5.2.2

Biff's Relationship with Willy

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Willy and Biff's Relationship

The damaged relationship between Biff and Willy is at the heart of the play.

The affair

The affair

  • At the core of Biff and Willy's damaged relationship is Biff’s discovery of Willy’s affair in Boston.
  • Biff accuses his father of being a “phoney little fake”: for the first time, Biff sees through Willy’s lies, the word “little”, often overlooked, telling us how diminished Willy is in his eyes.
  • Bernard later tells us that this is the turning-point in Biff’s life, the moment where Bernard felt “he’d given up his life”.
Responsibility

Responsibility

  • From that moment, Willy and Biff’s relationship is blighted by guilt and resentment, with Willy accusing Biff of cutting down his own life “for spite!”
  • Although absent for months at a stretch from the Loman household, it is Biff who must carry Willy’s fate on his shoulders, his mother telling him, “his life is in your hands”.
Resolution

Resolution

  • Biff has returned home to say goodbye to his father, to break off with him for good, but on hearing of Willy’s previous suicide attempts, has to make one last effort to ‘make it’, for Willy’s sake.
Inner conflict

Inner conflict

  • Biff, like his father, has had to wrestle with the conflicting urges inside him: between “makin’ my fortune” in the city and working in the great outdoors (“the things that I love in this world”).
  • Biff resolves this identity crisis at the end of the play by deciding to leave the Loman home and head out West again.

The Tragic Hero: Willy or Biff?

Some commentators have argued that Biff, not Willy, is the true tragic hero of the play since Biff, unlike his father, gains self-knowledge.

Self-knowledge

Self-knowledge

  • Biff, unlike his father, gains self-knowledge.
  • He develops throughout the play, gradually coming to the realisation once and for all that he does not need to live up to Willy’s idealised image of him.
  • As Biff says to Happy in the closing scene, “I know who I am, kid”.
True tragic hero

True tragic hero

  • For many commentators, Biff’s hard-won insights into himself make him the moral focus or the true tragic hero of the play: he alone has had the courage to question himself and his father’s dreams.
Resolution?

Resolution?

  • The play offers some resolution of Biff’s dilemma: he chooses to return West.
  • However, this does not guarantee a ‘happy ending’ for Biff.
  • Audiences will remember Biff’s comments on the economic hardships involved in ranch-work and, even with his share of Willy’s life insurance money, success and fulfilment are not guaranteed.
_The Misfits_

The Misfits

  • Miller later wrote the script for the 1961 movie, The Misfits, in which two Biff-like figures, played by Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift, struggle with the harsh realities of the ‘cowboy’ lifestyle in an America that was rapidly leaving it behind.
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1

Introduction

1.1

Introductions

1.1.1Author1.1.2Historical Context1.1.3Setting1.1.4Social Issues
2

Act One

2.1

Key Events

2.1.1Staging2.1.2Key Events 1&22.1.3Key Events 3&42.1.4Key Events 5&62.1.5Key Events 7&82.1.6Key Events 9&102.1.7Key Events 11&12
2.2

Key Themes & Literary Techniques

2.2.1Foreshadowing, Flashbacks, Settings2.2.2Family, Reality, Fantasy
3

Act Two

3.1

Key Events

3.1.1Key Events 1&23.1.2Key Events 3&43.1.3Key Events 5&63.1.4Key Events 7&83.1.5Key Events 9&10
3.2

Key Themes & Links

3.2.1Pride3.2.2Metaphor3.2.3Self-Realisation
4

Extended Passage Analysis

4.1

Act One

4.1.1Staging4.1.2The Woman
4.2

Act Two

4.2.1In Howard’s Office4.2.2The Final Confrontation4.2.3The Requiem
5

Character Profiles

5.1

Willy & Linda Loman

5.1.1Willy Loman5.1.2Linda Loman
5.2

Biff & Happy Loman

5.2.1Biff Loman5.2.2Biff's Relationship with Willy5.2.3Happy Loman
5.3

Other Characters

5.3.1Uncle Ben5.3.2Charley5.3.3Bernard
6

Key Themes

6.1

Concepts

6.1.1The American Dream6.1.2Fathers & Sons6.1.3Nature & the City6.1.4Success6.1.5Men & Women
7

Writing Techniques

7.1

Structure

7.1.1Act One7.1.2Act Two
7.2

Realism

7.2.1Introduction7.2.2Staging7.2.3Language
7.3

Expressionism

7.3.1Introduction7.3.2Staging7.3.3Music
7.4

Symbolism

7.4.1The Garden / Seeds7.4.2Diamonds7.4.3Alaska & Africa
7.5

Motifs

7.5.1Introduction7.5.2Cars7.5.3Silk Stockings7.5.4Money7.5.5Mythological Figures
8

Historical Context

8.1

Historical Context

8.1.1Miller’s Family & The Great Depression8.1.2America’s Recovery
9

Literary Context

9.1

Tragedy

9.1.1Introduction
9.2

Applying Tragic Concepts

9.2.1The Tragic Hero9.2.2The Tragic Flaw9.2.3Recognition9.2.4Emotional Release9.2.5Chaos & Disorder9.2.6Revenge9.2.7Inevitability
10

Critical Debates

10.1

Introduction

10.1.1Introduction
10.2

The Marxist Reading

10.2.1Marxist Analysis10.2.2The Marxist Reading
10.3

The Feminist Reading

10.3.1Feminist Analysis10.3.2The Feminist Reading
10.4

The Eco-Critical Reading

10.4.1Eco-Critical Analysis10.4.2The Eco-Critical Reading10.4.3Post-pastoral
10.5

Other Debates

10.5.1The Play as Tragedy10.5.2The Critics
11

Recap: Main Quotes

11.1

Characters Quotes

11.1.1Willy Loman11.1.2Linda Loman11.1.3Biff Loman11.1.4Happy Loman11.1.5Uncle Ben11.1.6Charley11.1.7Bernard
11.2

Quotes by Act

11.2.1Act One: Key Events 1-3 Quotes11.2.2Act One: Key Events 4-6 Quotes11.2.3Act One: Key Events 7-9 Quotes11.2.4Act One: Key Events 10-12 Quotes11.2.5Act One: Stage Direction Quotes11.2.6Act One: The Woman Quotes11.2.7Act Two: Key Events 1-2 Quotes11.2.8Act Two: Key Events 3-4 Quotes11.2.9Act Two: Key Events 5-6 Quotes11.2.10Act Two: Key Events 7-8 Quotes11.2.11Act Two: Key Events 9-10 Quotes11.2.12Act Two: Howard's Office Quotes11.2.13Act Two: The Requiem Quotes

Practice questions on Biff's Relationship with Willy

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    What is at the core of Biff and Willy's damaged relationship?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Who says __“his life is in your hands”__?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Which character says __“I know who I am, kid”__ at the end of _Death of a Salesman_?Multiple choice
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Biff Loman

Happy Loman