Happy’s Lament

In Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, Happy suffers alongside his parents, Linda and Willy, and brother, Biff. Rather than face the suffering that plagues the rest of his family, Happy attempts to make himself a pariah. Early on in the play, its clearly obvious that Happy is ashamed of his Willy since he can never talk to him directly nor does he show any interest towards his father. Although he ignores his father’s plight, he idolizes his mother and attempts to make her proud. While ignoring Willy and trying to impress his mother, Happy is following in the same footsteps as his father which will also lead to the same “death of a salesman” as his father has. In order to prevent the suffering within his family from festering inside of him, he avoids any form of confrontation. For example, in every instance Biff and Willy argue he keeps his mouth and butts in at the very end in order to try and “resolve” the problem, even though it’s just a lie. Such as when Biff and Willy are arguing over getting a job in the city for Bill Oliver. Happy brings up the false idea of “the Loman Line”, sporting goods the he and his brother can sell together. It’s a plan even he knows he can’t accomplish, but he says it anyway just to appease his father. This also leads to Happy’s excessive lying. The best example for Happy’s lying is when he lies to the girls by saying “No, that’s not my father. He’s just a guy,” (p. 63) when they ask him about his father. His pride and image (although it’s all a lie) mean more to him than his own father’s sanity. His idolization of his mother also leads to his future downfall. He attempts to make his mother proud by trying to be what he thinks she wants him to be. Happy is a kiss-up, but his mother doesn’t buy any of it. When Biff and Happy came back home after their father was forced to walk home on his own, their mother calls them out on it. Rather than face it himself, he attempts to weasel his way out of trouble by saying “But, Mom, he had a great time with us,” (p. 124) even though he clearly knows the wrongful actions which took place that night. Even though he continues to try kissing up to his mother, she sees through his every move and doesn’t believe a word he says. Happy fails to see that his philandering and cold-heartedness will lead him down the same path as his father. His father led the same life as he is living now. He would lie to himself and everyone around him. Willy considered himself a “hotshot” and a natural born salesman. Although, the facts that are laid out in front of him about his sales clearly states that he is nothing but a mediocre salesman that can’t make a name for himself. But instead of accepting the fact the he can’t turn his dream into a reality, he lies to everyone around him. Happy is the same way; he lies so much that he is convincing himself that these lies are truths. This falsehood will eventually lead to his demise. Happy’s lament is not shown through his actions, but he masks it by lying to himself and his family. He believes that he is building a reputation for himself when in reality everyone around him sees him as the con-artist he truly is. His inability to please his mother and false attempts of trying to create a dream of his own leads to his suffering. Instead of seeking help, at the end of the play he says “I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream… and this is where I’m gonna win it for him,” (p. 139). If he is unable to see how false his ideals are, he too will die the death of a salesman.