Willy, as a father, tries to teach his son's the value of hard work. Happy and Biff have become accustomed to chores. They are immediately ready to carry things for their mother, hang the laundry, and there was also the time where they cut lumber to sell. He impresses upon them how other people such as Ben became successful and rich just through hard work.
It may do Happy and Biff some good to learn these values, as it makes them more helpful and prepared to work hard. It doesn't however, give them what they really need. Willy should instead, or at least additionally, be teaching them ways to enjoy life. He should be providing them with an outlook that will inspire them to work hard at something they enjoy, rather than something that makes money. By depriving them of this kind of childhood, he seems to have inadvertently caused Happy and Biff to try and hold on to childhood through parties and nights at the bar, when they should be beginning their lives.
Willy, as a character is very inconsistent in his perspectives. The contradictory statements may indicate that he's confused or stressed, but they also reveal that Willy doesn't seem to have to the full scope of his cognitive faculties. He doesn't seem to know what he believes anymore. His job has worn him down after all these years, and his warped perspective on what a person's life should be like has down ridden the quality of his own.
Linda, as it turns out, has a very interesting character throughout all of this. Though people rarely talk to her, provides the household with morals. She tries to stop the boxing match that Willy is egging on, and she tells Biff to return the stolen football. She, in a way, holds the household together while Willy is tossing around orders and contradictory statements. On the other hand however, she covers for Willy's failures and ineptitudes. She is aware that there is something going wrong with Willy, but she does not take action. This may cause him harm if he continues to deteriorate throughout the play.
I agree with you that although Linda provides the houeshold with a kind of ward against Willy's negative actions/characteristics, Linda lets Willy do those things and act that way. She enables him to hurt himself and his family, when she could either one, make him stop, or two, kick him out. This raises the problem of her not having a husband to be provided for, but her sons could help her.
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