In Arthur Miller's comedy Death of a Salesman, Biff and Willy Loman both struggle to preserve their dignity, but in different ways. In the scene where Biff finally realizes he's worth a dime, Willy refuses to believe what Biff says and adds that “he's not worth a dime! I'm Willy Loman and you're Biff Loman! because if he admitted that he was no different from anyone else, he would admit that his whole life is false. And Biff who is a dime doesn't know what his place in life is, we see it when he says “Pop, I'm nothing! I am nothing." If on the one hand Willy fights to preserve his dignity because he struggles to maintain the illusion about his life, on the other hand Biff fights to preserve his dignity because he has not yet found his place in life and struggles to accept that he is not someone his father wants him to be. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Part of Willy Loman's dignity is in his delusion about his success, as is shown at the beginning of the play when Willy says, "I'm the New England man." I'm vital in New England. and Willy lives believing that he is vital to the company. When Willy asks Howard to let him work in the office in New York, he uses the point that "in 1928" he "had a great year." and "averaged one hundred and seventy dollars a week in commissions." This idea he has of his success is an illusion and Howard confirmed that Willy "never averaged" the amounts he claims to have made. Willy's illusion that he was vital to the company completely crumbled when Howard fired him, saying, "I don't want you representing us." Another part of Willy's dignity lies in his pride as a father and the fact that he did everything possible for his children to achieve success. Willy's recipe for success is based entirely on the cult of personality, according to Willy only great men are truly well-liked and this is what brings them success. Willy's beliefs and behaviors have been transferred to those of his son, we can see this in the scene where Biff talks about Bernard, saying that Bernard "likes him, but he doesn't like him very much". Willy tries to protect the illusion of being a good father when he talks to Bernard about what happened to Biff when he visited Willy in Boston. Bernard asked Willy, "Did you tell him not to go to summer school?" to which Willy replied that he "begged him to go" and even "ordered him to go!". Willy tries to make it seem like it's not his fault and Biff is completely at fault when in reality Willy had everything to do with it. . Bernard asked Willy what happened to BifF when he "disappeared from the block for almost a month", then asked another question "What happened to Boston, Willy?" and this basic question causes Willy's illusion to collapse. Because Willy knows that Biff failed math after visiting Boston because he finally saw who Willy really is, a "fake!" a “little fake fake!”. Biff realized this when he discovered that Willy was cheating on Linda with a woman, trying to defend himself Willy said that "She's nothing to me, Biff, I was lonely, I was terribly lonely." and all his words did not make him any less guilty of his act, Biff was emotionally dejected after seeing that his father is not someone he thought he was. That's why Biff failed math and Willy can be said to be responsible for it. Unlike Willy, Biff's dignity is tied to his sense of place in life. When Biff and Happy talk about what the future would be, Biff tells Happy, “I don't know what the future is. I don't know what I should want. His words confirm that he has not"”.