Therefore, as Willy claims, “Biff Loman is lost.” As a result, Biff is unwillingly pulled into the world of attaining economic success, even if it means risking one’s contentment.

Biff would rather live a basic life on a ranch herding cattle, than devoting his “whole life to keeping stock, or making phone calls, or selling or buying.” Contentment is success for Biff, and it is obvious he associates the two with each other when he asks Happy, “Are you content, Hap? You’re a success, aren’t you? Are you content?” However, in a society where success is measured in dollars and material, Biff is left uncertain of what he is “supposed to want.” Even though he loves being out in the open air of a farm, it does not generate enough capital, and he is left with the realization, “What the hell am I doing, playing around with horses, twenty-eight dollars a week!”(22). When Happy and Biff discuss girls, Happy even asks Biff, “Where’s the old humor, the old confidence?” In addition, the American ideals of success contribute to Biff’s ambiguity. I’m not married, I’m not in business, I just-I’m like a boy (23).” Biff is also described as bearing “a worn air” and seeming “less self-assured” (19). In his conversation with Happy in his room, he expresses his concern, stating “I’m like a boy. At the age of thirty-four his life has not yet taken a definite path and he is unable to secure a stable career. Initially, Biff projects an aura of uncertainty that surrounds him. Contrasted with Willy, who remains in denial until his tragic demise, Biff’s honest and raw introspective of his self-purpose evolves as the play progresses, until Biff finally fulfills his journey for self-discovery. Biff realizes that the aimless direction his life is taking is partially due to the inflation of his pride caused by Willy’s false convictions, which emphasized the importance of being “well liked.” However, when at the deepest point of being at loss with himself, Biff finally realizes and comes to terms with who he is. His success as a salesman is limited and his relationship with his family is strained, especially with Biff in particular. However, Willy Loman struggles to acquire this national ethos due to his misconception of himself as someone greater than who he really is. A now prosperous nation seething with opportunity, the “American Dream” of this decade was commonly defined by economic success, a wholesome family, and land ownership.

This era was characterized by America’s climb out of the Great Depression in addition to its recognition as a world superpower following World War II. In Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman,” Willy Loman is an individual who strives to achieve the “American Dream” in the 1940’s.

Seinfeld biff death of a salesman