Painful love and crazy hope in the death of a salesman A father is an important role model in the life of a young man; perhaps the most important. A father must guide his children, support them, educate them and, above all, love them. In the play Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, a 63-year-old elderly salesman, Willy Loman has worked all his life for his children. Happy and above all Biff, his two children, where his pride and joy are his reason for living. Willy tried as hard as he could to provide for them, to support them, to transform them into men; but he failed. Willy's greatest fault, perhaps, was his inability to see his children for who they truly were. Biff and Happy were never destined to become great men, yet Willy always believed in them. While Willy's hope is touching, it is also silly. Willy Loman's blind faith in his son Biff's abilities destroyed Biff's sense of restraint and modesty. Despite Biff's obvious incompetence and mediocrity, Willy vehemently refused to accept his son's failure to "catch up." Biff "has stolen every good job since high school!" (131), yet Willy cannot accept that his son is "a dime" and declares that Biff simply cannot spite him. “I want you to know… wherever you go, that you cut your life short out of spite!” (129). By blaming Biff for his problems, Willy frees himself from any guilt. Willy fails to realize that it was his ineptitude as a father that created Biff's character. If Willy had been a little more aware of his son's situation, of his true character, Biff might have realized sooner that he was not "a leader of men." When asked whose fault it was that he never accomplished anything, Biff replied "...I never got anywhere...halfway through the paper...what I admired was nothing but a" false,” and Biff lost all reason in his life. Everything Willy had taught him was destroyed that night. Every rule, every advice, was undone by that one act of adultery. Willy Loman did his best to be a good father encouraged his children, worked all his life for them and tried to help them in every way possible. The only problem was that, despite his heart, Willy was not a good father to his children, but tragically, any more he tried, the worse they got. Ultimately, Willy failed as a father, but he did his best. He loved his children, in some cases, too much, and never once questioned their greatness is touching, it's also hurtful that Willy's delusions of grandeur hurt his children more than they help them.