Biff confronts his father about the rubber pipe and his suicide attempts and tries to open his eyes to reality. He decides to tell the truth to his father, instead of sugarcoating it with lies and self-deceit, but his father refuses to accept his reality. However, when he meets Oliver, Biff realizes that he was only a shipping clerk to him, and never a salesman.”And then he gave me one look and- I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been.” He is made to believe, by his father, that Oliver “thought the world” of him, and that he worked as a salesman to him. “Sure, we’d be known all over the counties!” exclaims Biff as he discusses his plan of building a ranch with his brother.īiff soon decides to visit Bill Oliver, his former employer, to try to get a job for himself to support his parents. He is thus conflicted between choosing an occupation of his interest and choosing one that receives the approval of his father and also earns him an income.Īlthough Biff seems to understand himself and his family better than others, often he too falls victim to Willy’s habit of altering reality, and gets carried away with Happy’s magnificent, unrealistic ideas, and also contributes to them.
#Biff loman symbolism manual#
Biff exhibits a strong inclination towards jobs that require manual labor and shows disinterest towards desk jobs. His relations with his father are strained, partly due to his knowledge about Willy’s extra-marital affair, and partly due to Willy’s discontent and disapproval with his son’s life choices. “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace.” He is unemployed and is mocked by his father for him. He is unsuccessful in his life, and thus dissatisfied with it. However, this incident snaps him out of the illusionary world in which the whole Loman family is living, and thus Biff eventually comes to be the only one who understands, as well as makes an effort towards bringing his father and the others out of their façade.Ī man of thirty-four, Biff now “bears a worn air and seems less self-assured”. His trust in his father suffers a great blow, and along with this, his confidence in himself is also destroyed.
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