"He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong". Is Biff's valedictory opinion of his father Willy's life correct in your view?

"He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong". Is Biff's valedictory opinion of his father Willy's life correct in your view? In this essay I will consider the above statement and go through all the points of question related to it. I will then make an informed decision in the conclusion, as to whether or not I regard the statement as correct. To begin with it is important that we consider the relationship between Biff and his father, Willy. Both Willy's dreaming and his cruelty suggest that Willy lives in a world of his own. He seems to have unrealistic dreams of his own and his family's importance and in Biffs case he is puzzled as to why Biff is working on a farm and this leads to a great deal of conflict. Willy's views are liable to sudden change. One minute he says that Biff is 'a lazy bum' and then he says that he 'is not lazy'. It is clear that Biff is sensitive and caring and loves his family deeply, but at the end all he can do is to be cruel and force everyone to face the truth. This is why he reveals that he has been to prison for theft. Biff goes on to try and make Willy face reality in his terms. At one point he states quite clearly that it was his father who 'blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody' .It is the devastating statement that Biff and Willy are both 'a dime a dozen' or very ordinary, that shatters Willy's dreams. In

  • Word count: 1624
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Willy Loman as a Father

Willy Loman as a Father Modern society would condemn the parenting skills of Willy Loman, the father in Arthur Miller's A Death of a Salesman, who imposes his dreams upon his two sons and preaches the value of popularity over integrity. As an unsuccessful salesman, Willy is unable to cope with his own shortcomings and valiantly attempts to find something to be hopeful for, and he finds this opportunity in his son Biff. Frail and well past his prime, Willy feels that he is incapable of ever getting back on his feet, and so he believes Biff has a better chance at success. However, Willy steps over the boundary, and he develops into a father attempting to control his own son's life. In one instance, Biff comes home to recollect, and Willy vows, "I'll see him in the morning. I'll have a nice talk with him. I'll get him a job selling. He could be big in no time" (6). These expectations, though, are contrary to Biff's desires and dreams, since he aspires to work in the outdoors. For Biff, the job of becoming a salesman entails one "to suffer fifty weeks of the years for the sake of a two-week vacation, when all you really desire is to be outdoors, with your shirt off" (11). Thus the difference in desire between father and son leads to conflict, especially because Willy is stubborn and unwilling to yield to his son's ingenuous ideas. Biff is first to realize that his own

  • Word count: 1098
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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How are the themes brought up in "A death of a salesman" releveant to the presant day.

My essay looks at a sales man called willy who trys to cope with the stresses of his work and family life, and how in the present day thing like this are easy to relate to. Q:How are the themes brought up in "A death of a salesman" releveant to presant day There are many things in this play that are relevant to the lives of people today. The modern world is full of stress, whether it is work related, financial worries or problems in the family. Most people suffer at some time from anxiety or even depression, and suicides driven by a sense of failure to achieve are not uncommon. Particularly in the USA the belief in the 'American Dream' is strong, this belief is that any one no matter who they are can achieve what ever they want and nothing can stop them. In Arthur Miller's play, even though it was written over 50 years ago the problems associated with modern city living and pressured life styles were already apparent, particularly in the USA where this play is set. In my following paragraphs I am going to cover the topics which I think are very important to the break down of Willy and the relevance it has today. I am going to include, family life, as it is almost exactly the same as today. Then I am going to study the American dream, and finally The pressures of his job and his financial worries. 'The American Dream consists of a belief that in America, all things are

  • Word count: 2870
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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First impressions of Biff and Happy as adults -  What can you see in their adolescence that helped to form the adults they’ve become?

