death of a salesman by arthur miller

Curiously, most critics seem to accept at face value the assumption that at the conclusion of Arthur Miller's classic drama Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman determines to commit suicide because his older son Biff has at last openly and unequivocally declared his 'love' for his father (e.g., Aarnes 104; Bigsby 123; Hynes 286; Dukore 39). Yet a close examination of this crucial scene and the subsequent Requiem reveals a far greater degree of ambiguity than has been acknowledged. Though Willy has obviously contemplated suicide for a long time, he only makes his final, irrevocable decision after the play has reached its undoubted emotional climax, Biff's dramatic declaration to his fathers 'Pop, I'm nothing! I'm nothing, Pop. Can't you understand that? There's no spite in it anymore. I'm just what I am, that's all. ' Following this outburst, Biff physically collapses in his father' s arms, and Miller carefully comments in his stage direction: 'Biff' s fury has spent itself, and he breaks down, sobbing, holding on to Willy, who dumbly fumbles for Biff's face.' The son's final words to his father in the play are simply: 'I'll go in the morning. Put him put him to bed' (133). At best, this statement can only be regarded as a tepid and ambiguous expression of concern. Yet Willy's immediate reaction to it is to conclude: 'Biff he likes me!' To which Linda and Happy quickly respond with enthusiastic reinforcement: 'He loves you, Willy!' and 'Always did, Pop' (133). Their reaction suggests that Biff's feelings are obvious. However, Linda and Happy are repeatedly shown to be among the most deluded, obtuse, and mendacious characters in the play. Earlier, each had made equally enthusiastic and reinforcing but dangerously inaccurate comments on the supposed affection of Bill Oliver, Biff' s former boss, for his departed employee. When Biff outlined his plan to persuade Oliver to 'stake' him to a business venture, he insisted: 'He did like me. Always liked me.' Linda immediately exclaimed: 'He loved you' (64). Earlier, Happy had responded to the plan in a similar fashion: 'I bet he'd back you. 'Cause he thought highly of you, Biff' (26). Yet Oliver, when Biff finally sees him in his office, doesn' t 'remember who [Biff] was or anything' (104). Even the choice of words of Linda's and Happy's comments in the scene with Willy seems deliberately to echo their earlier remarks, as if Miller is intentionally undermining their credibility in this scene. And if their reactions are as erroneous as they had been earlier with Oliver, it casts Willy's subsequent suicide into a new light. For it is primarily due to their insistence on Biff's love for his father, not to any explicit comment by his son, that Willy decides to take his own life to provide Biff with insurance money for a fresh start. If Biff does indeed not love his father, Willy's suicide must be regarded as just the last in the series of futile, misguided gestures that made up his life. Biff's awareness of this fact, then, would go far to explain his puzzling tension and bitterness at the Requiem, where he argues sullenly with Happy, Charley, and Linda. For perhaps he realizes that to make plain the sad futility of Willy's act would be to rob the ceremony of what little dignity it possesses. Therefore, he remains virtually silent as the other mourners express their eloquent, if contradictory, judgments on Willy's life, insisting only that his father 'had the wrong dreams' and 'never knew who he was' (138). If the belief that Biff 'loves' Willy is only the final, most tragic false perception in a play permeated by such uncertainty, the son' s silence on this critical point is both understandable and justified. WORKS CITED Aarnes, William. 'Tragic Form and the Possibility of Meaning in Death of a Salesman.' Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1988. 84-110. Bigsby, C. W. E. 'Death of a Salesman: In Memoriam.' Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed. Harold Bloom. 113-128. Dukore, Bernard F. Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press International, 1989 Hynes, Joseph A. ''Attention Must be Paid . . .'' Death of a Salesman: Text and Criticism. Ed. Gerald Weales. New York: Viking, 1967. 280- 289. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Viking Compass Edition, 1958. . 'Tragic Form and the Possibility of Meaning in Death of a Salesman. ' Arthur Miller& apos;s Death of a Salesman: Modern Critical Interpretations critics seem to accept at face value the assumption that at the conclusion of Arthur Miller& apos;s classic drama Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman determines