Death of a Salesman (Analysis and Personal Reaction)
Illusions are all over the book, from beginning to the final unveiling at the end. As Biff says in the end: "We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house! (pg 1625)". Happy is a perfect example of a character living a lie, an illusion. He keeps bragging about being rich assistant buyer in his company, saying he's just waiting for the merchant manager to die to get promoted, when it is later revealed that he is only one of two assistants to the assistant buyer... basically nothing. He also gets girls by weaving illusions around them. For example, in the restaurant, when he acts like he owns a brand of Champaign, and then goes on to pretend Biff is the quarterback to the New York Giants, even pausing before his lie to ask if she knew about football before proceeding. And before he even tricks the girls, he tells his friend at the restaurant that Biff is a big cattle man out West. Another great example would be Happy's supposed love for his father. He says "I'm nervous about him. (pg 1552)" but then says "I don't know what to do about him, it's getting embarrassing. (pg 1556)", showing that he is more concerned about the appearances than with his father's well being. Happy also tries to get Biff to convince Willy that he's got a good shot of getting a loan, even though there was no chance, to keep him happy for the next few years, though never revealing the truth or gaining any money. Happy finally shows he is consumed by the illusion, partially due to his father, of making it big. He even says at the end: "All right, boy. I'm gonna show you and everyone else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have --- to come out number-one man. He fought it out here and this is where I'm gonna win it for him. (pg 1630)", even admitting it's a dream, but not able to distinguish the illusionary dreams with reality.
Another character wrapped in illusions is Biff. Until the very end, and even still a bit then, Biff lives a life of lies and illusions as well. For example, he plays along with Happy, pretending to be the quarterback in the restaurant. He also said he had been without an address for 3 months because he was out on a ranch, when, at the end we finally figure out it was because he simply went to jail for stealing a suit. He, like Willy and Happy, also feels he is more important than others, at least unil the end. We can see this during one of Willy's flashbacks Happy and Bernard are arguing over who gets to carry Biff's football helmet into the stadium, making him seem and most likely feel like a star, or, in another flashback, when Willy says to Biff: "Bernard can get the best marks in school, y'understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y'understand, you are going to be five times...
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