Impressions of Death of a Salesman

So now that we're pretty far into Death of a Salesman I think now would be a good time to reflect upon what we've gone over so far.  My personal opinion of the play is that although I find it somewhat entertaining, it's definitely not the best work of literature that we've read this year.  It really is a depressing play, which is why I may not enjoy it so much.  A simplification of the plot would be a potentially suicidal father constantly getting into conflicts with his sons, one a womanizer and the other a bum, while the wife, the only member of the family who seems to have some sort of functioning brain, is constantly shushed and ignored.  I kind of feel sympathetic towards Willy, but at the same time, I don't.  His behaviors portray an old, worn-out man who has worked hard his whole life to support his family.  The way Linda speaks to and behaves around Willy also portrays him as a fragile, overworked man.  However, there are other reasons as to why I don't feel sympathy for him.  He didn't exactly teach his kids many morals when they were young, and didn't raise them very well.  There were numerous instances when he neglected to reprimand Biff for stealing, and as a result, Biff continues this bad habit as an adult (steals the gold fountain pen).  Also, he didn't impress upon his sons the importance of academics and learning.  Even when the teacher threatened to flunk Biff, Willy took it as a joke.  After Bernard delivered this news, Willy told him "Don't be a pest."  Then, he told Biff "Bernard can get the best marks in school, y'understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y'understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him." (1561).  More evidence to show how Willy impressed bad morals on his children can be found on page 1616, when he says "You mean to say Bernard wouldn't give you the answers?" after discovering that Biff flunked math.  I find it hard to feel sympathetic towards Willy after seeing how he raised Biff and Happy.  He encouraged them to misbehave, and would joke around when he needed to be stern.  This is why Biff and Happy have grown up to be disrespectful to the people they interact with.  It seems like Willy is almost stuck in the past-he still believes in how business ran in the past even though everything is changing.  I think he's just blissfully unaware that times have changed and that being "well-liked" won't necessarily land you a good job.  I guess you could say that he's raising his kids in a way that they'd be successful back when Willie was a child, but not at the time when Biff and Happy are growing up.