The midlife crisis in Death of a Salesman, Alfred J. Prufrock, and American BeautyDisillusioned and disenchanted, both Willy Loman by Arthur Miller and Lester Burnham of American Beauty share sexual frustrations and an unfulfilled longing for their respective pasts, but Willy, like TS Eliot's equivocal Prufrock, is unable to move beyond the failures inherent in his mediocrity and instead retreats into his disappointments. On the surface, Willy and Lester have all the elements of stable, prosaic lives modeled after the "American Dream": large homes in middle- or upper-class neighborhoods, successful children, loving wives. But beneath this façade, they both share a need that has devastated men and bred distrust in their families for generations: extramarital affairs. Willy's relationship with The Woman is a crucial turning point in his relationship with Biff, his eldest son. When Biff captures Willy and his lover, Willy first attempts to distract his son and then get rid of him. However, his attempt at a cover-up fails and shatters the idolatrous relationship between father and son forever. Willy: She's nothing to me, Biff. I was alone, I was terribly alone.Biff: You... you gave her mother's stockings!Willy: I gave you an order!...Biff: You're fake! You little fake fake! You are fake! (Miller 1850) Biff's discovery of his father's indiscretions shatters the Loman family's fragile facade of middle-class happiness. Although Willy is sincerely remorseful for his conduct, not even for his repeated refrains of "stop crying, I gave you an order!" (1850) nor his apologies can mend the rift between him and Biff. Yet, just as Biff loses his football scholarship and wanders off, not unlike him... middle of paper... the passive aggressive salesman and quitter. Where Willy Loman quickly embraces society's ideals and then falls victim to his own dissatisfaction, Lester achieves happiness because he rejects the standards society sets for a middle-aged man. Works CitedAmerican Beauty. Dir. Sam Mendes. You write. Alan Ball. With Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. Dreamworks SKG, 1999.Eliot, T.S. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. MH Abrams. New York: Norton, 1996. 2459-2463. Miller, Arthur. Death of a salesman. New York: Viking, 1965. Millar, Jeff. "The Rise and Fall of Everyman: 'American Beauty' demonstrates a powerful depiction of family." Houston Chronicle September 24, 1999, Star ed.: 1. Academic Universe. LESSSNEXI. Madden Lib., Fresno, CA. April 13 2000/>.