Biff loman3/24/2023 " Biff (Americanism), to give a 'biff in the jaw'." This is first found in Berre & Leland's 1889 Dictionary of Slang, Jargon and Cant, published in Edinburgh: "Biff" also had become a noun, meaning "a blow, whack", according to the OED. Biff! A well-aimed blow.") and Arthur Miller in the 1949 play Death of a Salesman (the central conflict in the play is between Willy Loman, the salesman, and his oldest son Biff, who was a star high school football player who had dropped out before graduating). "When I go to turn, if I don't remember, Bif!-and I'm in to something."Ī couple other well-known authors who used it were D.H Lawrence in his 1934 book Modern Lover ("He.took the poker with satisfaction. Wells used it in 1905 in his book Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul: "I hit him, biff, alongside of his smeller."īy the turn of the century, it was known in the UK. The earliest instance they cite comes from the 1843 book Streaks of Squatter Life, and Far-West Scenes by John S. At least, that's what Death of a Salesman seems to argue.According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "biff" was originally "imitative" slang used as:Īn exclamation uttered when something strikes an object, or a sound imitative of such a blow. Just as Willy is unable to understand or even love his son, America as a whole is unable to understand those who value simple pleasures over the rat race. Sadly, Miller seems to say, Americans (Biff, in this case) are made the victims of the country's success. He wants his dad to stop being such a deluded twerp. He wants to be seen and loved for who he is. Rather than seeking money and success, Biff wants a more basic life. Willy is simply unable to accept the truth.īiff reminds us that the American Dream is not every man's dream. Yet, despite his insight and honesty, Biff is unable to communicate openly with his father. In one shouting match with Willy, he says that he can't hold a job because his dad made him so arrogant as a boy that he can't handle taking orders from a boss. Unlike his father and brother, Biff is self-aware and values the truth. While Biff is in some ways desperate to impress and please his dad, he also realizes that Willy has flawed, materialistic dreams that Biff is neither able nor desires to achieve. When we meet him in the play, he's 34 years old and has finally realized just how bad Willy messed him up. He started working on ranches in the West, but couldn't hold a job because he kept stealing from his bosses. Biff bailed on summer school and the math credit. Once again, Willy had a bad effect on his son's life. However, right about that time Biff caught his dad cheating on his mom, and it made him go kind of crazy. He could've taken a summer course and made everything all right. Things might have worked out for Biff even though he flunked math. Without the math credit, Biff couldn't graduate and therefore couldn't take his football scholarship to college. A lot of this was due to the fact that Willy let him get away with anything and never encouraged him to do well in school. However, he never put much energy into his schoolwork and failed math as a senior. Biff was a hotshot in high school as the star football player. The deal with Biff is that he's Willy's oldest son and the one whom Willy seems to be really crazy about. Why? Because he shows real initiative on the personal development front. Despite these shortcomings, however, we can't help but like Biff. He can't hold down a job, he steals from all of his employers, and he even went to jail. Sure, Biff is also flawed, just like everyone else. In fact, he's the only character in the book who shows any real personal growth. He's not just the big, dumb lump that his name might make you imagine. (Click the character infographic to download.)ĭon't let Biff's tough-guy name deceive you.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |