In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willys distorted view of reality affects not only his view of success but also the views of his sons.

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        In the play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, Willy’s distorted view of reality affects not only his view of success but also the view’s of his sons.  Despite the fact that he works in a remedial position at work, Willy thinks he is some what of a legend in the sales market.  Because he thinks he is so successful he places unrealistic expectations on his two sons, Biff and Happy.  These expectations have severe negative implications on the lives of both Biff and Happy.

As a child Biff idolized his father, but as he matured he realized how dishonest his father was and they grew apart.  The main cause of this was the expectation that Biff be an extraordinary man and have a fantastic career, however this just isn’t realistic.  Biff no longer wants any part of Willy's delusions.  Biff realizes neither him or his father is anything special and doesn’t hesitate to tell him: “I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you.  You were never anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash can like the rest of them!” (Act 2) Biff not only tells Willy that he wasn’t the man he thinks he is in his mind but he tells him that he needs to let go of his outrageous presumptions, he insists he be left alone to live his life. He's begging his father to allow him to measure his personal success in his own way: “I’m not bringing home any prizes anymore and you’re going to stop waiting for me to bring them home!” (Act 2) As soon as Biff is released from his father’s fantasies he begins to excel in his own way and becomes happy in his own right.

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Happy, is blindly loyal to his father and desperately seeks his approval. He shares his father’s ability for delusion and exemplifies his father’s worst traits.  Unlike, Biff he is unable to see the mistakes his father made and even after Willy’s death he tries to defend his father and cover the mistakes he made.  In his father's memory, Happy asserts that Willy had the right aspirations, and he will attempt to complete his father's dreams to prove it.   “It’s the only dream you can have-to come out number one man.  He fought it out here, and this is where ...

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