An old Cherokee Proverb moralizes that one should have a vision not clouded by fear, and in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman the main characters, Will and Biff, each conceal their dreams with fears of abandonment and betrayal. The play is about a working class family in the 1950’s, and the underlying issues that cause tension amongst the characters. Protagonist and father in the play, Willy Loman, is a struggling salesman, whose mental stability is gradually declining. Due to financial trouble and Willy’s health, much tension arises between Willy and his sons, Biff and Happy.
Although Biff and Willy’s relationship has any problems throughout the play, in Act Two, while at a restaurant, the climax of their relationship is reached, after Biff’s failed attempt to propose a business deal to a former employer, which his father urged him to do. A psychological reading of the scene reveals significant events in Willy’s past that have affected his mental stability. All of the tension and turmoil that has been stirred up throughout the play finally erupts during the restaurant scene, as Willy is forced to acknowledge that Biff has broken free from him, which increases his fear of abandonment.
Many issues from Willy’s past become clear through his memory elapses, which reveal reasons for his fear of abandonment. At a young age, his father left him and his brother, Ben, and moved to Alaska. Ben was favored more as a child, and Willy never fully obtained his father’s affection. Because Willy felt physically and mentally abandoned from his father, he developed a warped sense of the American Dream, and forced this dream onto his children.
The lack of fatherly love Willy received caused him to become fixated with superficial qualities of attractiveness and likeability, believing they were the keys to success. Instead of hard work and determination, Willy values pride, popularity, conformity, and uperiority. Adding to his fear of abandonment, his brother left him and moved to Africa, where he easily became rich by age twenty-one. When Ben became rich, Willy was still a struggling salesman, which caused more tension and distance between them, increasing Willy’s feelings of inferiority.
And so, because Ben was the superior child, Willy developed his belief that there is a high correlation between popularity and success. At a restaurant in Act Two, the climatic scene between Willy and Biff’s relationship occurs. Upon arriving at the restaurant, Willy immediately focuses on Biff, putting all his effort and hope in him to hear good news. Earlier in the day, Willy was fired from his job; therefore, he relies on Biff to save him. But, Biff fails, leaving behind Willy’s dream and psychologically tearing himself away from his father.
Since his son’s birth, Willy has been living his dreams though Biff, because he symbolizes everything Willy wants to be. Throughout Biff’s life, Willy has pushed his dreams onto Biff, and has driven him to follow his belief, that popularity is a necessary step towards success. If Biff fails, in Willy’s mind it equates to his own failure, because Biff is a reflection of what Willy has made him to be. Biff’s awakening comes when he fails to even be recognized by his former boss, Bill Oliver, and he moves away from the false illusion that Willy has engraved into his mind since childhood.
Leaving with only a stolen pen, Biff breaks the news of his unsuccessful business attempt to his father. Making it extremely difficult for Biff to tell his father the truth, Willy does not focus on the business matters; instead he affirmatively questions whether Oliver was impressed and if he gave Biff a friendly greeting. When Willy notices the pen Biff stole, it opens his blind eyes and he realizes his son has mounted to nothing, and he tells Biff, “you’re no good, you’re no good for anything” (Miller 1907).
A heated argument arises, and Willy angrily asks Biff, “are you spiting me” (Miller 1908)? On account of all that Willy has invested into Biff, especially himself, he feels that his son is “spiting” him because neither of them was successful in life. After the argument, Biff and Happy leave Willy at the restaurant, physically and mentally abandoning him. Before Willy leaves the restaurant alone, he asks the waiter where he can buy seeds, and declares, “I’ve got to get some seeds. Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground” (Miller 1913).
The seeds symbolize Willy’s failure to instill in himself and in his son the true values that enable each of them to flourish in life and in a career. Willy’s sense of abandonment is strong, because he strives to be well liked and remembered. Without having a “thing in the ground,” Willy has no legacy to be remembered by or to pass on. In failing to impart proper morals and a strong work ethic on his family, Willy ultimately fails with himself and Biff. Abandonment is his greatest fear and in failing to cultivate a strong relationship with his son, Willy realizes that his life has no meaning.
