Internal Conflict In Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller

Biff's internal conflict in Death of a Salesman is between pleasing his father or doing what's right   and following his own aspirations in life. Throughout the novel, Biff's father "Willy" views of success were very obvious. Willy believed that obtaining the American dream would bring him complete happiness. Willy believed that being popular and attractive would propel an individual forward in life and in their desired profession. Willy was oblivious that he had failed to get his "American dream." These ideals of obtaining their societal success are often unrealistic and impossible to achieve in the end for many. He had failed to meet his goal, so he chose to mould Biff in the way he desired to encourage Biff to thrive for the American dream as well. 

He felt he could find satisfaction in Biff's success and convinced him to follow the same vision of success as himself; unfortunately, this included pushing his beliefs and views onto Biff to share the same dream. Biff had spent his entire life looking up to his father; they were close, and he felt that he needed to please his father. Biff put so much trust into his father’s ideas like being a good leader would get him further in life than learning and working hard. Growing up, Biff was always put above everyone; he was a successful football player and was liked by most people. In his father's eyes, Biff's success was his new and profound source of happiness and he wasn’t going to let Biff move forward with his own choice of independence. Biff stopped thriving for what he wanted and stopped seeking methods to break away from his father's desires and demands. His father praised Biff so much when he did what he wanted. Biff was left to believe that his sole purpose in life was to make his father proud and provide him with the happiness he deserved. This excessive level of praise for Biff left him entirely reliant on his father; he no longer desired to be self-sufficient and enter the real world, where things aren't always simple and people aren't always nice. Later as a grown-up Biff says “Well, I spent six or seven years after high school trying to work myself up. I took roles such as being a shipping clerk, salesman, and business of one kind or another. And it’s a measly manner of existence”. This demonstrates how Biff attempted to follow the salesman life that his father desired for him, but Biff discovers that he lacks the passion for that type of career. It is his father's goal for him, yet he is not successful in this job since it is not something he is enthusiastic about. 

Biff struggles because he knows in his heart that this is not what he wants to do with his life, but he is afraid of disappointing his father and so many other people. His entire life, everyone looked up to him and thought highly of him, and now he is afraid of becoming a disappointment to others if he lets go of this expectation and his father's perception of him. “I’m thirty-four years old, I oughta be making my own future. That’s when I came running home; and now that I get here, I don’t know what to do with myself.” When Biff is away from home, he does what he enjoys most; which is working on the farm. The gap between himself and his father has allowed Biff to do something that offers him happiness, but after he is fired for stealing from his bosses, he continues to do things in his job that would move him ahead and acquire more money; as his father constantly encouraged him to thrive. As a result, he continues to fail and does not achieve the success he desires. Because his father continues to have an influence on his life, he always went home in the spring. He can't quite let go of his past because he still needs his father's attention and admiration, and he still wants to make his father proud of him. He is never able to follow what makes him happy and instead returns to the city to ensure that his father is content and proud of his life.  

Despite the fact that he understands he does not want to live the American dream that his father has envisioned for him, he is unable to go on, and despite the fact that he feels trapped at home, he is unable to leave.