In class we discussed how Willy’s fathering causes the future failure of his two sons, Biff and Happy. Many suggestions were made about why the sons lead the life they do.
Some people thought that Willy is the cause of the failure. Willy pays much more attention to Biff, inflating his ego, than he does to his other son Happy. This may cause Happy to feel unloved and Biff to rely on his father’s constant praise. Willy encourages Biff to cheat because he believes that Biff has a great personality and he doesn’t need to waste time studying. Willy encourages Biff to play football and dedicate his life to that. Then when Biff does what his father instructs, he does not graduate high school. Willy teaches Biff to cheat his way through life and to cut corners, but Biff learns that his father’s method is fake and unreliable. Now, at this point many people would see their parent’s misguided lifestyle and change their ways, but Biff cannot do that because he relied on everything Willy said being the truth and the pillars of life. When Biff learns that Willy is cheating on Linda, Biff’s whole world shatters and he can no longer live the dream his father desired for him. Happy on the other hand never felt good enough for his father and when he saw that Biff couldn’t succeed, he thought that there must not be any hope for him either.
Another idea is that the sons had no future regardless of if Willy had cheated on Linda or if he hadn’t encouraged bad behavior such as cheating. It is interesting to look at the possibilities for the sons. Even if they grew up in the perfect household they may not have been rich or famous. It is hard to believe that a son would throw his whole life away just to spite his father because that hurts the son even more than it hurts the father.
I have come to believe that I think the failure of the sons was a combination of having a bad father, bad circumstances, and lack of potential. The failure cannot be attributed to just one factor because all aspects must be considered to see the big picture.
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3 comments:
Great job Erin! We talked about the same thing in our class and came to the same conclusion as you. Although Willy may not have always been the best father, it is not his fault alone for his children's adult life. I do think Willy contributed to his sons lack of potential, but they are also partially to blame.
Erin,
I completely agree. Willy's cannot be the sole reason for Biff and Happy's weird(for lack of a better word) adult lives. Willy created a counter-effect in that he pushed his children so hard that they regress backwards. Good Job!
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