Thursday, January 13, 2011

Discuss the cause of the relationship breakdown between Willy Loman and his sons

Willy Loman and his sons in the high school years of their life had a superb relationship. He was the father of what other fathers to be like. Father of the son of the star of the football team. He and his sons got along greatly he was their idol. He could give them anything to do and they would do it and they were even happier if he did it with them. He fulled them up with stories of his job and how he was a big shot and everything how everyone knew his name. And he would tell them what to do to become a success the American dream. But after awhile as they got older his relationship with them began to deteriorate.
As he got older his job began to put more pressure on him and he overlooked big things that his children were doing especially Biff that started to kill the relationship instead of build it even more. For example when Biff was stealing and Linda told him about Biff's stealing he did not punish him but told him to go play balll etc. Also when Biff was failing math and Bernard told him about it, and instead of telling him to go ad study so he could pass his exam so that he could've gone to college he sent Bernard away and told Biff to go out in the yard and continue playing ball. He did not carry out the role of a true father and correct his son when he was going wrong, all he was concerned with was that they had to become the American dream if that's the only thing they did. So he filled up their heads with lies about himself and the world out there and this was the downfall of his kids and himself.
After growing older and not being corrected Biff came off a good track and feel into a bad one full of the bad ways his father did not take him off of. And he faced the new world based on the lies his father filled him up with. And instead of working in an office and elevating to top position biff faced the cruelity of the real world out there, and decided that the life his father wanted him to live was not for him. In that the relationship between him and his father began to deteriorate, because he going on his own path to find himself took many years of doing what he pleased and it hurt and disappointed his father because Biff was his favourite the one he believed in the most. And him working in the pastures herding animals was not the kind of life he raised and wanted him to live. Causing tension and a lot of arguments to arise every time he came to visit. But the true reason for the break in relationship was because Biff went out into the real world full with the lessons of what his father taught him how to survive, and because of what happened when he entered and realised life is not as nice and easy as his father put it. He didn't know what to do next he didn't have a back up plan to how to survive so went about doing what he could and that disappointed him. Making him to develop a hatred for his father because he was the reason for his failure. He was the reason why he was 30 the age where he should be settling down with a wife and a good job and not wondering about the place trying to find himself.
He blamed his father and Willy knew that Biff knew the truth behind his lies and that didn't help the relationship it continued to go downhill. Every time the two came together because of what each did to the other their relationship was destroyed. Willy lied to his sons causing them to go down the wrong path he did not correct Biff when he did his wrong and caused him to live the life that he is, while Biff hurt Willy because he did not live the life his father wanted him to live, he was a disappointment to his parents father especially and had no accomplishments in life whatsoever, the little boy he raised with all the attention and potential was gone and a man with no life without anything to own but his clothes on his back was present and the site of that destroyed the relationship.
While happy on the other hand he too was spoiled by his father's lies but he was a little more successful than his brother he had a stable job and that brought his father a little pride. But what destroyed their relationship a little bit, was his scandalous lifestyle that he was living. He was one of those man whores who slept around with married women of all his bosses and that disappointed his father greatly. But because Willy did not want to loose another son he did whathe did to Biff he ignored the bad stuff and left what was not broken, for he feared if he spoke out he would loose another child and he would become just like Biff who resented him.
Therefore it can be said that Willy Loman's lies and neglect was the reasons why the relationship between his children and were destroyed.

3 comments:

  1. I do not agree that when Biff and Happy were young that thwy had a great relationship with Willy. A good father would lie to and encourage their children to lie and steal. Willy should have followed the example of Charlie and Bernard by working hard.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do not agree that it was his job putting pressure on him or the fact that he had a great relationship with his sons to begin with, he was always away for a "business" trip and he failed to set a good example for continuing to steal, lie and cheat. So no I don't agree with this beginning of the blog but I do agree with the last two lines.

    ReplyDelete
  3. happy's job was not stable, he was an assistant to an assistant, how is that stable.
    and his father approved of his attitude towards women. he was happy with the fact that happy was popular with the ladies, regardless of the fact he had to lie to get them.

    ReplyDelete