First Impressions of Biff and Happy as Adults. What Can You See in Their Adolescence That Helped to Form the Adults They've Become? Having already read a small proportion of Death of a Salesman it is evident to see that Willy now lives his life through his sons now, due to Willy's lack of success. However Willy longs for his sons, especially Biff, to follow in his own career path. Yet Willy has become discontented with Biff's lack of success. "Biff Loman is lost. A young man with such-personal attractiveness, gets lost." Here I feel Willy is not only reflecting on Biff's life, but his own failures in life, and becoming ever increasingly worried that Biff many end up like himself, a failure. I feel that unlike Willy and Happy, Biff feels compelled to seek the truth about himself. While his father and brother are unable to accept the miserable reality of their respective lives, Biff acknowledges his failure and eventually manages to confront it. "What the hell am I doing, playing around with horses, twenty-eight dollars a week! I'm thirty-four years old, I oughta be makin' my future." Biff is unafraid, like his father to admit when his life isn't going to plan. Biff is able to realise that his current job is no high flying job, unlike Willy who claims he is "vital in New England". Yet the reality is, is that Willy is just another cog in society. I feel that Willy

  • Word count: 709
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Why are Biff and Happy unhappy?

Why are Biff and Happy unhappy? In 'the Death of a Salesman' we already know that Willy thinks of himself as a failure. He tries to escape the reality by living in the past, having illusions. Biff and Happy, Willy's sons have respected Willy as the ideal father, their idol, until Biff finds out that all these were lies. In the middle of the Act 1, both Biff and Happy regard their father as a great man, a man to look up to, and a man to respect. To the boys he was seen as an ideal father, as he was never present to control the two and he was keen for them both, Biff in particular, to fulfill their potential and become great men. However, as the play progresses, the idealistic image of Willy Loman seems to evaporate through the test of time as we can see at the beginning of the play Biff is angry with Willy. Both Biff and Happy are unhappy because they are both lost. Biff has not only lost all confidence in his father but trust as well. Biff used to be a man with dreams, dreams that can make him happy but life didn't go the way he wanted, he knows that his father had an affair with 'The Woman', Biff felt betrayed. He probably doesn't want his mother to know about this because the family will fall apart but keeping this truth inside him makes him suffer. From the flashbacks of Willy, we also see Biff having a stealing problem, he maybe wants to relief stress so this shows that

  • Word count: 569
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Themes in the play Death of a Salesman

Themes in the play Death of a Salesman Throughout the play the Lomans, especially Willy, cannot distinguish between reality and illusion. This is the major underlying theme throughout the play and is also a source of conflict in the play. Willy cannot see who he and his sons are. He believes that they are great men who have what it takes to be successful and beat the business world. Unfortunately, he is mistaken. In reality, Willy and his sons are not, and cannot, be successful. We can see that this is true because Willy refuses to acknowledge that he is a fine carpenter and continues to persuade himself that he is a good salesman and so continues to live a life of lies, memories and dreams. He also lapses into flashbacks and appears to relive conversations and situations he had years ago. This shows his inability to see reality. This problem of his failure to distinguish between reality and illusion helps to bring about his down fall because he believes he is "worth more dead than alive." Charlie the voice of reality tells him "A man isn't worth anything dead." Willy also has too much pride and this leads to his disillusion. Another instance of his pride showing through is that he won't work for Charley, but accepts money from him on the premise that it is a loan and he can pay him back. Willy has lived his entire life in a world of illusions. These Illusions include

  • Word count: 706
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Discuss the Function of Uncle Ben, Charley and Bernard in Death of a Salesman

Discuss the Function of Uncle Ben, Charley and Bernard in Death of a Salesman In Death of a Salesman, we find Willy Loman to be influenced greatly by other characters. His emotions and views are almost solely affected by what others think, and how others treat him. Aside from his own family members, there are three characters in particular that have a large impact on Willy. Uncle Ben is Willy's deceased brother, who Willy is very fond of, although perhaps secretly jealous of. Charley is the Loman family's next door neighbour, a friend and a successful salesman. Bernard is Charley's son. He worked hard at school and is now a successful lawyer. Uncle Ben, who we see alive in the flashbacks, travelled to the jungle and came out a rich man. Uncle Ben is an emotionally and intellectually free man. He is not confined by any psychological restraints such as children or a wife, and is a ruthless business man. When invited to venture to the jungle in one flashback we see, Willy could of course not join him, and leave his family and job. Later he regrets turning down the opportunity after seeing what a success Ben was and how he had fulfilled the dream so perfectly. He is, for Willy, a symbol of all that is "good in the land of opportunity". "When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by god I was rich." This statement is influential

