Act 2 Part 2 Values

The standout false value in this play is in the definition of success as achieving popularity and money as preached by Willy. The real value seems to be placed on character as seen through Bernard and Charley’s relationship. There also seems to be some value placed on education, which is one big factor that lets Bernard “succeed” and Biff fail. This reminded me of the movie “An Education” starring Carey Mulligan, which touches upon similar ideas in 1960’s England. To me the play is a lot about dreams, aspirations, and plans for the future. What I related to most was the notion of planning for the future, hoping for the best, but not really executing the plans. We see it in Willy and Biff as they talk about all the possibilities ahead of them, then Happy realizes that they “didn’t settle much” (14).