The Final Confrontation

Q: The Physicality of the Final Encounter

_Death of a Salesman_ is built around the conflict between Willy and Biff and it is inevitable that the play will climax with a confrontation between father and son.

Q: The Psychology of the Final Encounter

_Death of a Salesman_ is built around the conflict between Willy and Biff and it is inevitable that the play will climax with a confrontation between father and son.

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The Physicality of the Final Encounter

Death of a Salesman is built around the conflict between Willy and Biff and it is inevitable that the play will climax with a confrontation between father and son.

Final encounter

The final encounter between father and son is a scene of great emotional power, with Willy and Biff able to see themselves clearly for the first time in years.
However, this moment is all too fleeting, and Miller creates an almost overwhelming sense of horror and dread as the moment slips away and their relationship once again becomes distorted by the dreams and delusions of the past.

Other characters

Miller’s stage directions demonstrate how intensely physical a scene he wants this to be.
Linda is unable to witness the confrontation, her hands covering her face and her body turned away while Happy has to block Biff as he “starts” for Willy.

Physical movements

Above all, Willy and Biff’s movements reveal each other’s desperation.
Biff’s “fury” sees him break free of his brother and “grab” his father, pleading with Willy to finally accept him as he is.
Willy, stunned by Biff’s tears, “dumbly fumbles for Biff’s face” as if, after years of blindness, this is the first time he truly “sees” his son.

Biff

The toll this takes on Biff is clear: he is “exhausted” and barely makes his way up the stairs.

The Psychology of the Final Encounter

Death of a Salesman is built around the conflict between Willy and Biff and it is inevitable that the play will climax with a confrontation between father and son.

Enduring delusions

The true power of the scene is in the psychological effect this moment of revelation (“Biff – he likes me!”) has on Willy.
Despite Biff’s desperate appeals to his father to burn “that phoney dream”, Willy instead resurrects it: “That boy – that boy is going to be magnificent!”
Tragically, Willy cannot see Biff as he truly is and he loses himself in his old delusions.

The role of Ben

A darker and more sinister motif emerges with the final, chilling appearance of Ben.
Ben’s lines reveal Willy is edging ever closer to suicide, convincing himself that Biff will find success “with twenty thousand behind him” – the value of Willy’s life insurance policy.

Ben's tone of voice

Ben’s words become more metaphorical as Willy comes closer to his final decision:
- Willy will have to enter a “dark” jungle (death) in order to find his “diamonds” (the insurance money).
Ben’s tone is urgent, insisting it is “time” to act.

Reality and illusion

Willy cannot differentiate between reality and illusion or past and present any longer and, in a darkly ironic moment, even interprets Linda’s appeal that they accept Biff’s leaving (“I think this is the only way, Willy”) as confirmation that he is making the right decision in killing himself.

Staging

Miller’s innovative staging, ensuring past and present collide together in front of our eyes, adds to the horror of the scene: we see Willy’s final tragic fall but, like his family, are powerless to prevent it.