  • Word count: 1400
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Commentary On Review - pro evolution soccer 3

Commentary On Review For our english coursework we had to write a draft review and then a final review on a film book game etc. I did mine on a football game ( Pro Evolution Soccer 3) which isn't the latest in the series but me and my friends still play on it and also know quite a lot about the game so thought it would be best to write about something i knew more about. The purpose of the review was to inform people about the positives and negatives of the game and also trying to persuade to get the game. My target audience would be obviously football fans but i would say aimed at any age from 9-19 because i know people who play on the game of all ages. I looked at other reviews of games to get a rough idea of what to talk about in the game to discuss and also layout. I didn't really use a particular layout as i felt it wasn't meant to be fancy just a simple review on a game to make it easy for people to read, although i did do paragraphs for different areas of the game. Not particulary as it would just be a page where people would see what it was about and if already purchased previous games of the series or have an interest or heard of the game through word of mouth might be interested in reading on. I think ive sounded really enthuasiastic about Pro Evolution Soccer 3 and have said even in the parts i have put as negative that it is still worth buying and are only small

  • Word count: 764
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Death of a SalesmanAct two- Willy and Howard

Juliet Gaishauser Death of a Salesman Act two- Willy and Howard The second act begins with a change in tone from the previous act, as Willy is now cheerful and optimistic and speaks to Linda about buying a new house in the country; he now believes that after seeing Howard he will have his job permanently in New York City. Howard Wagner is Willy's boss. Howard inherited the company from his father, whom Willy regarded as a "masterful man" and "a prince." Though much younger than Willy, Howard treats Willy with condescension and eventually fires him. Willy goes to the office with intention of asking Howard for a New York position; however, Howard makes this difficult. As soon as Willy walks into Howard's office he ignores Willy's attempt of discussing his career with him. There is many times where Willy asks Howard a question and he simply ignores it or changes the subject. Howard seems to be fascinated with his new wire recorder. The only questions that Howard answers are about the recorder. "What's that, Howard?" "Didn't you ever see one of these? Wire recorder." After this Willy tries to ignore the recorder, "Oh can we talk a minute?" After this Howard continues to obsess about his new gadget. Did Howard already know what Willy had come to him for? If so, he was desperately trying to avoid the subject. Howard, still obsessing over the machine then turns it on to let

  • Word count: 923
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Willy Loman - Villain, Victim or hero. What is your view?

GCSE: ENGLISH LITERATURE Unit 3: Coursework Arthur Miller (1915- ) Death Of A Salesman Willy Loman - Villain, Victim or hero. What is your view? Willy is a common man. He isn't anything special, nor ever was he. He chose to follow the American dream and he chose to lead the life it gave him. Willy made the American dream his culture, and the American dream made Willy its victim. The American dream is the belief that through sheer hard work alone, any man can gain professional success and thus receive personal gain (wealth, name goods etc.). Failure to fulfil the American dream, is failure in life. Willy Loman is stuck in a vicious cycle brought on by the American dream. He cannot bring himself to admit that he has failed as a salesman due to his self-pride; therefore he must keep trying to succeed. The problem is, that he will never succeed as a businessman, as he doesn't understand how business works. Willy Loman believes that in order to be a successful man in the business world, you need contacts: "Be liked and you will never want." Dave Singleman was a man who Willy met when he was young. Dave Singleman was the man who inspired Willy to become a salesman. Dave was eighty-four when Willy met him, and he was still working, but from a hotel where he was staying. Dave would ring up the friends that he had made in his time, and arrange business deals and meetings. This

  • Word count: 1823
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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