Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Biff says: "He(willy) had the wrong dreams". Is this true?

Biff's view of his father after Willy's death has to be
seen as a frail attempt to justify Biff's own inability to accept and deal with his
father.  Biff spent much of his life doing exactly what he was accused of by Willy:
acting spitefully.  Willy's dreams were actually quite simple and at the same time
universal.  He wanted a better life for himself and his family.  He wanted his children
to be successful.  He wanted to fulfill his American dream of success. Willy was wrong
in believing that the secret to success is in being well liked, but it was his
understanding of the world of business that was at fault, not his dreams. When Willy was
unable to achieve his dream, he tried to pass it along to Biff; however, when Biff
discovers his father has human frailties, the son turns on the father, spurning any
chance to be successful in his own life and then blaming all of his failure on Willy.
Willy is flawed, not only because of his extramarital affair, but because he built a
life made of lies.  In spite of this, Willy's dreams are valid.  He certainly cannot be
accused of not trying to succeed.  Imagine how painful it must have been to him to
travel so far and earn so little for his efforts.  In the end Willy sacrifices his own
life for Biff.  Is this the dream to which Biff was referring, the dream that his son
would enjoy success in life?  It is not the dream that is wrong, it is the son who is
unable to live up to the dream.  At every turn, Biff fails his father, and the great
tragedy is that even in the end he cannot relent.  He must blame Willy and trash Willy's
dreams, and be extension, Willy's life or he must take ownership and responsibility.  We
never see Biff live up to the love his father felt for him.  The flaw was not in Willy's
dreams but in his son's inability to forgiveanyone, himself
included.

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