Conflict
1) The leading character in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, seemed to want to have the "American Dream" which entailed the perfect family, the perfect job and everything going right in his life, as well as he wanted to be successful just like his brother, who went to Africa and got rich. Simply put, Willy wanted to be like all the rest of his peers and have the luxuries that they had aquired, instead of trying to work for them. The King in King Lear seemed to want the best for his daughters and his kingdom, and just have someone love and take care of him as well as he wanted to be flattered most of all from his daughters just to seemingly build up his ego and self esteem.
2) The thing that stood in Willy's way would have to be his stubborn and delusional personality that seemed to make him believe that he did not have to work for what he wanted but instead, it would come to him since he was so well known and popular. In addition, his family and friends seemed to play a part in standing in his way since they never really tried to stray him away from this "crazy" dream or help him when they realised that he was a bit delusional. King Lear as well had his personality standing in his way since his arrogance and want for flattery caused him to be blinded to the real truths of life and as a result left him naive and without much in the end.
3)The high point of the tension/ crisis in Death of a Salesman was when Biff finally admitted to himself and his family that he was not the person they thought he was and that he was tired of living this life. Biff's "dime a dozen" speech was truly the highest point of tension in the drama.
Character Analysis
1) Willy Loman does not seem true to life since he believed in the "American Dream" and did not believe that he had to work for all the luxuries and the 'perfect life' that he desired. King Lear did not seem true to life either since he wanted to be flattered so much that he let his want for flattery blind him from seeing his daughters' true feelings for him.
2)The characters of both Willy Loman and King Lear seem to be revealed by their actions, the words they speak, and the way in which the other characters talk about them and treat them throughout the drama.
3)The driving force of Willy Loman seems to be the strong want of attaining wealth and becoming more like his brother and the salesman he knew years ago.King Lear's driving force seems to be his need and want for flattery which subsequently led to him giving up his kingdom to his two daughters that did not love him or care about him and led to his demise.
4) In both dramas, when the character changes the causes as convincing and true to life
Setting
1) The sets in both plays seem to be very appropriate since they represent the specific time period in which the play was based upon.
2)Yes they are attractive to some extent. In King Lear the set was slightly attractive since the setting was made to exhibit the time period in which such an event woud occur. This was done quite well, making the set quite attractive. On the other hand, it was not that attractive since it the colours and definition of the film were not of good quality since it was filmed so long ago. This made viewing slightly difficult and not that appealing to the audience.
The set for Death of a Salesman was slightly attractive as well since the atmosphere created by the diction in the book was well portrayed by the settings chosen to film the video. Even though the settings were well chosen to depict a true reflection of the scenes in the book, the quality of the video was not as up to standard as it could be and therefore lost the interest of the audience now and then due to viewing problems.
3)Some seem to be authentic and others do not seem to be authentic based on the quality of the video that is shown for both dramas.
Critical standards used for Drama, novel, motion pictures:
1) The chief emphasis of King Lear would have to be the greed found within majority of the characters and their motives behind getting what they want.
In Death of a Salesman, the chief emphasis would have to be on the "American Dream" that Willy Loman has,and the idea of it that he instills within his children from an early age.
2)The purpose of of the chief emphasis in King Lear seems to be to show the audience how greedy some of the characters were and that their greed, arrogance and clever minds led to their demise in the end. For example, Goneril and Regan's greed to obtain the entire kingdom led to them dying in the end. The purpose of this was also to provide humor for the audience so that the story line kept the audience interested.
In Death of a Salesman, the purpose of the chief emphasis seemed to be to explain the concept of the "American Dream" that Willy had in more detail and to show that this want of such a dream can be achieved with effort but not by simply by waiting. Thus showing the audience that one must work hard for what they want and not expect it to come to them because they are well known or have friends.
3)Both plays seem to be the farthest thing from romantic, but they are definitely realistic.
