ly starts to fall apart on them, Happy tries to ignore him so that he won’t look bad in front of the women. "No, that’s not my father. He’s just a guy" (115). Willy never instills family pride in them. It is this reason that a gap exists in their relationship with him. Arthur Miller’s ability to have characters interact with one another allows him to comment on father-son relationships and the conflicts involved. A father is the most important thing a boy can have in his life. They relate to one another on a level that cannot be achieved through a mother-son relationship. It is important to have communication in the relationship because talking brings the two closer. A father, though, needs to know when to play an active role in his son’s life, and when to be more of an observer. If he mixes the two up, serious repercussions may occur. A father can be the best thing in his son’s life, but he needs to care for the right ...
