Death Of A Salesman Critical Lens Essay

Throughout the constant journey of life you are often under pressure. There is pressure to satisfy, pressure you put on yourself and the pressure that other people put on you. Throughout the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and the short story “Brother Dear” by Bernice Friesen, the characters find themselves facing these pressures on a daily basis. Both plotlines show how people can experience these pressures, for all different reasons, during various times in their life. In Death of a Salesman, Biff, a son of the main character, Willy, is struggling with the pressure to impress his father and satisfy him. Willy is constantly complaining about Biff, saying he is a bum and is not good. One day Biff decides he is going to try to go into business, just like his father, hoping to make Willy happy. He speaks to his mother about this, “It’s just-you see, Mom, I don’t fit in business. Not that I won’t try. I’ll try, and I’ll make good” (Miller 60). Biff knows that he will not be successful in the business world and that it is not for him, but he is going to try it anyways just so his Dad will be proud of him. The pressure to satisfy his father is so big that Biff is willing to do something he does not want to do just to make him happy. Similarly, in “Brother Dear” Greg is also under the pressure to satisfy his father. Greg
However Greg does not want to do what his Dad wants, but what he wants. Eventually, after years of pressure, Greg applies pressure onto himself to tell his father his real plans. He tells his Dad how he got a job planting trees for the summer, so he no longer has to pay his rent anymore. When his father questions how he will make enough money for rent and tuition Greg responds saying, “I’m not going back to school” (Friesen 4). Just like Biff, Greg makes himself confess and tell his father the truth about his