In Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is stuck in a state of delusion regarding his dreams of being a successul, wealthy salesman. Although Willy's dreams are described as "massive," he fails to realize they are unattainable and his hopes are corrupted (12). Willy longs for a career like his brother Ben's, who "walked into a jungle, and [came] out, the age of twenty-one, and he [was] rich" (28). His repeated flashbacks and hallucinations of Ben manifest his distorted mind from his obsession with the ideal. Willy convinces himself that this success he longs for is the only valuable way of life and he will not accept anything else for himself or his sons.
Willy's delusion over achieving his ideal career and wealth intensifies and contributes to his harsh expectations for his sons, Biff and Happy. He wants his boys to share the same dreams and strive for the career he so desperately longed for. Linda, Willy's wife and the boys' mother, states, "His whole attitude seemed to be hopeful" when describing Biff in the beginning of the play. He dreamed of working on a farm out West, and he had no interest in the salesman life. However, Willy's expectations of Biff, caused from his delusional dreams, destroy Biff's hopes for his future. Biff tries to live up to his father, pleading "Dad I'll make good, I'll make good," but Willy looks past any attempts of Biff to be a successful person because all he cares about is wealth and success within his career.
Biff exclaims, "Will you let me go, for Christ's sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?...I'm not bringing home any prizes any more and you're going to stop waiting for me to bring them home!" (132 - 133). If Willy were to take this piece of advice for himself and face the reality of his career, he could revive from his delusional state and Biff could be hopeful again too. Willy's delusion was the reason he had no chance to succeed as a salesman, and his expectations the delusion brought about affected his son Biff to a point where he felt like "the scum of the earth" (124).
Willy's delusion over achieving his ideal career and wealth intensifies and contributes to his harsh expectations for his sons, Biff and Happy. He wants his boys to share the same dreams and strive for the career he so desperately longed for. Linda, Willy's wife and the boys' mother, states, "His whole attitude seemed to be hopeful" when describing Biff in the beginning of the play. He dreamed of working on a farm out West, and he had no interest in the salesman life. However, Willy's expectations of Biff, caused from his delusional dreams, destroy Biff's hopes for his future. Biff tries to live up to his father, pleading "Dad I'll make good, I'll make good," but Willy looks past any attempts of Biff to be a successful person because all he cares about is wealth and success within his career.
Biff exclaims, "Will you let me go, for Christ's sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?...I'm not bringing home any prizes any more and you're going to stop waiting for me to bring them home!" (132 - 133). If Willy were to take this piece of advice for himself and face the reality of his career, he could revive from his delusional state and Biff could be hopeful again too. Willy's delusion was the reason he had no chance to succeed as a salesman, and his expectations the delusion brought about affected his son Biff to a point where he felt like "the scum of the earth" (124).