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Biff is Born
DO NOT KNOW EXACT DATE
Biff was born sometime around this period, which marked the beginning of Willy's family, which made it impossible for him to leave for Alaska with his brother, Ben. -
Happy is born
DO NOT KNOW EXACT DATE
The birth of Happy, Willy's second son, solidifies Willy's duties as stable father and family man, one who cannot disappear to Alaska to try and chase fortunes. Willy regrets this lifestyle choice and later goes insane/kills himself ultimately because of this decision. -
Ben Offers Willy Trip to Alaska
This event takes place before the work actually starts so I do not know exactly how it happened or when.
Willy's brother Ben asks him if he would like to go to Alaska to find their fortune, but Willy is forced to decline because of his stable job and new family. Willy ends up regretting this decision for the rest of his life as Ben eventually becomes rich by finding diamonds in Africa, daydreaming about Ben and wondering what it would have been like had he gone on the trip. -
Biff's Football Game
This day was extremely important to both the Loman family and the dynamics of the book. Instead of preparing Biff to pass math, Willy spent more time preparing him for this championship game so he could be "well-liked", which, according to Willy, is most important. -
Biff catches Willy with "The Woman"
After his shining moment as a football star, Biff is brought down with the failing of his math class, which didn't allow him to graduate from high school. This problem could have easily been fixed with summer school, but when Biff goes to visit his father in Boston, he discovers he is cheating on Biff's mother. Enraged, Biff storms off calling Willy a "big phony fake", and from this day doesn't have his same confidence or drive - the day Biff's life went downhill. -
Willy Returns Home from Florida
Willy, sent on a trip to Florida by his son Happy, comes back to find that both of his sons are visiting. In Florida, Willy was suppossed to be resting his mind, on account of the stress that he has been under being a salesman for over 20 years. This does not work though, as on the next business trip Willy leaves on, he finds he cannot drive because he is in a sort of trance-like state, blaming it on his mind being tired. -
Biff/Happy's Dinner with Willy
Biff and Happy plan to meet their father at Frank's Chop House to share their good news, however they don't have any. With Biff's failure at Oliver's office, and Happy's focus on women, Willy is not happy at the dinner, and slips into a daydream about Biff's football game, failing math, and the incident with The Woman and Biff in Boston. Willy goes stagnant and is unwilling to listen to Biff's bad news - Biff storms out, and Happy follows him with the ladies, abandoning Willy in the restaraunt. -
Willy's Talk with Bernard/Charley
Angry and disappointed in his meeting at work, Willy must go to Charley to borrow money to pay off his insurance. While there, he meets the now very successful Bernard, who is on his way to argue a case in the Supreme Court. Willy asks Bernard where he went wrong with Biff, and Bernard mentions the failure of math class and asks about what happened in Boston. Willy realizes what he is talking about, and asks him not to blame him. He then borrows money from Charley, who angrily gives it to him. -
Biff tries to meet with Bill Oliver
With his father's support, Biff feels that he could go and try to get a sales job from a former employer named Bill Oliver who "though highly of [Biff]". But, when Biff goes to meet with Oliver, he does not get a word in, as Oliver does not even remember who he is. Frustrated, Biff storms out of the office, stealing Oliver's expensive fountain pen. Here, Biff realizes that he was trying to be something that he was not, a salesman, and knew that he could not follow in his father's footsteps. -
Willy fired
Willy goes into his work to ask for a job where he does not have to drive around as much, per Linda's request. However, when he starts to ask, his boss ignores him, forcing him to listen to recordings of his family on his new device. Once Willy can get a word in, he is denied, even though he had served there for over 20 years. Willy starts to have a daydream, then his boss returns and tells him to take some time off. -
Willy's Suicide
That night, after seeing for himself the success of Bernard and the failure of Biff, and realizing his part in it, Willy goes completely crazy. He tries to plant seeds in order to grow food, but instead he daydreams about Ben. Biff and Happy return home, get scolded by their mother, then have a huge fight with their dad in which they decide they'll never visit again. Later on, we hear Willy speed off in his car and crash, committing suicide in order to get Biff $20,000 in insurance pay.
