Death Of A Salesman Biff Character Analysis

In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman the character Biff, the son of Willy and Linda Loman, and the character Bernard, the child of the Loman’s neighbors Charley and his wife, are considered to be foil characters to each other. Biff, the golden boy of the Loman family, and the one that had everything in high school, grows up to be a failure and a disappointment to his family. Bernard, the nerd friend of the Loman boys, and the one who dreamed he had what Biff had in high school, grows up to be a successful lawyer and makes his family proud. Biff grows up the complete opposite of what his family, mainly his father, wanted. He was the golden boy of his family that was never told no. He was taught to live his life by the principal that “’the man who makes an

Bernard was never popular as a kid and did not possess the social skills that Biff had, but this did not affect him and he grew up to be a successful lawyer. His success can also be recognized because of how his dad raised him. His dad, Charley, believed that if a person works hard enough then they will become successful in life. Bernard realized that was true at an early age. One day in their childhood, Bernard was trying to get Biff to study for a math test they had at school. Willy refused to let Biff go study because he did not think it was important enough for Biff to waste his time. Bernard responded to this by saying “’Just because he printed University of Virginia on his sneakers doesn’t mean they’ve got to graduate him. Uncle Willy!’” (Miller 1463). This was a direct foreshadow to how Biff would end up after high school. This ultimately led to the success of Bernard and the downfall of Biff. Bernard worked hard in school and in life to become a great successful lawyer. His will to work hard and his determination to never give up is the thing that Biff could never