To answer this question, you might look more closely at
Willy's own past. His father deserted his family when Willy was three. The flute music
that sounds throughout the play in Willy's flashbacks is the reminder of the father that
Willy never had. Consequently, Willy doubts his ability to be a good father. In one
flashback, he seeks Ben's approval about the way he is raising his
sons:
Oh, Ben,
that's good to hear! Because sometimes I'm afraid that I'm not teaching them the right
kind of--Ben, how should I teach them?
Willy desperately wants to
pattern himself and his sons after his father who according to Ben was a "very great and
a very wild-hearted man," yet Willy is not certain that he is following the right course
either for himself or for his sons. In fact in the same flashback, he begs Ben to stay
longer to help him figure out if he is on the right path with his sons and with his
career:
Can't
you stay a few days You're just what I need, Ben, because I--I have a fine position
here, but I --well, Dad left when I was such a baby and I never had a chance to talk to
him and I still feel--kind of temporary about
myself.
Willy is uncertain
that his career in selling would meet his father's approval.
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