Biff And Willy Loman In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Decent Essays
There is an optimistic mood at the beginning of Act II because Biff and Willy are both looking forward to bettering themselves. Biff is acting hopeful by leaving the house early in the morning. His attitude seems to have changed majorly into something upbeat. Also, he shaved to give himself a professional look before going to see Bill Oliver. Willy is also acting hopeful by changing his mood. Willys mood seems to change into something sanguine. He’s taking the chance of getting a job closer to his family. He would be able to have a burden taken off of him. These men became hopeful with ideas that could possibly help them better their lives, with becoming hopeful they are both trying to achieve their goals.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Claire and I choreographed a duet based upon Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman. We focused on the question of why Willy ultimately commits suicide. We decided that the answer lies in his delusions. His misguided beliefs of what his life has become are the start of the delusions and his idea of the American dream fuels them. In our dance I represent who Willy believes he is; a well-liked and successful salesman.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Death of a Salesman Act 1 Questions: Why would Willy get excited about Biff coming home, but when the date got closer Willy would act differently? What is the motif behind it all? I believe Willy got excited at first because he would picture Biff as that little boy whom he loved very much. His attitude would change after because he would remember that Biff did not have a successful job like he expected him to have.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Requiring the “grand outdoors” (85), the perception of masculinity, and a new start, Brooklyn is no home for the Lomans. Willy often muses about a time in the past when Brooklyn was full of greenery and promises “a little place out in the country” (72) once he becomes successful. However, this new beginning is just as unreachable as a small garden in urban Brooklyn. Always mentioning seeds, Willy Loman elevates the constant reminder in his head of going back to nature and being amongst the natural world solely as a man. Correspondingly, Biff’s only wish is to be in the outdoors “with [his] shirt off” (23), embracing the world and his masculinity.…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the past hundreds of years, entertainment has been an abundant source of leisure and recreation for citizens, rich or poor. From the ancient Romans cheering elite gladiators in the Coliseum to contemporary couch potatoes binge watching their favorite sports teams on ESPN, entertainment has remained relatively similar through time. The art of literature is one of these forms of entertainment; its worldly messages have made it able to thrive over hundreds of year. One of these themes is people have dreams for the future.…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    At the beginning of the flashback, Willy is shown as talking to young Biff and Happy, and representing a more stereotypical parent than he appears in the present time scenes of the play. He is full of guidance, providing knowledge to his children, as a typical parent would, saying "Just wanna be careful with those girls Biff" which also shows a protective side to him. He also says "You want to watch your schooling first", as he knows what is better for his children, and looks out for them. This could also represent a calmer side to Willy, as he is not frustrated by his children, and instead calmly provides advice, allowing the audience to wonder why he has changed so much. However, some of his personality appears to be similar, as his mercurial…

    • 1442 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Good afternoon, today we are gathered here, to honor my late husband Willy Loman. Willy was a kind, loving and hardworking man. He always worked his hardest to make sure out family had the things we needed. Willy was a very proud man. His pride often got in the way of his happiness.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Willie completely loses his mind with the desire to see his sons’ affluence. In addition, he wants his son Biff to seek an office job in a town firm, but he declines since that is not where his passion is. He prefers to undertake manual work. Furthermore, both Happy and Biff show commitment to their dreams by abandoning their father at a restaurant following his outburst. Despite the fact that Willy did not like his traveling job as a salesman, he continued to pursue it knowing that he was a rather hands-on man.…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman through his character Linda Lohman unveils the importance of not letting grudges or disagreement get in the way of helping and caring for the people that mean the most. When Biff is about to go to bed Linda shockingly explains that Willy has been trying to kill himself by sucking gas from the water heater. “It happened to fall out – was a length of rubber pipe”(pg 43). Biff did not know this was going on and now offers to stay at home and find a job in marketing and sales to help with the stress Willy is under at this point. He puts aside what he and his father have against each other and wants to help his father.…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Willy was disappointed with his life and the life he has provided for his family. After learning about how the interview went between Biff and his former employer, Willy was upset and argued with Biff about not living up to his expectations in the business world. Willy’s life was spiraling downhill. After all of his disappointments he thought he would be worth more dead than alive and that his…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Though there are many temptations that draw us into making bad choices in life, ultimately, we each are solely responsible for the decisions that we make. Regardless of what was occurring in Willy’s environment, he still had choices. For example, Charley not once, but several times offers Willy a job to which Willy refuses. Charley first makes the offer in Willy’s kitchen stating: “You want a job” (Kirszner and Mandell, 2012, p. 982). No doubt at this juncture in the story, Willy could have made a decision that could have altered his future, but instead he refuses Charley’s offer telling him he has a job.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout his childhood, Happy is constantly neglected as Willy places unreasonable expectations for Biff’s future. Consequently, Happy becomes apprehensive of the fact that his father may love Biff more, resulting in his efforts to divert his attention away from Biff. All in all, Happy in is need of his father’s attention to medicate his…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Willy instils into his mind that, because he must earn money he still has a job with Howard and he’ll “go to Boston tomorrow” (Miller). His conscience refuses to accept the fact he no longer has a job believing that he deserves the world for all that he believed he did in the past for the sales firm, “I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week” (Miller). Willy continues to live in his own mind in which he provides for his own image and…

    • 1159 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Arthur Miller's, Tragedy and the Common Man, he writes “Tragedy implies more optimism in its author than does comedy.” In society, failing corresponds with traits such as weakness and laziness. However; failures bring the path to success and opportunity. Biff is the perfect example of someone who has faced the struggle to overcome the negative desires embedded in him at a young age, but as his father suffers, this makes Biff become more of a man than his father could ever make him. His father made poor choices so did he but there was always an aspect of hope seen in the characters.…

    • 144 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While Biff and Happy are in their childhood room, many emotional/ mental differences between the two brothers are revealed. Growing up, Biff was Willy's preferred son. Willy had high hopes for his eldest son and expected him to follow in his footsteps as a salesman. Biff was popular throughout his high school days and was admired by many boys who looked up to him and was loved by many girls. However, Biff never graduated high school and ultimately disappointed his father.…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Death of a Salesman there is a large amount of false hope present throughout the entire film. Linda provides the support her family needs in order for them to all stay together, even if the things she supported were not true. She supported her husband, and two sons even as they were lost and disorganized. Linda’s support toward her family leads the audience to recognize the theme of lost identity.…

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays