Even as Linda reassures him, he hears the laughter of The Woman, his mistress in Boston.Ĭharley comes over to see if Willy is okay. But under the questioning of his wife Linda, Willy admits that his commission from the trip was so small that they will hardly be able to pay all their bills, and that he is full of self-doubt. Charley and Bernard, in his view, lack the natural charisma that the Loman men possess, which Willy believes is the real determinant of success.

He contrasts himself and his sons with his next door neighbor Charley, a successful businessman, and Charley's son Bernard, a serious student. But as Biff reveals to his younger brother Happy-an assistant to the assistant buyer at a department store-he feels more fulfilled by outdoor work than by his earlier attempts to work in an office.Īlone in his kitchen, Willy remembers an earlier return from a business trip, when Biff and Happy were young boys and looked up to him as a hero. Willy thinks Biff has not lived up to his potential. His son Biff, who has been laboring on farms and ranches throughout the West for more than a decade, has recently arrived home to figure out a new direction for his life. At the age of 63, he has lost his salary and is working only on commission, and on this trip has failed to sell anything. Willy Loman, a traveling salesman, returns home to Brooklyn early from a sales trip.