On the other hand, Linda could be more realistic disagreeing her husband in some aspects and not giving him always the reason. In the book, for example, she becomes realistic and tells her husband what she thinks it is best for their family. Instead of being a loyal wife agreeing in all he says and all he thinks she is more realistic and less fragile telling him the truly life they are having, a life of lies and false hopes.
In conclusion, an exact meaning of good wife can not be defined because it depends on what each person thinks. There can be a standard meaning of how a good wife should be but it is always going to be an incomplete or false definition.
How do parents ruin their children’s future?
The job of the parents is to expose their child to as much as possible so that the child will be able to make educated decisions, if they are unsuccessful in this endeavor, then they can ruin the future of their child.
For example, in the book “Death of a Salesman,” by Arthur Miller, Willy attempted to make his sons, Biff and Happy, into successful people, unfortunately, his version of success is not the same as theirs. Willy’s idea of success is to do what society thinks is best. He obtains this success at the expense of his dreams. For example, at the end of the book, Willy wanted to plant carrot seeds, leading the reader to believe that he might have wanted to be a farmer rather than a salesman. On the other hand, to Biff, success is accomplishing what he wants despite everyone else’s opinion. Conversely, Happy just wanted to make his father proud working as an assistant of an assistant buyer in a store. His dreams were as limited as his father’s.
Obviously, Willy wanted to obtain the “American Dream.” He worked very hard as a salesman to earn money for his family and he, ironically, ends up cheating on his wife. He wanted Biff and Happy to be as “good” as he was. This backfired when Biff found out about the affair. Instead of gaining his son’s respect he caused Biff to lose faith in him.
Another way Willy fails as a father is that he doesn’t show his sons the different opportunities and alternatives in life. It leaves Happy only one path to follow. He observes his father working hard everyday and earning very little and he thinks it is the only option in life. Maybe Happy had more potential than his father allowed.
Furthermore, the most tragic affect Willy has on his sons occurs when Willy commits suicide. As a result, Biff, influenced by his father’s ideas, becomes a salesman in New York to vindicate his father’s death. Even though Biff was the only one who saw Willy for who he really was, he still decided not to follow his own dream of being a farmer.
Ultimately, Willy had many negative influences on his sons. He limited what they could become by having such a narrow version of the American Dream. As a result, Biff and Happy are doomed to the life of a salesman as well.
