Act Two - Part 2
When
Willy is alone, he imagines that Ben is there with him.
Ben again is in a hurry, and he cannot adequately answer Willy’s
questions. Ben offers a job to
Willy in Alaska, but Linda, who is also present in Willy’s imagination,
reminds Willy that he already has a good job and that he has been promised a
partnership in his company. Willy
boasts about Biff again, but Ben abruptly leaves with Willy calling after him,
asking if Ben has any advice for him since he admires him so much.
When
Ben leaves, Willy enters another reverie about the past and young Bernard comes
onto the scene. He wants to carry
Biff’s helmet to the big football game at Ebbets Field, which is what everyone
is so excited over. Just as the
family is leaving to watch the game, Charley enters and wants to know if Willy
is free to shoot Casino. Willy is
aghast that Charley does not know how special that day is, and Charley continues
to kid with Willy and plead ignorance, much to Willy’s agitation.
Willy tells him that he does not think his kidding is funny, but Charley
tells Willy that he has to grow up soon. Willy
is extremely angry, even threatening to fight with Charley.
All
while Willy has been remembering these past events, he has made his way over to
Charley’s office. Jenny,
Charley’s secretary, is irritated with his presence, so she asks Bernard,
Charley’s son, to talk with him so as not to bother his father.
Willy is impressed with Bernard’s tennis rackets, especially since he
will be playing on private courts, and Willy starts to brag about Biff’s deal
with Bill Oliver. Bernard asks
Willy about his job, but Willy overlooks the question and just keeps talking
about Biff.
Willy
then asks Bernard for his opinion on what happened with Biff, and why Biff was
not as successful as Bernard despite all his trying.
Bernard speaks candidly and says that after the football game at Ebbets
Field, everything changed for Biff. He
had flunked math and should have enrolled in summer school that year in high
school, but he never did. Bernard
says that Biff went up to Boston to talk with Willy about it, but the mention of
that event seems to pain Willy who gets angry at the reminder.
Willy starts to lash back at Bernard, asking why he should be at fault
for Biff’s failures.
Just
then, Charley comes in, telling Bernard to go and catch his train.
He boasts to Willy that Bernard is off to argue a case in front of the
Supreme Court. When Bernard is
gone, Willy asks, with difficulty, if Charley can loan him $110 to cover his
insurance payment. Charley responds
to the request by saying that he has offered Willy a job many times that will
pay good money and will not require him to travel at all. Willy refuses once again, infuriated at Charley, so Charley
just sighs and asks Willy how much money he will need. At this, Willy admits that he has just been fired and sighs,
wondering why being well-liked was not the key to success, as he previously
thought. Charley tells him that
being liked is not important, and again, he offers Willy the job.
Willy refuses again, saying that he cannot work for Charley and will not
say why. Charley gives the money to
Willy, and Willy is grateful, asking Charley to tell Bernard that he was sorry
for getting angry at him. Willy
remarks that some people are just worth more dead than alive, but Charley tries
to discourage that type of thinking. Before
Willy leaves, he tells Charley that he is the only friend he has.
