Quote 1
BIFF: Well, I spent six or seven years after high school trying to work myself up. Shipping clerk, salesman, business of one kind or another. And it’s a measly manner of existence. To get on that subway on the hot mornings in summer. To devote your whole life to keeping stock, or making phone calls, or selling or buying. To suffer fifty weeks of the year for the sake of a two week vacation, when all you really desire is to be outdoors with your shirt off. And always to have to get ahead of the next fella. And still—that’s how you build a future. (Act 1)
Biff struggles with the competition inherent in the American way, but still holds it as a truth that he must take a path unpleasant for him in order to succeed. It seems that he longs for a life that's more simple—a working-class lifestyle that his father sees as beneath him. Interestingly, though, throughout the play Willy seems to long for simpler things as well, like growing things.
Quote 2
WILLY: That is a one million dollar idea.
LINDA: Marvelous!
BIFF: I’m in great shape as far as that’s concerned!
HAPPY: And the beauty of it is, Biff, it wouldn’t be like a business. We’d be out playin’ ball again…
BIFF [enthused]: Yeah, that’s…
WILLY: Million-dollar! (Act 1)
While Biff and Happy are interested in finding work that is tolerable, Willy is fixated on ensuring that the boys find a lucrative profession likely to lead them down the path to success and greatness. Is Willy so bad for wanting this? Are Biff and Happy so bad for wanting to be… happy?
Quote 3
BIFF: He walked away. I saw him for one minute. I got so mad I could’ve torn the walls down! How the hell did I ever get the idea I was a salesman there? I even believed myself that I’d been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one look and—I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been. We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk. (Act 2)
Biff points out that because of excessive dreaming and fantasizing about a better future, he had lost his grounding in reality. When he forces his father to face this reality, it leads to Willy's destruction.
Quote 4
BIFF [crying, broken]: Will you let me go for Christ’s sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens? (Act 2)
Biff attributes the tension and distress in his family to the irreconcilable gap between Willy's absurd dreams and reality. He longs to be released from Willy's dreams, so that he can create his own—ones that are based on the reality of his situation.
Quote 5
BIFF: He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.
HAPPY [almost ready to fight Biff]: Don’t say that!
BIFF: He never knew who he was. (Act 2)
Dreaming is so central an aspect of Willy's character that Happy nearly fights Biff to defend it. Unlike his brother, Happy still wants to believe in Willy.
Quote 6
BIFF [crying, broken]: Will you let me go, for Christ’s sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?
[. . .]
WILLY: Oh, Biff! [staring wildly] He cried! Cried to me. [He is chocking with his love, and now cries out his promise] That boy—that boy is going to be magnificent! (Act 2)
Despite Biff's admission that he is a failure, Willy convinces himself that Biff will still make it big. Willy follows this delusion to his death, killing himself in order to help his son. Does this death bring some sympathy for Willy? Does he die a hero of some sort? Or is it just the logical end to a life of deception?
Quote 7
BIFF [to Happy]: The man don’t know who we are! The man is gonna know! [To Willy]: We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house!
HAPPY: We always told the truth!
BIFF [turning on him]: You big blow, are you the assistant buyer? You’re one of the two assistants to the assistant aren’t you?
HAPPY: We’ll I’m practically—
BIFF: You’re practically full of it! We all are! And I’m through with it. [To Willy]: Now hear this Willy, this is me. (Act 2)
Biff desperately struggles to demand truth amid the chronic deception that his family maintains. He takes a stand against all the lies, leading to tragic consequences.
Quote 8
BIFF: Let’s talk quietly and get down to the facts, huh?
WILLY [as though Biff had been interrupting]: Well, what’s happened? It’s great news, Biff. Did he take you into his office or’d you talk in the waiting room?
BIFF: Well he came in, see, and—
WILLY [with a big smile]: What’d he say? Betcha he threw his arm around you.
BIFF: Well, he kinda—
WILLY: He’s a fine man. [To Happy] Very hard man to see, y’know.
HAPPY [agreeing]: Oh, I know.
WILLY [to Biff]: Is that where you had the drinks?
BIFF: Yeah, he gave me a couple of—no, no!
HAPPY [cutting in]: He told him my Florida idea. (Act 2)
Between Willy's ceaseless interjections and Happy's lies on his behalf, Biff begins to fall back into the family's cycle of deception. Before long, though, reality is bound to break through.
Quote 9
BIFF: He walked away. I saw him for one minute. I got so mad I could’ve torn the walls down! How the hell did I ever get the idea I was a salesman there? I even believed myself that I’d been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one look and—I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been. We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk. (Act 2)
Biff is angry not at having deceived others, but at having deceived himself. The humiliation at Oliver's office is a breaking point for him. After this experience, he seems determined to not deceive himself again.
Quote 10
BIFF: I guess so. I know something about it and—
WILLY: He knows something about it! You know sporting goods better than Spalding for God’s sake! (Act 1)
Willy is deceiving himself yet again. You're probably not surprised. Here, he is attempting to convince Biff that, because Biff was a high school football star, he knows more about sporting goods than professionals in the industry. Umm, not so much, Willy.
