The Death of a Salesman

In Act II in Death of a Salesmen the themes of betrayal and abandonment shows its ugly head and really starts to take a toll on the characters in the book. First it seems like Ben abandons his family and his brother when he leaves his home town for Alaska to follow his dreams leaving his bother trying to peruse his morphed idea of the American Dream. Later it seems Willy betrays his wife after Biff comes to see him in Boston to seek help from his dad after he was informed he failed math and wouldn’t be able to graduate only to find his dad hiding a women in the bathroom claiming she is just a “Seller” who was staying down the hall whose room was being painted when in fact he was cheating on his wife and family because as he told Biff in the same scene he was supposedly very lonely. This really is an eye opener giving some insight as to why maybe Willy and his son’s relationship was somewhat suffering. The theme of abandonment also plays a role when after Happy and Biff leave their father alone at the restaurant for two girls after Biff and his father have somewhat of a heated argument over a business meeting that takes place earlier that day. This really seemed to be Willies breaking point. He seems to just crumble and implode after that point in the play. What do you feel out of the two themes played the biggest role in the outcome of the play?