In the last English class that I attended, in which we were looking at Act I, we discussed Willy's role as a father and how it impacts his sons, and I would like to consider that question looking at the play as a whole. My class agreed that Willy has good intentions - he wholeheartedly wants to see his sons, especially Biff, succeed - but the positive aspects of his role as a father end there. The problem is that he simplemindedly believes that the only thing that a man needs to succeed is a charming and persuasive presence and popularity. He fails to consider that, while these attributes may be very beneficial for salesmen, they are certainly not the only ones required and additionally that being a salesman is not the only path to success in existence. He so ardently encourages Biff's success in football and in being popular with his peers that he fails to teach him hard work or ambition for something more. In this way, Willy sets himself up to be disappointed with Biff because he has given him a single tool for a life in which he requires an entire toolbox.
At the end of the play, Biff finally sees that no matter how hard he tries, he will not be able to live up to his father's expectations. He realizes that his entire life, his father has taught him to get what he wants the dishonest way, by lying and by stealing, and that although that worked for him during his childhood, it will not bring success in his adult life. Willy has always been building up both his own accomplishments and those of his sons until they all began to believe his exaggerations. We see that this style of parenting has led to Happy's habit of stretching the truth and has contributed to both Happy and Biff's inability to settle down and work at something in order to achieve gradual success. Only in the end is Biff able to define success for himself and discover that he is happiest on the farm even though his father does not see this endeavor as any sort of accomplishment or means of success. Willy was always able to inspire love and admiration in his sons when they were young, but gradually his sons became disillusioned with their unstable father who has always wished and dreamed more than he planned and worked (404).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Hey Arianna! I really enjoyed your post. It is very well written and articulate. I like how you are able to put into words exactly what Willy's problem is.
That "he simplemindedly believes that the only thing that a man needs to succeed is a charming and persuasive presence and popularity. He fails to consider that, while these attributes may be very beneficial for salesmen, they are certainly not the only ones required and additionally that being a salesman is not the only path to success in existence"
I also like that you mention the idea of success. My class talked at length about what exactly defines success Great job!
Arianna-I really enjoyed reading this blog. I completely agree with everything you said. To add to your argument, Biff also becomes disillusioned when he visits his father in Boston and meets the Woman. I agree that Biff alone is "able to define success for himself." Again, nice blog. By the way, nice toolbox-tool metaphor.
Hey Arianna,
Nice blog! I agreed with all the points you made. I particularly like when you state, "Willy sets himself up to be disappointed with Biff because he has given him a single tool for a life in which he requires an entire toolbox." Good job.
Arianna, I enjoyed reading your blog! Great post! I totally agree with your asessment of Willy as a father. I know he means well but as a character he annoys me so much. I like your sentence about how Willy is setting himself up to be disappointed with Biff. I like the analogy and I think it sums up Willy's conundrum as a parent. Again, this is a great blog!
Post a Comment