Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - Essay Example

?Death of a Salesman The interplay of truth and illusion often goes unexplained by the rational mind. This interplay has more than one form and its impact varies from one case to another. However the final effect of dishonesty and lies or attempts to escape from reality is usually not desirable. In case of the “Death of a Salesman”, the main character, Willy Loman seeks solace in some illusionary positive thoughts in times of distress or in the face of knowing the harsh truth. Sometimes it works positively for the person but the ultimate result is not desirable. The form of illusion highlighted here may be termed as self-deception. Though Willy himself was never a big success and even at the age of sixty he had to borrow money from Charley to pay his bills, he is inquisitive and critical of his son Biff. Willy was critical of the fact that Biff has not yet “found himself” which was a disgrace. He seems to be oblivious to the fact that even he was not half as successful as Biff at that age. When Linda tells him not to be too critical of Biff since he admires him, Willy tells her, “I simply asked him if he was making any money. Is that a criticism?" (Miller 7) This shows his over consciousness regarding money matters and a reader who is not introduced to Willy’s state of mind and existence would think that he was perhaps a very successful businessman himself. This reflects a very significant symptom of the disease - confusion and illusions that lead to unorganized thinking. In fact he is to a large extent responsible for his sons’ (Biff and Happy) immaturity and slow emotional development as he pampers them during their teenage years and tells them the importance of appearance over substance showing them the dreams of high promises held by their future. He recalls that Biff had a promising teenage but he lost many opportunities and hence could not make anything out of life. This also reveals his evasion from admitting that he is failure as a father. Biff has grown up admiring his father more by his words than actions. He has not been a successful student and failed in Math. Bernard, the son of Willy’s friend Charlie has always been a good grade achiever but according to Willy Charlie is not well liked like himself and following the same Biff responds to his father’s query about Willy’s popularity, saying that he is liked but not “well liked”. Willy even brags to his wife, saying that even though Bernard, the son of his friend gets good grades in schools, he cannot grow into a successful businessman unlike Biff and Happy. Willy’s comments at this juncture is worth taking a deeper reading, “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 ahead of him. That’s why I thank Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. 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. You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer.” (Miller 21) The above lines expresses his self boasting nature and setting a wrong example in front of his son Biff who ends up idolizing his father and following the wrong way. Staying around his father with a doting wife his sons cannot see his faults and all they end up learning is to give importance to appearance. Biff who has grown up with the habit of a Kleptomaniac never faces his father’s disapproval when he lies about borrowing the things which he actually ends up stealing. When Willy tells Biff to study, the latter shows him the emblem of his University of Virginia he created on his sneakers. Bernard points out that those sneakers cannot obtain good grades for him. He also says, “I heard Mr. Birnbaum say that if you don’t start studyin’ math he’s gonna flunk you, and you won’t graduate. I heard him!” (Miller 20) Finally Willy ends up shunning away Bernard saying, “Don’t be a pest, Bernard! (To his boys.) What an anemic!” (Miller 21) Ultimately Willy has to end up borrowing money from Charlie. He lives in his past where he recalls all events to be blissful though as a reader with normal psyche one cannot deem them quite idyllic. As Willy focuses on promoting his sons to be future geniuses, Biff ends up losing his jobs and struggling to make it big for himself. He feels the brooding inefficiency within himself which is in conflict with his father’s expectations from him. The readers clearly find that Willy despite knowing his son’s problem of habitual stealing ignores them or smile it away as he does by laughing when Biff tells him the football story as he says, “Coach’ll probably congratulate you on your initiative” (Miller 20). The story enfolds elements of American Dream. Willy even teaches Biff not to promise anything to girls and be careful about the fact that they might take his approach towards them seriously – “just wanna be careful with those girls, Biff, that’s all. Don’t make any promises. No promises of any kind. Because a girl y’know, they always believe what you tell ‘em” (Miller 17). Willy enjoys Biff’s popularity with girls and his capability to escape the thefts he commits. he strongly believes that charms and popularity can surpass hard work and merit. Even Happy reflects the loopholes in Willy’s fathering as he turns into a womanizer who sleeps with his managers’ wife and thus engages in stealing and getting a kind of satisfaction from the same. Such overindulgence comes from the fact that he has failed to get his father’s attention like his brother. Biff knows in his heart that a farm life will be more suitable for him but Willy’s expectations about his son come in conflict with his achievements –“How can he find himself on a farm? Is that life? A farm-hand? In the beginning, when he was young, I thought, well, a young man, it’s good for him to tramp around, take a lot of different jobs. But it’s more than ten years now and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week!” (Miller 7). Willy also expresses his surprise about a young man getting lost despite his “personal attractiveness” for which he has worked quite hard behind his sons (Miller 8). He suggests than a selling job would be good for him since everyone used to follow Biff around in high school. He identifies Biff with himself somewhere with the appearance factor in mind and thinking that mere charm can win it all. Biff’s lost state is prominent in his self confession to Happy where he also says that he finds the ultimate satisfaction on a farm as he worked his Nebraska. He observes, “I’ve always made a point of not wasting my life, and everytime I come back here. I know that all I’ve done is to waste my life” (Miller 13). Its is his father who makes him feel that way and he is also disappointed by the fact that he has tried to work for Oliver and stole some basketballs which compelled him to quit finally and he is hesitant to see Oliver despite knowing the fact that his assistance could help him buy a ranch and pursue his dreams. From the above discussion it is clear that Biff has seen a series of failures owing to the improper grooming in his early days or teenage years when he was spoiled by his father who backed his faults happily as long as he finds him attractive enough to be followed around and having charms to impress people. He does not care if he fails or is about to fail in math and fails to admit criticisms in both his lives as well as his son’s. The irony is that finally he ends up criticizing Biff who makes nothing out of his career and is completely lost. This is an expected outcome judging his early years despite the fact that Willy recalls those years as idyllic during his daydreams. Work Cited Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." 2011. en8848. Web. 5 May 2011. . Read More