Biff (of his father): He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong. Discuss Biff's assessment of Willy's 'dreams' in the context of the play as a whole

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Miller: Death of a Salesman

Biff (of his father): He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.

Discuss Biff’s assessment of Willy’s ‘dreams’ in the context of the play as a whole.

        

Arthur Miller in “Death of a salesman” utilises the character of Biff to expose the falsity of Willy’s Loman’s beliefs and dreams, especially with regards to his belief in The American Dream. Biff’s assessment of Willy’s dreams is accurate; Willy’s values and dreams are misplaced and deluded. Although Willy has a strong desire for success for himself and his family, which on first appearance sounds like a positive ambition, his dream is for material success, wealth and popularity. “The wrong dreams” Biff describes are Willy’s confusion of material wealth, possessions and popularity as meaning success in life and relationships and his delusion with certain aspects of these ambitions. These “wrong dreams” all stem from the context of post-war American consumerism and the American Dream: that everyone has the opportunity in America to achieve wealth and prosperity. It is through Willy’s character that Miller examines the American Dream and shows how blind unquestioning faith in such a dream can lead to tragic results. Miller shows his criticism through Willy’s bewilderment at what he sees as his lack of success as a result of this cultural dream which Willy’s inability to waver from is: “all, all wrong”.

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Willy dreams for his sons to become successful, believing this is possible through his faith in the American Dream. However in high school Willy’s sons were never encouraged to work hard. They were popular and good-looking and as far as Willy is concerned they will achieve his dreams of success for them because of this. Because Willy passes on this mentality to Biff and Happy, both of them are unable to hold down respectable, professional jobs. Willy’s delusions for this dream are shown by his claims that:

        “Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young ...

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