yet despite possessing what many would consider to be happiness, Willy was filled with anger, resentment, and sadness at his existence, for the road he traversed was a bitter one. Willy Loman was abandoned during his childhood, stating to Ben during a flashback when asked how much he remembered about his father, “Well, I was just a baby, of course, only three or four years old” and “all I remember is a man with a big beard, and I was in Mamma’s lap, sitting around a fire, and some kind of high music.” Because of his abandonment, Willy was void of any affection or acknowledgement growing up, so he yearned to fulfill…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Contrasting Biff and Bernard in Death of a Salesman
    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Contrasting Biff and Bernard in Death of a Salesman

    Friends are an important part of life. Friends are useful to help one get through the hardships of life. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, we see the small (but present) friendship of Biff and Bernard. Biff is a football superstar, with scholarships lined up and friends galore. Bernard, his neighbour and childhood friend, is very much a book worm who decides to focus his time on his academics and unfortunately, doesn’t have many friends. Bernard had always idolized Biff throughout high school for his undeniable talent and charisma. On many occasions Bernard would offer to help Biff through his weaknesses by holding him accountable for his academics and help him pass his math course. But because of Biff’s nature he decided to pass the opportunities until he drove his life into the ground. After high school had passed, the lives of the two changed dramatically. Biff, once a man of confidence and charisma had become an unmotivated flop while Bernard’s hard work earned him the status of an important lawyer. Although Biff and Bernard shared similar opportunities to excel, their differences in upbringing, talent, and popularity lead to their success in later life.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Death of a Salesman
    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Death of a Salesman

    Willy’s pride contributes to his downfall when he implies to his two sons Biff and Happy that being well-liked will make you a more successful person than making good grades in school. Willy states, “Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets in the business world, you are going to be five times ahead of him…Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want” (1881). Because of Willy’s beliefs Biff and Hap never really tried hard in school and in Willy’s eyes they never succeeded in life, causing Willy to have delusional expectations of his sons being successful business men. Willy’s over the top sense of pride puts forward his insecurity of not meeting his own expectations when he says, “You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. ‘Willy Loman is here!’ That’s all they have to know, and I go right through” (1881). Biff and Happy are absolutely mesmerized by their father when they are younger and they believe every word Willy says to them. The older Biff and Happy get it becomes clear to them that their father was nothing more than a liar trying to make himself well-liked by others. This causes Biff and Happy to lie, cheat, and steal to make them appear more successful to others.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics