Comparing Biff And My Father In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

From the play Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, Biff states, “I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been” (104). That is how I have felt lately with mine and my mother's relationship. There are many similarities between the relationship of Willy and Biff and my mother and I think the lack of communication and understanding leads to a wedge in the family. The play is about an old salesman who is unable to accept change, it is filled with past memories, dreams, contradiction, arguments, denial and relationships between the family members.
One of the many reasons that I feel a connection with Biff and his relationship with his father, Willy, is in the play there are many moments when Willy contradicts himself. At the beginning of Act I, Willy is back home to find out that his sons are back living at home and he is really upset about this at first. Then he mentions, “‘...work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there's nobody to live in it’” (15). Later, he starts a fight with his wife Linda, saying that Biff is a lazy bum. Linda is fighting against Willy, saying that Biff is just trying to find himself and that Willy should not criticize him so much and Willy ends up changing his mind very easily and agreeing with Linda that Biff is not lazy, but even hardworking (16). Willy says many times in the play that
She taught me all the good ethics I know and I am glad she did, otherwise I would end up like Biff. Yes, neither my mother or Willy are perfect. They are contradictive, they get mad easily, they push their own values and beliefs down our throats, and they only care about what they want. I think that lack of understanding each other leads to a wedge in the relationship. Communicating is the best chance of staying together and living the American