How can this play said to be about fathers and sons?

In this play there are various relationships between father and son. As the writer, Arthur miller was Jewish himself the importance of the relationships between father and son are dominating in this play.

     One of the father and son relationships which are linked into this play is the relationship between Willy and his father, or, the lack of relationship. As we first find out on page 31 during one of Willy’s flashbacks with his brother Ben, Willy asks Ben ‘Where is dad?’ This shows the audience of Willy’s need to have a father figure there to guide him. As he had grown up with the absence of his father, when Willy tells Ben ‘I still feel kind of temporary about myself’ (page 35) this suggests to the audience that the non-existence of his father is the source of Willy’s failure. Without a father present, Willy is not sure on how to bring ‘his boys’ up. When they were younger he believed that the key to success was to be ‘rugged, well – liked, all around’ but, in contrast we find out that this has not helped them during later life.  

    As Willy had grown up without a father, for him, Ben took the place of a ‘father figure’, conversely Ben never seems to guide Willy or answer any of Willy’s questions, ‘What’s the answer? How did you do it?’ Ben replies with ‘Oh, there’s a story in that.’ He never seems to give any support or advice to Willy, instead he claims of his own success; ‘When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich.’ These few sentences is what Willy has a clear memory of, Ben comes across to the audience as boastful. Miller has created a character which is successful but it shows the audience that ‘success’ does not necessarily make pleasant individuals. Ben enters on page 21; the stage directions give the audience a clear vision of what Ben looks like. ‘Carrying a valise and an umbrella’ this tells the audience of Ben’s status, a valise means business, and a valise and an umbrella would have thought to be expensive. ‘He is a stolid man, in his sixties, with a moustache and an authoritative air’ A ‘moustache’ tells us that he is ‘well groomed’, ‘authoritative air’ tells the audience that he is respected, confident and firm. Willy looks up to Ben but through the stage directions, we learn to know that Ben doesn’t have the time for Willy, ‘Ben looks at his watch’ this is a rude gesture as if he’d rather be some where else.  Ben says to Willy on page 29 ‘(chuckling) so this is Brooklyn, eh?’ As Ben was ‘chuckling’ it is as if Brooklyn isn’t good enough for him and nothing compared to where he had been, and where he lives. This is insulting to Willy however Willy doesn’t pick up on this as he thinks that Ben is ‘important’ and right. Miller had crafted a great contrast between to the two characters Ben and Willy. Due to this, the audience feels sympathy towards Willy.

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    Willy met Dave Singleman, and he became the reason why Willy became a Salesman himself. Seeing how Dave got respect, he was admired and loved; Willy believed that ‘selling was the greatest career a man could want.’ Willy had always believed in the American Dream. He thought that if he became a salesman like Dave Singleman then he would achieve his own American Dream. The ironic thing is that at the age of eighty – four, Dave was still remembered and still earned a living, however, Willy, being in his sixties is finding it hard to cope. Willy ...

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