The emphasis in King Lear seems to be very realistic since the characteristic of greed is one that can be found in every day life situations in the real world. This is because there is always going to be something somebody else has that somebody else wants that causes persons to be greedy and want what others have instead of trying to be content with what they already have.
The emphasis in Death of a Salesman is also very realistic since it seems to show a dream that a lot of people want to have but some do not usually get.
4)Most definitely. Both aspects do show life as it really is.
In King Lear, various aspects such as greed, want of flattery, betrayal, jealousy and other themes are shown through out the drama, which are seen in every day life in many situations. As a result, the audience can seemingly relate to the situations and the different scenes within the drama which keeps them interested while learning a lesson in the end.
In Death of a Salesman, the concept of the "American Dream" which meant that you must be liked and have the perfect job and easy success without achieving it is something that some people want to have in real life. They figure that putting effort in something is just too hard and they rather wish and hope for it to come to them without the effort. Some people also feel that others get success easily and wish to be like them or have what they want but really and truly they did work hard for what they have. This concept is one that a lot of people can relate to and is seen in society today.
5) In King Lear, the emphasis on greed as well as other concepts do present problems of human relationship. This is because greed is a sin that is found within most of not all of us at some point in our lives that causes conflict between individuals. Greed causes persons to dislike others, to steal from others, hurt them for our own personal gain, as well as many other things. Therefore relationships are broken or destroyed. For example, in the drama, greed caused King Lear to damage his close relationship with his daughter Cordelia for a short period and to lose his relationship with his other daughters Goneril and Regan.
In Death of a Salesman, the emphasis of the "American Dream" does present problems of human relationship since it causes Individuals to want what other people have which also causes jealousy and puts pressure on people. The individual's relationships become weaker and they are no longer close. For example, in the drama, Willy grows apart from his sons because of his want of the "American Dream" and pushing Biff too much.
6) Neither drama glamorizes life or presents an artificial ending. Both drama's show a very realistic scenario that depicts real traits within the characters and even lessons that can be learned in the end.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Issue of Hurt in Clear Light of Day
In Clear Light of Day, most if not all of the characters seemed to have experienced hurt in some form at some point within the book.
The Family- The family on a whole was hurt when the cow they had died as a result of it drowning in the well one night. A smaller section of the family, namely the children, were hurt by the fact that their parents were rarely ever around in the house since they were always at the club and playing cards with their friends.
Mr. Das- He seemed to be hurt by the fact that his wife had diabetes and she was in so much pain all the time and had to take injections of insulin all the time. He was also even more hurt when she died.
Aunt Mira- There were quite a few instances when Aunt Mira was found to be hurt. Firstly, she was hurt because her husband died shortly after they got married when she was about 13 years old. This was a very sad time in her life, and her new family, (husband's parents) didn't make it any easier for her since they blamed her for his death. As a result they gave her a lot of work to do and did not appreciate her at all. Aunt Mira was also hurt that she was not that pretty and was unable to have her own children. When Tara left her in the house with Bim and the others it appeared as though she was hurt since her and Tara seemed to share a special bond when she stepped foot into the house and was always there for her when Bim and Raja would exclude her.
Raja- He seemed to be hurt because Hyder Ali left and did not tell him anything about his departure. He was also very hurt when his mother died as well as not being able to go to Jamia Millia and did not care to play games or have fun for a while. When he got sick in bed with tuberculosis, he felt helpless that he could not do much or go anywhere and felt hurt in the end.
Bim- Bim was hurt by the mere fact that all her siblings, except Baba that could not really leave, left her in the house to take care of the house, Baba and Aunt Mira on her own. She was hurt when Tara left because she was now married to Bakul, and she was hurt that Raja left to go to live in Hyderabad. In addition, the letter Raja sent Bim hurt her a lot, since she could not believe that Raja would still let her pay rent for the same house they both lived in and she nursed him in when he was sick. Even though the book does not make this point very evident, one can argue that Bim was also very hurt at the fact that she was the one who stayed in the home and did not move on much with her own life in terms of having a family and new experiences that she could not have while staying at home and taking care of everyone. It seems as though she was hurt and disappointed with the specific path that she chose for herself.
