Biff And Happy In Death Of A Salesman Research Paper

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The Characters of Biff and Happy in Death of a Salesman





No one has a perfect life; everyone has conflicts that they must face sooner or later. The ways in which people deal with these personal conflicts can differ as much as the people themselves. Some insist on ignoring the problem for as long as possible, while others face up to the problem immediately to get it out of the way.



Biff and Happy Loman are good examples of this, although both start from the same point, they end up going in different directions with Happy still living in his world of lies and Biff, being set free by the truth.



Happy Loman is Willy's youngest son and is often over shadowed by his older brother Biff and ignored …show more content…

This provides the reader with evidence that the ideas that Willy presented to his sons would make history repeat itself in the next generation.



Unlike his brother and father Biff Loman feels compelled to seek the truth about himself. He is Willy's pride and joy, being the first-born; Biff is the personification of all of Willy's dreams, he would be respected and "well liked".



As a teenager, Biff worshipped his father. He was everything Willy wanted him to be -- star athlete, popular with the girls, "well liked" by everyone, he was



"Like a young god. Hercules".



Biff's world began to collapse when he failed maths at high school and wasn't able to Graduate (This was the beginning of his adult failures). When he went to Boston to seek advice and condolence from his father, he discovered Willy's mistress. Biff's image of his wondrous, hero like, father was shattered into a million pieces. Everything in Biff's image of his father had been a lie, and the bond between them was …show more content…

You phony little fake! You fake!"



During his adult life, Biff drifted from job to job. Willy sees Biff as an underachiever, whereas Biff sees himself trapped by Willy's flamboyant fantasies. After his moment of realization while waiting in Bill Oliver's office, Biff begins to realize that his life up till now has been a complete sham; he no longer wants to pretend to be something he`s not. He does not want to end up like his father; he is determined to break through the lies surrounding the Loman family in order to introduce some realism into his life.



Biff's break through comes when he returns home with his father from `Frank's Chop House'. He realises that to reclaim his own identity he must expose his father's false illusions.



Biff: " Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you!"



Willy: " I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman and you are Biff Loman!"

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