Posted By Heather Harvey '11
Scene five is the restaurant scene in which Willy meets up with his sons, who are giving off two very different energies. Happy is more interested in maintaining the camaraderie and keeping spirits up, but at the same time, he has his own agenda. Biff, on the other hand, is trying to confront Willy with the truth about himself and about the family. At the same time, there is a divide between what Willy actually hears and what Biff is voicing in the scene. The interesting issue in this scene is that it is a gray area as to whether Willy is actually capable of hearing points that illustrate a past to which he does not want to be privy.
Scene six is the flashback to clarify the point at which Willy and Biff begin their discord. Scene six is unique in that it is a specific point in time that gives light to the following sixteen or seventeen years. It is the source of their problems and also (to a certain extent) Biff's professional failure. Throughout the play, Miller scatters hints to this moment, but it is not until this scene that all of the pieces comes together. The end of this scene gives into the final conflict of the play, in which Biff is able to voice the crux of what he attempted to say to is father beforehand.