Pages 104 to 118 (Back at the house)

‘Is there a seed store in the neighbourhood?’

Willy - he wants to plant seeds in the backyard, which could potentially symbolise growth and the continuation of life (even though nothing is able to grow in the backyard because the light is blocked by the apartments)

‘He was so humiliated he nearly limped when he came in’

Linda - this shows Willy’s physical deterioration, which mirrors his mental state

‘A man can’t go out the same way he came in, Ben, a man has to add up to something’

Willy - links to tragedy and the common man and the idea that Willy has to be something

‘It’s called a cowardly thing, William’

Ben - Willy is seriously considering suicide, and this links to the idea about masculinity and how it would be ‘the cowards way out’

‘that funeral will be massive!’

Willy - he is completely delusional about the amount of people going to his funeral, as he has idolised Dave Singleman for so long but we discover this is not the case

‘Today I realised something about myself’

Biff - he is undergoing the realisation that he is not suited to the life Willy wants him to lead; there is hope for Biff and he has broken the tragic cycle

‘you cut your life down for spite!’

Willy - while we see that Biff has changed, Willy is still self-centred and shifts the blame heavily on to Biff, even though it was his fault for having the affair

‘There’ll be no pity for you, you hear it? No pity!’

Biff - contrary to what Willy hopes will happen at his funeral, and Biff is presenting reality here

‘We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house!’

Biff - anagnorisis for him as he realises the true nature of his existence, and breaks through the false consciousness

‘And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air that I couldn’t stand taking orders from anybody!’

Biff - this is the truth about Willy’s parenting and about the dysfunctionality of the family

‘I am not a dime a dozen. I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!’

Willy - he is still delusional about his own success, and still sees himself as ‘bigshot’ - this in a way reflects the traditional view of a tragic hero as someone extraordinary