- 8)How does Biff react when Bernard warns him that he might flunk math? How does Willy react? Why does Willy react this way? Why does Willy take out his anger on Bernard? (p. 20)
Biff reacts as if he hadn’t even heard what Bernard had said. This shows that he puts little to no importance in his math studies, and he completely disregards what Bernard is saying. It’s obvious that he hasn’t been studying before then. Bernard warns that Biff will fail if he doesn’t start studying. At first, Willy reacts responsibly. He suggests to Biff that he better go off and study. Biff again, disregards what both Bernard and his father say, and continues to change the subject. When Bernard reacts to this, Willy then responds angrily defending his son and calling Bernard a “pest”. Willy responds this way because of his views on success. He believes that if you are well liked, you can get anywhere in the business world. He goes on to explain that even though Bernard can get the best marks in school, when they get out, it won’t mean anything, and Biff will be five times ahead of him because he is able to make an appearance and create personal interest.
- 9) In Willy’s eyes, Bernard (p. 20) and his father Charley (p. 18) share the same flaw. What is it? How does Willy contrast his sons to Charley’s son?
Willy believes that both Bernard and Charley are unlikeable and too focused on working and doing everything “right”. Willy compares Bernard to his sons by mentioning that Happy and Biff have personality and are interesting people which is what will set them ahead in the business world. Willy believes that Bernard’s current success in school will not help him at all once he enters the real world and would rather focus on building likeable people who will get ahead by using their charisma and charm.
- 10) According to Willy, what is the single greatest quality of “the man who gets ahead”? (p. 21) Do you agree or disagree with him? What does it mean to “get ahead”? Explain using examples from life.
Willy thinks that “the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead.”(pg.33)Willy’s sole belief is that a person should be popular and well-liked and then they will “get ahead” and success. I don’t agree with him, cause well-liked cannot be used in every staff in life. For example, although you are well-liked, however, the score won’t change because of your well-liked or you are popular, you need to rely on your own efforts.
- 11)Willy tells Linda that “people don’t seem to take to [him].” How does this compare to how Willy describes his reputation to his sons on page 19? Why is there a difference between how he talks about his feelings to his sons and to his spouse?
When speaking with his sons, Willy tells them that he is looked very highly upon in his industry, implying that no matter where he goes, he can make money just because people like him. Willy states that he “never has to wait in line to see a buyer. Willy Loman is here. That’s all they have to know, and I go right through.” This shows how highly he wanted his sons to think of him and how he thought that his success would immediately result in the respect he wanted to gain.
Willy has a hard time expressing himself in the way that he actually feels. Linda is the closest person to Willy in his life, and in comparison, to everyone else, she would be the one he would be best able to open up to. When talking to Linda, what he says reflects his true feelings about his sons. In reality, he thinks they, Biff in particular, are failures. He believes his son is lazy, unmotivated, uncharismatic, and generally not meeting the expectation Willy set for him. This he says openly to Linda. Yet, while speaking to his sons, he completely hides this opinion, and encourages them blindly. Willy believes in an aspect of being “Well Liked”, and he will change his attitude to fit that best depending on the situation. And he wants to be well liked by his sons, so he appeals to them as best as he can.