Death Of a Salesman
...h, but will never admit it. Caught in his own web of deceit and delusion, Willy’s whole life is one big lie! Blinded by this, he himself does not know who he truly is, and thus neither does the reader. Because of his own shortcomings, Willy then fabricates lies about the life of his son, Biff. He makes Biff out to be a super hero, the best athlete there in town, and a spectacular man. Biff is no one special, and fortunately, he realizes it. He tells his father because "you blew me so full of hot air, I could never stand taking orders from anybody" (131). Biff once believed in Willy's lies so much he started to think that he was so much better than anyone else was. This was causing problems for Biff until he began to realize he was not as superior as he thought. The difference in Biff, when compared to Willy is Biff understands it is not so necessary to be number one in everything. It is okay to be just another regular person. He confronts Willy about this and tells him, "I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you!" (133). Biff knows the truth, yet Willy still cannot come to grips with reality and shouts, "I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman and you are Biff Loman!" (132). Again, Willy is holding on to a phony dream that will never come true. While Biff faces reality, Happy seems to be following his father's example. He wants to show everyone that Willy did not die in vain and in fact, he had the right dream; the only dream. Perhaps, because Happy was the neglected son, he feels as if he betrayed his father and now wants to give something back to him. Yet, knowing Happy's character in the past, this again is not a very realistic idea. He is going to make the same mistakes as his father because he too does not know what he wants or who he is. Linda has a different reaction to Willy's death. She seems to be in a state of shock, and is very confused about everything that has happened. Although, Willy was able to fool himself into believing his lies, Linda did not always believe them. She was a smart woman and knew the money was not adding up. Yet, she never challenged him because she was afraid of hurting his pride. It is unclear to what extent she knew about Willy, for at the funeral, she asks, "But where are all the people he knew?" (137). She has also somewhat fallen into the illusion of her husband's success as a salesman and as a man. Yet, Linda's last comments show she does not understand why Willy died. She may perhaps never really know her ...