Death Of A Salesman

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade November 2001

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"Death of a Salesman" One of the main conflicts in "Death of a Salesman" is, father versus son. This conflict is one of the main points in the play that we see Biff separate from his father Willy. There are two times in the entire play when you see both Biff and Willy actually acting like father and son. One is when Willy talks about Biff playing football in the city championship game. The other is when Biff decides to stay in the city and go into sales with his brother Happy. Every other time you see the two together they are always at each other's throats like two crazed dogs. One time Biff is yelling at Willy to stop insulting his mother. Then five minutes later Willy is yelling at Biff not to curse in the house. It is a very unhealthy relationship. They go back and forth at each other and don't really seem to care what the other is thinking.

This is one conflict that explains one theme of the entire play. The fact that neither Willy nor Biff can over come their own stubbornness shows how their relationship is not healthy.

Another conflict that is a main point in they play is man versus himself. We see this with Willy, how his mind is always getting the better of him. An example of this would be when he day dreams about talking to his brother who is rich and asking for his advice on how to run not only his life but his families as well. By Willy trying to kill himself is another way we see this conflict throughout the play. Whether it is Willy trying to crash his car, or him trying to poison himself in the house this conflicts...