Biff, the elder, showed promise when young in both the academic and sporting fields, but failed to win a place at university after failing a maths exam at school, and since has become a rootless drifter, alternating between dead-end jobs and petty crime. Although his marriage to his loyal wife Linda has survived, despite the fact that he has on occasions been unfaithful to her, his relationships with his two sons are strained. He also sees himself as having failed in his private life. His sense of failure, however, does not derive solely from his unsuccessful career.
In order to make ends meet, he has taken to borrowing from his old friend Charlie. He is in financial difficulties, struggling to pay the mortgage on his house and the instalments on the consumer goods- refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, car- which were becoming popular in the forties but which represented a major commitment, even in middle class households. Despite his long service, travelling from his New York base all over New England in the service of his employers, he has never enjoyed great success in his job. The salesman of the title is Willy Loman, a man in his early sixties, approaching retirement.
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