The Downfall of Biff Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of A Salesman
Even though Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman was frequently
haunted by the flashback of the time Biff caught him with another woman, he knew in his
heart that his Boston affair left his oldest son bitterly "crestfallen" (1880). Willy
Loman's clandestine, adulterous affair continued unabated, until his son Biff caught him
in a hotel room with a prostitute. Willy Loman filled his sons so full of the concept of
"be liked and you'll never want," (1890) that when Biff failed math, "he went to Grand
Central," (1931) to search for his father. He assumed that since Willy was so well liked,
he would be able to appeal to Mr. Birnbaum (his math teacher) to adjust his grade. But to
add insult to injury, when Biff made the trip to Boston in an effort to explain his
situation, he accidentally discovered his father's infidelity. "Staring open mouth and
horrified at The Woman," (1936) it was during this time that Biff encountered his father
in the hotel room with his mistress. Outraged by the fact that his own father gave away
his mother, Linda's well-deserved stockings, "you – you gave her Mama's stockings,"
(1937) Biff in "his weeping breaking from him," denounced his father, "you fake...you
phony little fake!" (1937). Willy was aware that it was that moment that Biff's life
ended. Furthermore, after that episode, Biff despised his father and could never bring
himself to provide Willy with the happiness of having a successful son. Finding out that
his father was a fake evidently had a devastating effect on Biff. This caused him to drift
away from his family rather than pursue the "phony dream" of success (1944) that his
father had forced on him. Thus, evidenced by this pivotal scene, Miller suggests that
when one co...