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In Death of a Salesman, what did Willy teach Biff as a boy?
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Willy taught Biff that being "well-liked" was more important than integrity, responsibility, or hard work. He emphasized outward appearance and charm over real skills and ethics, suggesting success comes from popularity alone. Willy also condoned cheating and stealing, failing to instill a moral compass. This flawed upbringing led Biff to believe he could achieve success without effort, contributing to his lack of work ethic and the challenges he faces as an adult.
Willy fails to instill a sense of integrity, responsibility, and determination in his son, Biff, as a boy. As was mentioned in the previous post, Willy teaches his son that the most important thing in life is to be "well-liked." Willy believes that his son can accomplish anything if he is simply well-liked. Willy fails to teach his son the importance of hard work and dedication, and teaches Biff to focus on his outward appearance and personality. Willy tells Biff, "Be liked and you will never want" (Miller 21). Willy also teaches Biff that it is not wrong to cheat or steal. Willy does not chastise his son for stealing a basketball and encourages Biff to cheat off of Bernard's test. Willy's terrible parenting skills doom Biff as an adult. Biff has no work ethic or moral compass because of the way he was raised. Biff grows up thinking that...
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he will be successful simply because he is athletic and well-liked which is not true.
Willie taught Biff a lot of things that didn't serve him well in life. He taught him that being "well liked" was the most important thing, more important than real skills (like algebra). When Biff's scholarship was on the line because his teacher dared fail him just because he couldn't pass the test, he went to Boston to find his father because he knew that the teacher would not be able to say no to a man like his Dad. Unfortunately, what he found in Boston brought both their lives crashing down around them.
In Death of a Salesman, what values did Willy teach Biff as a boy?
The incident with Bill Oliver can be directly linked to the values that Willy taught Biff (and Happy) when the boys were growing up. Let’s first look into what is going on. Biff and Happy are talking about Biff’s plan to start a business. Biff tells Happy that he is considering to request a startup loan from Bill Oliver.
Bill Oliver, a sporting goods businessman, was once Biff’s employer. However, during the time Biff was employed by Bill, Biff stole a carton of basketballs from him. In fact, the reason why Biff quit his job is because he (Biff) suspected that Bill had found out about the theft. Still, according to Biff, when he decided to quit,
[Bill Oliver] put his arm on [Biff’s] shoulder, and he said, »Biff, if you ever need anything, come to me.«
And yet, Biff uses this memory as a sensible reason to go to Oliver, nearly ten years after the last time he saw him, to ask him for a loan of 10, 000 dollars for a business idea.
For most people, the very premise of this idea would make no sense. However, the plan itself shows the influence of Willy Loman’s upbringing and teaching of values.
During each of Willy’s flashbacks, we see evidence of Willy embellishing reality, and encouraging his children to join in the fantasies that he builds. He makes himself out to be a very successful salesman when, clearly, he is not. He calls his children “Adonises” and complements them excessively on superficial things, like their looks and their popularity at school. This is especially obvious with Biff.
Willy also over exaggerates the importance of Biff’s high school football “career,” and basically raises Biff and Happy to believe that, as long as they are well-liked, they will be automatically successful. We find no evidence of Willy teaching the boys about the value of hard work, personal sacrifice, and respect for others.
These are the reasons why it is no coincidence that Biff would have the brashness to think that it is OK to go to someone whom he has disrespected in the past (by stealing from him) and request a loan for his own benefit.
Part of the Bill Oliver plan is also influenced by the reactions of Willy and Happy when Biff talks about it. We see how Happy completely ignores the theft incident and goes on to encourage Biff to go speak to Oliver
I bet he’d back you. Cause he thought highly of you, Biff. I mean, they all do. You’re well liked, Biff.
As far as Willy Loman goes, he retakes his tendency to embellish the truth. He assures Linda that Bill Oliver will remember Biff “Wait’ll Oliver gets a look at him.” He also goes on saying that Bill Oliver called Biff all the way “from the West” because he “wants Biff very badly.” The three Lomans essentially view Biff’s decision to appear uninvited at his former boss’s office to request a loan as a sound business decision.
The whole “meeting” with Oliver is a disaster, and it does not even happen. Partly it is because, as expected, Bill Oliver does not even remember Biff. It is during this incident that Biff realizes that he has been living a fantasy created by the ideas of Willy Loman. He basically wakes up from this manipulation and it is clear that he feels more resentment for Willy now than ever before. He realizes now that, because of those null values taught by Willy, he is now the person that he is.