Tara- She felt hurt when Bim and Raja made fun of her for wanting to become a mother when she grew up instead of becoming a heroine like Bim. Tara was also hurt when Bim and Raja did not include her in the games and other activities they would do together. In addition, when Baba was born, Tara felt hurt that she was not getting much attention since she was not the "baby" of the family anymore.
Baba- Baba was feeling very hurt when his records stopped playing on the gramophone and when Bim shouted at him and seemed to threaten him by saying that she will send him to live with Raja. Even though the book did not really mention it, it is posited that Baba was hurt that he had such a disability and was restricted from doing certain things because of his disability.
Dr. Biswas- He was hurt at the fact that he was putting so much effort in trying to get Bim to like him and go out with him and she was not paying much attention to him or trying to see if it could possibly work. She was more concerned with taking care of her family and not having much fun. He felt hurt for Bim as well since she seemed to be burdening herself with her family's problems and not doing what she wants to do but what she thinks she has to do.
The Family- The family on a whole was hurt when the cow they had died as a result of it drowning in the well one night. A smaller section of the family, namely the children, were hurt by the fact that their parents were rarely ever around in the house since they were always at the club and playing cards with their friends.
Mr. Das- He seemed to be hurt by the fact that his wife had diabetes and she was in so much pain all the time and had to take injections of insulin all the time. He was also even more hurt when she died.
Aunt Mira- There were quite a few instances when Aunt Mira was found to be hurt. Firstly, she was hurt because her husband died shortly after they got married when she was about 13 years old. This was a very sad time in her life, and her new family, (husband's parents) didn't make it any easier for her since they blamed her for his death. As a result they gave her a lot of work to do and did not appreciate her at all. Aunt Mira was also hurt that she was not that pretty and was unable to have her own children. When Tara left her in the house with Bim and the others it appeared as though she was hurt since her and Tara seemed to share a special bond when she stepped foot into the house and was always there for her when Bim and Raja would exclude her.
Raja- He seemed to be hurt because Hyder Ali left and did not tell him anything about his departure. He was also very hurt when his mother died as well as not being able to go to Jamia Millia and did not care to play games or have fun for a while. When he got sick in bed with tuberculosis, he felt helpless that he could not do much or go anywhere and felt hurt in the end.
Bim- Bim was hurt by the mere fact that all her siblings, except Baba that could not really leave, left her in the house to take care of the house, Baba and Aunt Mira on her own. She was hurt when Tara left because she was now married to Bakul, and she was hurt that Raja left to go to live in Hyderabad. In addition, the letter Raja sent Bim hurt her a lot, since she could not believe that Raja would still let her pay rent for the same house they both lived in and she nursed him in when he was sick. Even though the book does not make this point very evident, one can argue that Bim was also very hurt at the fact that she was the one who stayed in the home and did not move on much with her own life in terms of having a family and new experiences that she could not have while staying at home and taking care of everyone. It seems as though she was hurt and disappointed with the specific path that she chose for herself.
Tara- She felt hurt when Bim and Raja made fun of her for wanting to become a mother when she grew up instead of becoming a heroine like Bim. Tara was also hurt when Bim and Raja did not include her in the games and other activities they would do together. In addition, when Baba was born, Tara felt hurt that she was not getting much attention since she was not the "baby" of the family anymore.
Baba- Baba was feeling very hurt when his records stopped playing on the gramophone and when Bim shouted at him and seemed to threaten him by saying that she will send him to live with Raja. Even though the book did not really mention it, it is posited that Baba was hurt that he had such a disability and was restricted from doing certain things because of his disability.
