Arthur Miller Quotes

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. In this flashback scene between Willy and his two sons, Biff is talking about Charley’s son Bernard. Bernard has just left after Willy tells him not to be a pest and calls him "anemic." When Willy asks if Bernard is liked, Biff says that he is "not well liked." Here he is repreating the same words his father used moments before about Charley. For Willy the recipe for success is having a good personality and being "well liked." We see how Willy transfers his beliefs and values to his young sons and doesn’t prove to be a good role model to them. The irony is that Bernard will go on to become a successful lawyer, while Biff flunks math, loses his scholarships and ends up as a low paid farm workers who struggles to find himself.