Some might think that Willy put a lot of pressure on Biff, but Happy had the exact same pressures growing up and he managed to avoid legal trouble, unlike Biff. As a matter of fact, Biff is most responsible for his failure to live a good and rich life, unlike Bernard. Biff broke the law, which isn’t a good way for dealing with personal issues or stress.
![symbolism in death of a salesman symbolism in death of a salesman](https://www.game-ost.com/static/covers_soundtracks/1/2/128774_192486.jpg)
In this instance Biff’s excuse here is that he had to steal because it was a completely reasonable way to cope with his father’s high expectations.
#Symbolism in death of a salesman full#
I stole myself out of every good job since high school! And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! I had to be boss big shot in two weeks, and I’m through with it”. Amazingly, his family did not know about this incident, but Biff comes clean to his parents when he explains, “You know why I had no address for three months? …I was in jail. While many would say that he wasn’t old enough to know better when he stole as a teenager, not even Biff can come up with an excuse for stealing a suit in Kansas City as a grown man. Throughout the book Biff steals a suit, football, and a pen because it is his passive-aggressive way of getting back at people he feels have unfairly done better in life than he has, but also because stealing gives him an excuse to quit whatever bad job he happens to be in that moment. As a result, now Biff’s tendency to steal, constantly stands in the way of his path to a job. Everytime something goes wrong, Biff now thinks that stealing is a way out of it. The items that Biff stole represent how Willy Loman had never thought his son Biff that stealing was not okay and that being well liked is not an excuse for such thing as stealing. Even though Biff stole while he was a teenager and was not old enough to know better, he can’t come up with an excuse for stealing a suit in Kansas City as a grown man. Biff also feels as though the world owes him something, so when the people around him do not give him what he’s owed, he steals from them to punish them in a passive aggressive manner. He was taught that it was okay to steal as long as success comes from the stealing. Biff steals because from a young age, Biff was not taught the difference between right and wrong or illusion versus reality. Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller portrays Biff as a main character in the play who tried to work at many different jobs, and failed at each one due to the fact that he stole.