Dr. Biswas- He was hurt at the fact that he was putting so much effort in trying to get Bim to like him and go out with him and she was not paying much attention to him or trying to see if it could possibly work. She was more concerned with taking care of her family and not having much fun. He felt hurt for Bim as well since she seemed to be burdening herself with her family's problems and not doing what she wants to do but what she thinks she has to do.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Baba's Significance in Clear Light of Day
In Clear Light of Day, all the characters seem to have their own character traits that make them different and significant in the book, whether there part is considered to be small or big. Amongst the Das family siblings, Baba Das is the youngest of the four children and the one who is not the smartest or most active person because of his disability. At first he is not able to do much of anything, but when Aunt Mira comes to take care of him, she teaches him how to do certain things for himself. For example, feed himself pieces of bread and play marbles. This is made eveident on pp.106-07 in the book.
Throughout the book, one notcies that Baba is seemingly an unchanging person in the novel. This none changing aspect of Baba's character is rather significant since Baba himself may be seen as a symbol of the unchaging nature of Old Delhi and the fact that everything in the house seemed to stay the same.
In addition, Baba's use of his gramophone from the time him and Bim took it out of the Hyder Ali's abadoned house, to present,evidently shows that Baba did not change at all, since he continued to listen to his gramophone, playing the same records all the time. The use of the gramophone was also a way of making his presence known within the house, since he did speak much at all. It was a way for the family and others to know that Baba was at home and awake.
Furthermore, along with being a symbol of the unchanging nature of Old Delhi and the hoouse they lived in, Baba, in his earlier years, seemed to be a person unt Mira thought appreciated her and thus made her feel wanted. This is because Baba really needed someone to take care of him and would encourage him and teach him to do certain activities. Aunt Mira was this person, and Baba seemed to appreciate all the things she did for him and taught him how to do. Aunt Mira was the only one who seemed to push Baba to show some of his potential that she was sure he had, and as a result Baba was grateful for everything she did for him and made her feel appreciated.
In conclusion, it may be said that Baba is significant in Clear Light of Day since he may be seen as a symbol of no change as well as making Aunt Mira feel appreciated and wanted.
Throughout the book, one notcies that Baba is seemingly an unchanging person in the novel. This none changing aspect of Baba's character is rather significant since Baba himself may be seen as a symbol of the unchaging nature of Old Delhi and the fact that everything in the house seemed to stay the same.
In addition, Baba's use of his gramophone from the time him and Bim took it out of the Hyder Ali's abadoned house, to present,evidently shows that Baba did not change at all, since he continued to listen to his gramophone, playing the same records all the time. The use of the gramophone was also a way of making his presence known within the house, since he did speak much at all. It was a way for the family and others to know that Baba was at home and awake.
Furthermore, along with being a symbol of the unchanging nature of Old Delhi and the hoouse they lived in, Baba, in his earlier years, seemed to be a person unt Mira thought appreciated her and thus made her feel wanted. This is because Baba really needed someone to take care of him and would encourage him and teach him to do certain activities. Aunt Mira was this person, and Baba seemed to appreciate all the things she did for him and taught him how to do. Aunt Mira was the only one who seemed to push Baba to show some of his potential that she was sure he had, and as a result Baba was grateful for everything she did for him and made her feel appreciated.
In conclusion, it may be said that Baba is significant in Clear Light of Day since he may be seen as a symbol of no change as well as making Aunt Mira feel appreciated and wanted.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Pages 50- 100 !
In this section of the book, Raja wants to go to Jamia Millia for college, but his father disapproves of this decision because of the war at the time. A few days later, their mother quietly fell into a coma and was unconscious for a number of days until she sadly died.
Raja ended up going to a Hindu College to study English Literature, where his want to be a poet was made more evident in the book. It was also found that Raja wanted to be a Hero and Bim a Herioine, but Tara wanted to be a mother.
Raja's friends did not approve of him accepting the idea of Pakistan as feasible, and as a result changed from being his friends to his enemies. Later down, Raja got infected with Tuberculosis and Bim took care of him since Tara was always out and Aunt Mira was getting older.
