Show how is the father-son relation progressing throughout Death of a Salesman and discuss the reasons for such a relation.

To a great extent, I sense that the relationship that
emerges throughout the play is one where the son understands better the shortcomings of
the father.  I think that Biff understands that his father's guidance and beliefs are
ones that impact his own chances of being happy.  In critiquing himself, Biff
understands that he is following his father's footsteps.  While his father cannot
necessarily find happiness, Biff seeks to prevent himself from going down the same
path.  The development of their relationship lies in Biff understanding Willy's failures
as a father and as a person.  This is part of how Biff comes to understand that he
should embrace a different path to his life in the assertion that Willy failed by
attaching a dollar or material amount to his dreams' success.   It is not that Biff
becomes closer to his father or seeks to become like him, but their relationship matures
in that he understands his father's shortcomings as the play progresses.  What might
have been seen as his own failure is something that Biff is able to place in the larger
context of their own relationship as the play develops.