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

In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman there is a conflict between Biff and his father Willy. This conflict between Biff and Willy comes from many sources such as Willy’s infidelity, the pressure Biff feels to succeed, and their family’s false idea of the American dream. These conflicts contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole because the conflicts contribute to the pivotal realization that society is at fault for giving both the parent and child such unrealistic views of the American Dream. The first conflict that is evident between Biff and Willy is the tension between them as Biff returns home; it is not just the way the men constantly argue and bicker but the varying ways that they think of one another. Willy, although he may get frustrated and aggravated with Biff at times, still recognizes Biff’s work ethic. Even if Biff’s …show more content…
Unfortunately, Willy 's insanity has “deleterious effects on his sons” especially Biff, since Happy appears to act as if Willy’s behavior does not phase him one bit (Ardolino.) However this could very well be because the major tension is attributed to the affair that Biff now had knowledge of where Happy does not. Biff shows concern towards his father but does not want his father to know this, Biff tries to maintain a certain facade toward his father because he never fully forgives him for being unfaithful. It is almost as if Biff is not just dealing with the conflict with his father but an inner conflict with himself on whether he will forgive his father or not for cheating on his mother and giving his mistress the stockings that he always brought home to Linda after being out of town for sales trips. This created more of a personal conflict for Biff than it did between Willy and Biff because Biff “rather than expose his father’s shame ... he experiences it as his own”