Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' - The Loman Family and the Father-Son Relationship Between Willy and Biff

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 2.0, University of Paderborn, language: English, abstract: He wants to live on through something - and in his case, his masterpiece is his son. I think all of us want that, and it gets more poignant as we get more anonymous in this world. This quote, said by the author of Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller in 1984, provides just a slight insight into the father-son relationship of Willy and Biff Loman which I will analyze in the present term paper in depth. Moreover, I will have a closer look at the Loman family and how they interact. Firstly, the author will be briefly introduced and the background and the reasons for writing the play are pointed out. Furthermore I will give an overview of the drama and its structure and formal aspects. After this my attention will be directed on the Loman family and I will initially focus on its members and characterize them. Then I will analyze how the relationship between Willy and Biff has developed and why it fails during the play. Finally, I will give a conclusion which will sum up the most important findings which I figured out during my analysis.