Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller :: Papers

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller In every family unit or household there are roles that each members have to play. These are there so that each person knows what is expected of them and what to expect from other people. They can be basic roles such as the housework, for example one of a housewife's roles would be to keep the house clean. Or they can be less obvious, for example always being available to offer emotional support and being a friendly shoulder to cry on. These varied roles within a group of people can be recognised and discussed by the members, overt, or it can be that the members themselves don't even realise they exist or that any of these roles are assigned to them within the family group, covert. The roles that each member plays can be dependant on several things, for instance age, experience, sex or even the job that they do. Over time these have changed. In past the roles were rigid and ascribed. Women were expected to be housewives and mothers and men to be the breadwinners being able to support their family financially. Nowadays these set roles have become more blurred and conjugal roles in particular are often joint. However in the 1950's we have to remember that the roles within the family were somewhat archaic and traditional compared to today's society. Biff has several roles like all the members of the Loman family. As an elder brother to Happy he offers him advice and help. The two of them get on very well and have a good relationship. We see this at the start of Act I when the two boys are in their bedroom. They talk candidly and with ease sharing a laugh and joke. They have grown up together and Biff has always supported his brother and helped him out, we learn this from when Biff set Happy up with a girl for his first time. He is a good brother to Happy. Biff's other roles in the family are mostly all set by Willy his father.