He feels all the lessons of hard work, loyalty, and honesty are nothing but a lie, because his father cheated on his mother. He decides to stop trying to please a man who is a fraud. Biff at this point sees his father as a liar, which is a turning point in his life. He went to see his father in Boston to tell him about his failure, but he found his father in a hotel room with a woman. We also find out Biff did not graduate high school, because he failed math class. He has always stole from people and had even spent three months in jail for stealing a suit. Biff, in a fit of anger, enters Bill's office and steals his fountain pen, and as he is running away, Biff realizes his life has been a lie. For some reason, Willy and Biff thought Biff was a salesman for Bill, but that is not true. Bill only remembers Biff as the shipping clerk who stole basketballs from him. In their minds, Willy and Biff have built up a relationship between Biff and Bill, which in fact does not exist. He watches Bill as he is leaving for the day. Howard, to his credit, tries to calm Willy down, to give him some time to collect himself, but in the end Howard fires Willy, telling him needs to take a long rest.īiff, in the meantime has spent six hours waiting to see Bill Oliver, but to no avail. He reminds Howard of his connection to Howard's father, the original owner of the company, and begins to bang on Howard's desk and shout at him. By this time Willy is becoming more and more desperate, and he asks for forty dollars a week. Willy asks for fifty dollars a week, but Howard is firm in his position. Howard doesn't have a place for him in the main store and tells him the only way they can keep him on is if he travels. He tells Howard he just needs to make sixty-five dollars a week to pay his bills. Willy tries to talk to his boss, Howard, about the changes he wants to make in his job. Willy is happy to pay off the house loan, but he is sad that his home, which once sat almost alone on the block, is now surrounded by apartment buildings.

Finally, after paying for twenty-five years the house will be theirs free and clear. Linda reminds Willy about the need for the money to pay the insurance payment and the last house payment. The boys are so confident about their business plans, that they have asked their father to meet them at a local restaurant for a steak meal. Biff is visiting Bill Oliver, his previous boss, to ask him for a loan of ten to fifteen thousand dollars to start a business with Happy. Willy is going to tell his boss he will not travel anymore and ask him for an advance on his pay to help with the bills. The second act begins with Willy and Linda full of hope for their family's future.

Death of a salesman requiem