If one examines Willy and his relationship with Biff, he will find that it is very
inconsistent. Through the eyes of a deconstructive critic, one can see that Willy’s feelings are
always changing and he can never be completely happy or angry with Biff. They appear to be on
good terms for awhile and then a few lines later, they are on bad terms. For example, in Willy’s
memory of Biff as a senior in high school, he brags to everyone about Biff’s success in football
and could not wait to tell of Biff’s touchdown passes in Boston (19). Willy is so proud of his son
and his accomplishments, which include “scholarships to three universities” (20). Biff and Willy
appear to have a strong father, son bond that will never be broken. Unfortunately, this bond is
clearly severed as time goes on because Willy is disappointed in Biff and where he is in life.
After Linda tells Willy that Biff is simply “finding himself” Willy responds by saying that “not
finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!” (6). Biff is not making much money and
in the eyes of his father is a failure. Moreover, Willy is angry with Biff and how he does not do
anything claiming that “Biff is a lazy bum!” (7). A few lines later, though, Willy says that “there’s
one thing about Biff — he’s not lazy” (7). Willy says one thing but then immediately contradicts
himself. It appear that he cannot make up his mind about how he wants to feel towards Biff and
how he views him. In addition, after Biff lies and tells Willy that he has a lunch appointment for
a business, Willy exclaims, “You got it! You got it!” (81). There is a clear sense of pride
expressed by Willy because of Biff’s advancements in the business world. However, after Willy
realizes that Biff was lying about the appointment, he becomes angry again. Biff says that he is
going to leave once and for all and Willy tells him to “rot in hell if you leave this house!” (95).
Willy goes back and forth on his feelings towards Biff and contradicts himself when he speaks
about his son.
Hey Lis! Good job going into the relationship of Biff and Willy. You had good CD's and analysis. The only thing that I would include is a little more "so what?" so that it's clear what the deconstruction lens is adding to the critique. Overall, stellar work my pal.
ReplyDeleteVery thorough outline of Willy's shifting attitude toward Biff--accurate evidence and clear interpretation. I actually have the same question as Kristen--what's the purpose then of all Willy's vacillating feelings? It might be useful to compare his changing attitude to Biff's changing attitude, although is it significant that while Willy's changes every five minutes, Biff's only changes once and permanently when he finds out about his father's infidelity? Since Deconstructionists are all about tensions and states that resist easy categorization, how does the men's inability to settle on one attitude contribute to maintaining other problems in the story, perhaps? Thanks!
ReplyDelete