Sometimes I want to just rip my clothes off in the middle of the store and outbox that goddam merchandise manager. I mean I can outbox, outrun, and outlift anybody in that store, and I have to take orders from those common, petty sons-of-bitches till I can’t stand it any more.
– Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Having chosen like his father to work in the business world, an ambitious Happy appears frustrated and unable to compete there on his own terms. He wants to get to the top, but is resentful of authority and doesn’t like taking orders. He talks demeaningly about his work colleagues and feels himself superior to his bosses and co-workers. Trapped in the rat race of American capitalism, Happy feels the need to assert his masculine identity and dominance. This speech to his brother Biff shows that he has inherited his father’s narcissism and tendency to exaggerate his own abilities.