Introduction
Relationships form a very important theme in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. An example of a relationship in the play is the brothers’ relationship. In the play, Biff and Happy are brothers whose relationship is quite dynamic. The two are the sons of main character in the play, Willy Loman.
Their relationship can be described as that of love but also that is filled with a lot of conflict. They exhibit a lot of the average sibling relationship. Although there are differences that spring up between them, they have however also a lot have in common and this ultimately brings them together. For instance, at the beginning of the play, when they are first introduced to the audience, they can be heard talking about past fling they have had with girls. This shows just how close they really were when growing up (Bloom 14).
However differences are soon exhibited when the brothers start discussing about their futures. Biff has dreams of going away and starting his own farm while Happy hopes to just rise up the business ladder (Bloom 24). However, in spite of these differences, their unity is exhibited by the fact that they have the audacity at a time when their father Willy does not really care much for their dreams at that moment.
Differences between the brothers also arise when their mother, Linda informs them of their father’s wish to kill himself. Biff appears to be not concerned but Happy knowing how much his father has placed faith on him, he tries to convince Biff to talk him out of the idea (Bloom 56).
The thing that however stands out about the brother’s relationship is their general support for each other. Biff and Happy always want what is best for each other and that is essentially how brothers should act and behave.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2001. Print.
