What assigned role does Biff play in the Loman family? What roles are played by Happy? Linda? Willy? Is Biff exaggerating when he claims,

The first 200 words of this essay...

Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller

What assigned role does Biff play in the Loman family? What roles are played by Happy? Linda? Willy? Is Biff exaggerating when he claims, " We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house" What does he mean?

In every family unit or household there are roles that each members have to play. These are there so that each person knows what is expected of them and what to expect from other people. They can be basic roles such as the housework, for example one of a housewife's roles would be to keep the house clean. Or they can be less obvious, for example always being available to offer emotional support and being a friendly shoulder to cry on. These varied roles within a group of people can be recognised and discussed by the members, overt, or it can be that the members themselves don't even realise they exist or that any of these roles are assigned to them within the family group, covert. The roles that each member plays can be dependant on several things, for instance age, experience, sex or even the job that they do.