To what extent do you agree with this assessment of Willy Loman by his son Biff?

Willy Loman was a man of 'greatness', a man who was 'way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine' and but was a man who 'didn't know who he was'. Above all, Willy Loman was a dreamer, a salesman who saw it necessary to 'enter the jungle' to 'get the diamonds out'. From a reader's view, Willy was a very foolish man who turned his back onto reality and lived out his hollow dream but yet to access Biff's claim of Willy's dreams being 'all, all wrong'. There are three crucial aspects in which we must examine. Firstly, we must examine the battered and seemingly wretched character of Willy Loman, to understand how he came to these dreams. Secondly, we must evaluate Willy's eldest son, Biff, we must perceive his knowledge of his 'father' and why he warns his father thus. Finally, to make an accurate assessment of Willy's dreams, we have to grasp and conceive the idea of Willy's dream, the American dream.

In Death of a Salesman, Willy is presented as being a man who had a chance at success, but misses it and then tries to grasp at something which he can't reach. At fi

At the end when Biff realizes there's no point to stealing, he sees that he must forget everything he's ever believed in, in his father's words, Biff must go out and learn to find his dreams and finish them. Biff is the only character who has grown in the play and this is obvious when he calls his father a 'fake', telling him that his dreams are 'dangerous'. He also exposes the fact that they 'haven't spoken a word of truth' in the house and here he reveals that everything they've done, it's all been hyped up and that their living a life which isn't real.

Biff's statement of Willy have the 'wrong dreams, all, all wrong' is not necessarily correct. Willy didn't have the wrong dream, it wasn't 'a phony', this is due to the fact that dreams are suppose to be accomplishable and Willy did have his chance to accomplish that dream but he didn't. He had many chances in which he could have gone to Alaska to help his brother Ben but he refused. Willy could have told Linda about 'the woman' and thus resolved his conflict with Biff but he didn't. Willy could have taken Charley's job and lived happily ever after but he didn't. Not because he was a negative person or wanted to be a 'self-made man'. Willy did it because he had the heart of a salesman but he was too blind to make use of it otherwise. There is no doubt that at one time of his life, Willy was successful, this is shown in his 'flashbacks' where it is perfect, almost perfect where it not for the fact that Willy continues to fill Biff with 'hot air' and has an excuse for everything. It would also have been perfect had Willy not lied about his success. It is these contributing factors, Willy as the Salesman, Biff as his finally maturing son and the Great American Dream that allow us to make an accurate assessment in that Willy didn't have the wrong dreams, he just didn't use the right methods to accomplish them, a sad fact which led to his demise and the ultimate irony in that the insurance company would not pay and thus his death would have meant nothing but fulfilled his own prophecy. 'Work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there's nobody to live in it'

By understanding the fact that Biff was the only character who had truly learned something and had matured shows that his words are credible and thus to be believed. Willy Loman however is not. However, from what we have done, it is not credible to state that Willy's dreams were 'wrong, all wrong' until we discuss them further.

So which 'view' of Willy is correct? Unfortunately the answer is both of them. Willy is a tired man, he knows deep down that his better days have passed but instead of looking towards the future, he still looks back and regrets. One notable example is how Willy has 'flashbacks' of a better life years ago. Here, he is the proud father of two young striving boys and the loving husband of a caring wife. However, even in this perfect scenario, all is not perfect. We find that Biff and Happy have been stealing materials from the construction site next door, Biff has also stolen a football but instead of punishing them as suggested by Willy's wife Linda, Willy convinces himself that Biff is innocent

Some common words found in the essay are:
American Dream, Salesman Willy, Biff Biff, Willy Loman, Dave Singleman, Willy Willy, Willy Charley's, Biff Loman, David Singleman, Charley Bernard, willy loman, american dream, death salesman, willy's dreams, willy's dream, blue riding smile, willy biff, biff biff, dream american, suppose accomplishable, biff character, 'way blue riding, willy didn't wrong, dream american dream,
Approximate Word count = 2132
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)