In class this week we sought to answer some very intriguing questions in our discussion of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. What defines success? And can Biff and Willy be defined as successful? In our discussion of what defines success, two sides of the issue emerged and both were argued vehemently. Many in the class believed that success is defined by how much money you make, how famous you are, and whether you are at the top of your profession. These class members argued that only the unsuccessful believe that “success is relative.” The others side of the argument was that you are successful in life if you are happy. I see validity in each argument which is why my definition takes in a much broader view of success. I believe success is not only professional and financial achievement but also happiness and contentment with your life whatever that might be. In this way success goes beyond the obvious criteria society assigns to it.
I do not believe Willy can be considered successful. Although he is moderately good at his job, has been able to support his family, and is about to pay off the last loan on his house, he is unhappy with his life. However, in Willy’s flawed view of success, he forever feels inadequate because he is not fabulously wealthy like his brother Ben. If Willy could see that success comes in many forms and be satisfied with his modest existence, he too would be able to feel successful. In this way, success is very much in the eye of the beholder.
Conversely, Biff is happy with his aimless life, but cannot be considered successful. Unlike his father, Biff is happy roaming the country and performing odd jobs. He becomes bothered when he is occasionally reminded of his father’s definition for success. When Biff is needed to support his father who is too old to take care of himself, he is unable to do so. Willy is getting forgetful and too old to be a travelling salesman but he cannot retire because Biff is incapable of getting a desk job and earning some real money. In this way, happiness is not the only prerequisite for success. The characters of Willy and Biff in Death of a Salesman demonstrate the multifaceted nature of what can be considered successful. (393)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
So, are you saying that if Willy was happy with his life, you would consider him successful? You seem to support him in your comments here
Although he is moderately good at his job, has been able to support his family, and is about to pay off the last loan on his house, he is unhappy with his life.
except for the fact that he is not happy.
Other than that, I agree with your assessment of Biff.
Que interesante, Kenda! I think you make some very good points, and I particularly agree with your assessment that neither Willy nor Biff can be considered successful. In my view, neither is particularly happy either, though Biff is certainly more satisfied than Willy. Success can be measured in dollars and cents, but it is utterly meaningless if a person is not happy, as we see in both Biff and Willy.
Yay Kendra :-D
I think this is one of the main arguments in the play - the nature of success. I think another facet of this is how success can be defined within the context of today. Thank you for this reminder of the dichotomy of success.
<3
Sophie
Hey Kendra! I loved your blog. I wrote about the same topic as you. I agree with you that "success is not only professional and financial achievement but also happiness and contentment with your life whatever that might be." In my blog I wrote essentially the same thing. Except that I believe that professional and financial achievement is all relative. I also like how you mention Biff. Great job!
Hi Kendra,
I really like your analysis of the extent to which success can be interpreted as. I agree that Willy can not be really considered successful, which makes sense because he feels inferior to his "successful" brother Ben. Maybe if Willy had changed his outlook on life, he would have actually been successful. So, I agree that success is relative to the individual!
Jessica
Kenders,
Excelente! You made a very clear argument on the nature of success, and I definitely agree that success is more complicated that just a level of happiness or a quantity of money. I also agree that Willy and Biff cannot be seen as successful; in my opinion, it is because Willy does not set realistic goals that he can be satisfied with and Biff doesn't set any goals at all.
Good job!
Post a Comment