ACT 2 Charley& Bernard vs Willy& Biff

Willy and Biff are compelled by the notion of material success- being popular and being wealthy, more so than anything else. It can be argued though that Biff has the same attitude towards life as Willy precisely because of the great influence that Willy had on him and from the way Willy taught Biff. Willy especially consider “Business” to be the only legitimate occupation and of course, the more the money the merrier. Charley and Bernard on the other hand don’t care too much about what others think about them. Bernard valued education and finishing school. Miller pairs these foil characters together to pose the questions to the audience along the lines of- “what do you value?” “what is success to you?” By presenting Willy and Biff’s relationship in a dysfunctional light, Miller seems to suggest that what those characters value aren’t all that valuable in the long run after all.