Quote 11
BIFF: I guess so. I know something about it and—
WILLY: He knows something about it! You know sporting goods better than Spalding for God’s sake! How much is he giving you?
BIFF: I don’t know, I didn’t even see him yet, but—
WILLY: Then what’re you talkin’ about?
BIFF [getting angry]: Well, all I said was I’m gonna see him, that’s all! (Act 1)
Willy deceives himself into believing that Biff has already sealed a deal that his son has not yet even acted on. Willy's self-deception eventually drives Biff to lash out at his father.
Quote 12
BIFF: I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. You were never anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash can like the rest of them! I’m one-dollar an hour, Willy! I tried seven states and couldn’t raise it. A buck an hour! Do you gather my meaning? I’m not bringing home any prizes anymore and you’re going to stop waiting for me to bring them home! (Act 2)
Biff insists he be left alone to live his life. He's begging his father to allow him to measure his personal success in his own way. Biff no longer wants any part of Willy's delusions.
Quote 13
BIFF: Why? You’re making money, aren’t you?
HAPPY [moving about with energy, expressiveness]: All I can do now is wait for the merchandise manager to die. And suppose I get to be merchandise manager? He’s a good friend of mine, and he just built a terrific estate on Long Island. And he lived there about two months and sold it, and now he’s building another one. He can’t enjoy it once it’s finished. And I know that’s just what I’d do. I don’t know what the hell I’m workin’ for. Sometimes I sit in my apartment—all alone. And I think of the rent I’m paying. And it’s crazy. But then, it’s what I always wanted. My own apartment, a car, plenty of women, and still, goddamnit, I’m lonely. (Act 1)
Although he has amassed concrete wealth, it is the intangible aspects of life that Happy craves. Material things and lots of hook-ups with random girls just don't seem to be the kind of success that Happy truly wants.
Quote 14
BIFF: He’s off salary. My God, working on commission!
HAPPY: Well, let’s face it: he’s no hot-shot selling man. Except that sometimes, you have to admit, he’s a sweet personality. (Act 1)
Yep, it looks like Willy's "sweet personality" hasn't really served him that well. He's been demoted at work and is even soon to be fired. Happy's comments may suggest that he is no longer convinced that personality is as central to success as he previously thought. But we wonder: if Willy was actually as popular as he says he is, would it have made a difference?
Quote 15
WILLY [continuing over Happy’s line]: They laugh at me, heh? Go to Filene’s, go to the Hub, go to Slattery’s. Boston. Call out the name Willy Loman and see what happens! Big shot!
BIFF: All right, Pop.
WILLY: Big!
BIFF: All right! (Act 1)
Willy's insistence that he is well-known and well-liked reflects his increasing blindness to reality. To his family, associates, and definitely the audience, the fact that he is unpopular is totally clear by now.
Quote 16
BIFF [deciding]: Lend me ten bucks, will ya? I want to buy some new ties.
HAPPY: I’ll take you to a place I know. Beautiful stuff. Wear one of my stripped shirts tomorrow. (Act 1)
Biff and Happy's emphasis on Biff's appearance distracts them from more relevant reality (the fact that Oliver won't recognize Biff). They've somehow deluded themselves into believing that, if Biff looks good enough, Oliver will start forking over the money—even though he hasn't seen Biff in years.
Quote 17
BIFF: I stole myself out of every good job since high school!
WILLY: And whose fault is that?
BIFF: And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That’s whose fault it is!
WILLY: I hear that!
LINDA: Don’t, Biff! (Act 2)
Biff recognizes that false pride is a barrier to success. The failures of his life have made it impossible for him to ignore the fact that he's just not as cool as his father always tried to make him believe he was. Where is the line between instilling your children with a good self-image and making them too big-headed for their own good?
Quote 18
BIFF [with enthusiasm]: Listen, why don’t you come out West with me?
HAPPY: You and I, heh?
BIFF: Sure, maybe we could buy a ranch. Raise cattle, use our muscles. Men built like we are should be working out in the open. (Act 1)
Happy and Biff fantasize about escape from the city and their lives in the business world. The world of manual labor is a welcome change to the rat race of city life. In the big scheme of things, though, is the life of the working class really any more free?
Quote 19
WILLY [suddenly conscious of Biff, turns and looks up at him, then begins pocking up the packages of seeds in confusion]: Where the hell is that seed? [indignantly] You can’t see nothing out here! They boxed in the whole goddamn neighborhood!
BIFF: There are people all around here. Don’t you realize that?
WILLY: I’m busy. Don’t bother me. (Act 2)
Willy's frustration at feeling trapped in his own home only shortly before his suicide reflects his profound desire for freedom and escape. Does his suicide provide that escape, or is it just the biggest trap of all?
Quote 20
BIFF: Because I know he’s a fake and he doesn’t like anybody around who knows!
LINDA: Why a fake? In what way? What do you mean?
BIFF: Just don’t lay it all at my feet. It’s between me and him—that’s all I have to say. (Act 1)
Biff feels betrayed by his father's affair, but refuses to tell Linda. Does he do this out of loyalty to his father, or is he just trying to protect Linda from the truth? Is he, in a way, betraying his mother by not telling her the truth of his father's infidelity?