The cause of relationship breakdown between sons and father in 'Death of a Salesman'

The protagonist, in the American play, "Death of a Salesman" written by Arthur Miller, Willy (William) Loman a salesman residing in Brooklyn, New York with his wife, Linda and two sons, Biff and Happy. Mr Loman was once the idol of his two sons in their younger years, however, a drift has formed between them, moreso Willy and Biff.

First and foremost, Biff once idolized his father to perfection and thought him completely wonderful and not likely to do anything wrong. This ideology soon disintregrated when he went to visit his father at his hotel room and discovered his father was having an affair. Biff's shock was so great it not only changed his perspective of his father and made him think Willy to be a "fake", but also made him lose respect for himself and how he used to view things, especialy in the working world. He no longer wished to live like his father wished he would nor follow in his father's footsteps.

Happy, on the other hand, has no idea of his father's affair or his brother's knowledge thereof. He as a youngster was always trying to get the attention of his father, and because his relationship was not as close as that of Willy and Biff he did not seem to notice the drift that had formed between the father and son relationship over the years. Also he did not value Willy as much as Biff had, neither was he carrying Biff's burden, which made Biff now resent his father. Happy, now was a man, he was living by himself and only visited the family home upon occasion, which made him even more aloof. However he did know about his father's situation. Willy occasionally speaks to himself and an imaginary "Biff ", which worries Linda more and more.

Additionally, Biff, oblivious to the fact his father had his own problems, secretly blames his father for his poor disposition. It is his father who gave him the false ideology that to succeed one must be well-liked and have personal attractiveness, which only left him feeling lost, useless and hopeless. He also despises the way in which his father speaks to Linda and treats her without the amount of love and respect she deserves. An example would be in the latter parts of Act 1, in the scene where Biff states that he would be going to see Mr Bill Oliver in hope of receiving a job. This excites Willy and also Linda, and as they all plan out how to go about it all (with Willy shouting out instructions), Linda would interject once in a while how happy and proud she feels, and what a great idea it is, only to be shushed and silenced by an over-excited Willy. This annoys Biff and he finally shouts out, "Don't yell at her Pop!" Thus starting another argument between the two. Happy, not understanding why Biff and their father are always arguing tries to soothe everything by changing the subject, which soon leads to yet another dispute, and overwhelmed and guilty departure of the father.

Finally, the slow realization that his father might be losing his mind, makes Biff all the more disgusted by him. He possibly thinks his father's "dirty" past is haunting him. The older Biff shows how little he cares for his father. He states that his father has " no character ... spewing out that vomit from his mind." Nonetheless, he still promises to make amends and help out just to please and soothe his mom, who he addresses lovingly as "pal".

All in all, the fact that his father had an affair, gave him the wrong perception on life and ill treats their mother has set a dent in the once close relationship of father and son between Willy and Biff. The relationship between Happy and Willy suffers also, but not as badly, it must probably be because of the fact that he is so aloof and seeks a different lifestyle. Also, it seems as though Willy does not notice that there is a slight drift between himself and Happy, maybe Happy does not notice it either. However it is apparent to the reader and also Linda, who makes it even plainer to the eye of the reader.