Their father, Mr. Das, died suddenly on his way back from the club, where the car had bumped slightly against the curb of a traffic roundabout on a deserted street on the Ridge.
After not hearing from his friends, the Hyder Ali's, Raja finally got a letter from them. Bim and Baba went to the deserted Hyder Ali's house and found their dog and servant, along with a gramophone and brought them back to the house.
Aunt Mira began to get sick as a result of her constant drinking of alcohol and soon died
Tara got married to Bakul and left with him to go to Ceylon.
Dr. Biswas, the doctor who would come by to see how Raja and Aunt Mira were doing, started to have feelings for Bim, but she did not entertain hi feelings since she had so many other things on her plate, such as taking care of everyone in the house.
Raja ended up going to a Hindu College to study English Literature, where his want to be a poet was made more evident in the book. It was also found that Raja wanted to be a Hero and Bim a Herioine, but Tara wanted to be a mother.
Raja's friends did not approve of him accepting the idea of Pakistan as feasible, and as a result changed from being his friends to his enemies. Later down, Raja got infected with Tuberculosis and Bim took care of him since Tara was always out and Aunt Mira was getting older.
Their father, Mr. Das, died suddenly on his way back from the club, where the car had bumped slightly against the curb of a traffic roundabout on a deserted street on the Ridge.
After not hearing from his friends, the Hyder Ali's, Raja finally got a letter from them. Bim and Baba went to the deserted Hyder Ali's house and found their dog and servant, along with a gramophone and brought them back to the house.
Aunt Mira began to get sick as a result of her constant drinking of alcohol and soon died
Tara got married to Bakul and left with him to go to Ceylon.
Dr. Biswas, the doctor who would come by to see how Raja and Aunt Mira were doing, started to have feelings for Bim, but she did not entertain hi feelings since she had so many other things on her plate, such as taking care of everyone in the house.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Pages 1-50 !
In these few pages, the first thing that is seemingly established is the setting, which was a bright early morning, and included the first of many mentions of "the rose walk". The characters are also established in these few pages. They include Tara, Bimla, Bakul, Raja, Baba and Aunt Mira along with a few others. Tara was the oldest of the Daw family, followed by Raja, Tara and Baba who was the youngest.
Here is it seen that Tara and her husband, Bakul, who have two daughters, have come to visit Old Delhi, where Tara realises that nothing has changed since she left. For example, the fact that all the rooms and the veranda look the same, as well as the fact that Baba continues to play the same old records every day.
Bim and Tara tried to get Baba to go to the office that he ha not gone to in years. He eventually got dressed and stood by the road and contemplated on if to cross or not. Reminiscing on all the bad times he had tried to cross the road and this present encounter with horses and carts made him run back to the house stumbling a few times looking scared.
It was found that Bim was a history teacher who was firm, rough, aggressive and authoritative, whereas Tara was gentle, weak-willed and quiet.
Further on, Bim remembers the fun times she and Raja had in the dunes playing in the sand and getting ferry rides and now that Raja married Hyder Ali's daughter they barely ever talked at all.
Pages 44-50 show the introduction of the partition as a flashback, where there were fires that lit up the city in flames one summer when Raja was sick. Raja had studied Urdu since Hindi was not considered a language of good pedigree, and the Hyder Ali's would invite him to visit the house regularly to read in the library and spend time with them.
Here is it seen that Tara and her husband, Bakul, who have two daughters, have come to visit Old Delhi, where Tara realises that nothing has changed since she left. For example, the fact that all the rooms and the veranda look the same, as well as the fact that Baba continues to play the same old records every day.
Bim and Tara tried to get Baba to go to the office that he ha not gone to in years. He eventually got dressed and stood by the road and contemplated on if to cross or not. Reminiscing on all the bad times he had tried to cross the road and this present encounter with horses and carts made him run back to the house stumbling a few times looking scared.
