At least, that's what Death of a Salesman seems to argue. Just as Willy is unable to understand or even love his son, America as a whole is unable to understand those who value simple pleasures over the rat race. Sadly, Miller seems to say, Americans (Biff, in this case) are made the victims of the country's success. He wants his dad to stop being such a deluded twerp. He wants to be seen and loved for who he is. Rather than seeking money and success, Biff wants a more basic life. Willy is simply unable to accept the truth.īiff reminds us that the American Dream is not every man's dream. Yet, despite his insight and honesty, Biff is unable to communicate openly with his father. In one shouting match with Willy, he says that he can't hold a job because his dad made him so arrogant as a boy that he can't handle taking orders from a boss. Unlike his father and brother, Biff is self-aware and values the truth. While Biff is in some ways desperate to impress and please his dad, he also realizes that Willy has flawed, materialistic dreams that Biff is neither able nor desires to achieve. When we meet him in the play, he's 34 years old and has finally realized just how bad Willy messed him up. He started working on ranches in the West, but couldn't hold a job because he kept stealing from his bosses. Biff bailed on summer school and the math credit. Once again, Willy had a bad effect on his son's life. However, right about that time Biff caught his dad cheating on his mom, and it made him go kind of crazy. He could've taken a summer course and made everything all right. Things might have worked out for Biff even though he flunked math. Without the math credit, Biff couldn't graduate and therefore couldn't take his football scholarship to college. A lot of this was due to the fact that Willy let him get away with anything and never encouraged him to do well in school. However, he never put much energy into his schoolwork and failed math as a senior. Biff was a hotshot in high school as the star football player. The deal with Biff is that he's Willy's oldest son and the one whom Willy seems to be really crazy about.
Why? Because he shows real initiative on the personal development front.
Despite these shortcomings, however, we can't help but like Biff. This is your Uncle Ben, a great man Tell my boys, Ben BEN: Why boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. He can't hold down a job, he steals from all of his employers, and he even went to jail. WILLY: No Boys Boys young Biff and Happy appear. Sure, Biff is also flawed, just like everyone else. He has just come home from Texas, where he worked on a cattle ranch. In fact, he's the only character in the book who shows any real personal growth. Death of a Salesman Act One Summary - Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Act One. He's not just the big, dumb lump that his name might make you imagine. Ben’s claim about the money their father made is obviously an exaggeration or self. As recalled or imagined by Willy, Ben’s reminiscence depicts the idealized family life of an old-fashioned salesman. (Click the character infographic to download.)ĭon't let Biff's tough-guy name deceive you. Willy’s older brother Ben appears in Willy’s mind’s eye, describing their father before he abandoned the family to go to Alaska.
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