Essay/Term paper: The death of a salesman: how biff shows irresponsibility

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Death of a Salesman

The Death of A Salesman: How Biff Shows Irresponsibility


Have you ever felt as if you do not know what to do with your life?
Everyone does sometimes, but certain people are like that their whole life.
These people are irresponsible and depend on others to survive. In "Death of a
Salesman", Biff is one of these people. He is irresponsible because he depends
on Happy, depends on Willy, and does not know what to do for a living.
Biff looks up on Happy as an example of good life. It seems to him that
Happy's life is stable and successful. Even though this is not true, Biff lets
it bother him. He wants Happy to get him a job in New York so they could work
together. This shows some of his dependency and irresponsibility. Biff does
not seem as if he could live on his own successfully. This disappoints both
Happy and Willy. But this is not the only problem Biff has.
Biff also depends on Willy to get him through life. Willy's low morals
cause Biff to think it's all right to concentrate on football when he was in
high school. Biff does not think he has to work in school. When he flunks math,
he does not know what to do and once again turns to Willy. Now Biff cannot go
to college and since he has been concentrating on football, he has little or no
skills at anything else. He depends on Willy's support to help him. But since
Willy's expectations of Biff are not met, Biff does not receive the help he
needs and moves off on his own. This leaves Biff to find a goal in life and
reach it.
Finally, Biff does not know what to do for a living. He is constantly
moving around, unsure of what to do next. This may be because of his
uncertainty of a future. Biff has never held a steady job. Because of this, he
has never held a steady home. This shows a lot of irresponsibility. Until he
knows what he wants to do, Biff cannot settle down and become an adult. This
inconsistency in employment makes Biff irresponsible.
So far in Biff's life, he has not accomplished anything. He depends on
Happy and Willy, and does not know what to do for a living. He realizes that he
has wasted his life and has to find something besides football to succeed in.
With Happy becoming tired of his antics and Willy on the verge of a breakdown,
Biff is now on his own and has to become responsible. Maybe next time you don't
know what to do with your life, you'll think a little harder.