It was found that Bim was a history teacher who was firm, rough, aggressive and authoritative, whereas Tara was gentle, weak-willed and quiet.
Further on, Bim remembers the fun times she and Raja had in the dunes playing in the sand and getting ferry rides and now that Raja married Hyder Ali's daughter they barely ever talked at all.
Pages 44-50 show the introduction of the partition as a flashback, where there were fires that lit up the city in flames one summer when Raja was sick. Raja had studied Urdu since Hindi was not considered a language of good pedigree, and the Hyder Ali's would invite him to visit the house regularly to read in the library and spend time with them.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Comments and significance of the video
The video clip of the last scene in Death of a Salesman was one that contained a lot of emotions in it. By viewing the scene, one could actually see all of the emotions of Willy and Biff Loman coming out clearer than if it was only read.
The dramamtic significance of this scene seems to be to show that Biff finally realised that the " American Dream" was not the best dream to follow or believe in. The scene further showed the audience that Biff came to understand that all of them, Willy, Biff and Happy have been lying there way in every situation for just about their entire life since it always seemed like the right way to go about doing things since that is what Willy believed, and decided to instill in Biff and Happy from their early childhood lives.
This drastic change in Biff's look on life seems to be a turning point for the drama and somewhat an ease off of Biff's life since he now knows that he has to work hard for what he wants to accomplish, and being well liked won't necessarily get him anywhere if he does not have anything of substance to be well liked or looked up to for. In addition, this change seems to catch Willy off guard and as a result he does not seem like he wants to listen to what Biff has to say since he thinks he' talking out of spite. In the end Biff forces Willy to listen and Biff cries because of the emotional conversation they are having.
This is seemingly the most powerful and emotional part of the drama and shows how strong Biff is in the end for finding out that the "American Dream" i not going to get him anywhere and that what he has been following for his entire life was not the best on look on life and how to live it successfully.
The dramamtic significance of this scene seems to be to show that Biff finally realised that the " American Dream" was not the best dream to follow or believe in. The scene further showed the audience that Biff came to understand that all of them, Willy, Biff and Happy have been lying there way in every situation for just about their entire life since it always seemed like the right way to go about doing things since that is what Willy believed, and decided to instill in Biff and Happy from their early childhood lives.
This drastic change in Biff's look on life seems to be a turning point for the drama and somewhat an ease off of Biff's life since he now knows that he has to work hard for what he wants to accomplish, and being well liked won't necessarily get him anywhere if he does not have anything of substance to be well liked or looked up to for. In addition, this change seems to catch Willy off guard and as a result he does not seem like he wants to listen to what Biff has to say since he thinks he' talking out of spite. In the end Biff forces Willy to listen and Biff cries because of the emotional conversation they are having.
This is seemingly the most powerful and emotional part of the drama and shows how strong Biff is in the end for finding out that the "American Dream" i not going to get him anywhere and that what he has been following for his entire life was not the best on look on life and how to live it successfully.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Was Willy Loman's family responsible for his demise?
I think that Willy's family contributed to his demise, but they should not be considered fully responsible for his demise. This is because Willy, himself had a great impact on him dying at the end of the novel.
Firstly, it may be said that his family played a part in his demise, but they were not fully responsible. Willy's relationship with his sons Biff and Happy seemed to break down, which consequently added to Willy's demise. This is made evident by the way in which his relationship with Biff started going downhill when he walked in on his dad and another woman in the hotel room in Boston, giving off the impression that he was having an affair with "The Woman". The relationship gradually got worse as Biff got older and went away, where Willy and Linda did not hear from him in a long time but when Biff came back the relationship continued to crack until it broke in the end. This happened when Biff went to his old manager, so to speak, only to find out that he never really worked for him and all the things he thought were true really were false. That was when Biff truly realised that the American Dream his father instilled in him and his brother from the beginning really did not make sense at all and was not going to get him anywhere. He thus broke away from his father's aspirations and Willy was hurt and thought that he did not do a good job as a father. This is made evident when Biff tells Willy at the restaurant what really happened at the meeting, as well as when Biff ran out to his father that same evening when he was in garden and they both felt like they had let down one another. Thus adding to him wanting to kill himself for letting Biff end up with a bad life and he himself being fired from the job, so he ended his worries and troubles by doing just that.
