Opinions
- Alyssa Fong
- Jan 14, 2019
- 2 min read
Biff and Happy Loman constantly try to prove themselves to their parents just as I do with my peers.
Biff and Happy Loman constantly try to prove to Linda, but more importantly Willy, that they are successful in their area of work. Biff, more than Happy, tries to keep up his former image in high school of being the golden boy who succeeds at everything he does. Because his former glory was broken and destroyed right before high school ended, Biff feels the need to prove himself to his parents when he got older. Biff has to constantly prove to Willy that he could be better off without working in the salesman business but gives in to keep his father happy. Happy on the other hand works harder when trying to prove himself because to Linda and Willy, Biff was the son that could do no wrong. At the end of Death of a Salesman, Happy tries to prove to his mother and dead father that he will follow in Willy’s footsteps to become the salesman Willy was supposed to be. He was going to prove to everyone that Willy was an honourable man. In this sense, I am more similar to Biff, taking his life into his own hands and finding a job that he is truly passionate about.
In my life, there are people who constantly try to tell me that my opinions are wrong and that they aren’t valid. These people constantly say that my choice of university is bad even though they aren’t the ones in my shoes or applying to the same program. One of my university choices is Brock, which I know is not one of the top universities in Canada but is still has a great program for me. They also tell me that country music, which is my preference, isn’t right and that my opinions are useless because of this. Country music definitely isn’t the most popular music genre to listen to but why would my preference matter to anyone else? Also, my favourite sport to watch is hockey but I constantly get told that the sport they like is better. I’m not forcing anyone to watch hockey with me so can’t I be entitled to my own opinion? Because this is my life, I don’t feel the need to prove myself to them but feel the need to justify why their opinion isn’t always right. I could become successful with any university and it wouldn’t matter what my favourite type of music or sport is.
Between myself and the Loman’s, although we are trying to prove different things, we relate in the fact that we are doubted on and how doubters think their opinions matter more. Similar to Biff, we took our lives into our own hands and forgot about what the doubters told us. Biff pursued the job he was passionate about and I am going to go wherever I want to go. Biff feels like his opinion and life should be there for him to write and not anyone else’s job which I completely agree with.
Great post, Alyssa! It's important to stand up for what makes you happy and not let others control your life. Many people like to judge others, especially if they're not satisfied with their own life. In Death of a Salesman, Biff knows exactly what makes him fulfilled and does not give in to the pressure to live up to his father's standards. At the end of the play, Happy promises to fulfill his father's dream by becoming a wealthy businessman. He chooses to carry on his father's legacy, not realizing that it will not bring happiness.
- Nick
I'm happy to hear that you choose to fight the doubters and stick to your own preferences, like Biff. You shouldn't have to change anything that makes you, you in order to please others. It's your life, so you control it, you get to make the decisions. Ignore all the negativity and show them that you will be successful at your chosen university. It's good that you are similar to Biff and not Happy, because Happy will try to please everyone, just like Willy. He will not enjoy his life when he realizes that he chose pleasing people over following your dream.
Wow! It's amazing to see how you can stand up to people just like that; most find it quite difficult to do. I think those that seriously try to force their own opinions on others don't understand that different people like different things. There's a Spanish saying my family says very often: "en gustos no hay nada escrito", which loosely translates to "regarding interests nothing is written" and is a saying that I am very fond of. It must be tiring to spend your days telling everyone to stop judging the things you like, and so I hope that both you and everyone else that has to go through this struggle- such as the Lomans, are able to keep up…
Good post. At times I feel that people can try to bring others down because they themselves are down. At times, when people doubt you, there are two options, think about it and waste time on it stressing about this person's opinion, or moving on. I've noticed in life the less you care the less stress you have, now, I wouldn't reccomend having this mentality for all aspects of life, but at times you realise these people bringing you down come and go, they don't have to be a part of your life, if they are your friends, you can distance yourself, or you cant tell them how you feel, if they truly do care they would listen, otherwise, they…
Good connection to Death of a Salesman. it is important to focus on yourself rather than other people's comments that bring you down. In death of a salesman, Biff wanted to prove to his father that he was not a failure and would not stop. Biff wanted to be happy with his own life, but the opinion of others weighed him down and drove him closer to failure. It is important for everybody to ignore these sorts of comments that would affect us negatively and push us away from the things we enjoy and love. Biff wanted to pursue what he was comfortable and happy with, and that is how we should act, not doing what others think is good.…