In addition, the fact that Happy was neglected from his father from such an early age, since Willy always seemed to be more concerned with Biff, Happy adopted from an early age to be less concerned with his father, and accept his position as the years went by. This caused Willy to have less love and concern from one of his family members that he should have had, but because Will never really paid much attention to him, Happy seemed not to bother to try sometimes since he knew he was not going to get the attention he wanted or deserved. As a result Willy was not able to have the love he could have gotten from Happy and Happy continued to be less concerned with him. This is made evident when Biff and Happy invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table.
Furthermore, it may also be said that Linda was considered to be a loving and caring wife to Willy, but it may also be argued that instead of always trying not to aggravate him and say the wrong thing, she should have helped him by taking to him to see a doctor when she realised he was getting crazy in his head. For example, the hose she saw in the back by the gas tank should have told her that something was wrong.
More than anything, it may be stated that Willy was the main cause of his death since he had the American Dream trapped in the depths of his mind, that he would stick with that dream even if it was not working out. Willy stuck to this dream and tried to influence his children from an early age that this dream was the way to go and the way to make things happen. He was right about one thing. It did make things happen. It made him slowly go crazy as a result of being obsessed with the dream and eventually led him to kill himself.
Firstly, it may be said that his family played a part in his demise, but they were not fully responsible. Willy's relationship with his sons Biff and Happy seemed to break down, which consequently added to Willy's demise. This is made evident by the way in which his relationship with Biff started going downhill when he walked in on his dad and another woman in the hotel room in Boston, giving off the impression that he was having an affair with "The Woman". The relationship gradually got worse as Biff got older and went away, where Willy and Linda did not hear from him in a long time but when Biff came back the relationship continued to crack until it broke in the end. This happened when Biff went to his old manager, so to speak, only to find out that he never really worked for him and all the things he thought were true really were false. That was when Biff truly realised that the American Dream his father instilled in him and his brother from the beginning really did not make sense at all and was not going to get him anywhere. He thus broke away from his father's aspirations and Willy was hurt and thought that he did not do a good job as a father. This is made evident when Biff tells Willy at the restaurant what really happened at the meeting, as well as when Biff ran out to his father that same evening when he was in garden and they both felt like they had let down one another. Thus adding to him wanting to kill himself for letting Biff end up with a bad life and he himself being fired from the job, so he ended his worries and troubles by doing just that.
In addition, the fact that Happy was neglected from his father from such an early age, since Willy always seemed to be more concerned with Biff, Happy adopted from an early age to be less concerned with his father, and accept his position as the years went by. This caused Willy to have less love and concern from one of his family members that he should have had, but because Will never really paid much attention to him, Happy seemed not to bother to try sometimes since he knew he was not going to get the attention he wanted or deserved. As a result Willy was not able to have the love he could have gotten from Happy and Happy continued to be less concerned with him. This is made evident when Biff and Happy invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table.
Furthermore, it may also be said that Linda was considered to be a loving and caring wife to Willy, but it may also be argued that instead of always trying not to aggravate him and say the wrong thing, she should have helped him by taking to him to see a doctor when she realised he was getting crazy in his head. For example, the hose she saw in the back by the gas tank should have told her that something was wrong.
More than anything, it may be stated that Willy was the main cause of his death since he had the American Dream trapped in the depths of his mind, that he would stick with that dream even if it was not working out. Willy stuck to this dream and tried to influence his children from an early age that this dream was the way to go and the way to make things happen. He was right about one thing. It did make things happen. It made him slowly go crazy as a result of being obsessed with the dream and eventually led him to kill himself.
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