Back at home, Willy is planting his garden outside as Biff and Happy walk into the kitchen where Linda is waiting. She lambastes both boys for abandoning Willy in the restaurant; she seems very angry that this critical day in the life of her family has been a failure.
Out back, Willy plants carrot seeds while he talks to Ben about killing himself in order to secure his twenty thousand-dollar life insurance policy for his family. He tells his perhaps-mythical brother that his funeral will be a big event where thousands of businessmen from around New England will come to pay their respects. Soon Biff walks out to the "garden" to confront his father once and for all. He tells him that he is "never going to see" what he is and that there is no use trying to carry out his illusions anymore. Furthermore, Biff says that he's leaving and probably never coming home again. Yet Biff isn't done with his father. He goes on, "We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house!" Indeed Biff blames Willy for his failure in life, charging, "I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody!" To top it off, Biff dispels Willy's idea that the Loman family is special. Biff asserts, "Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you!" This infuriates Willy who counterattacks, "I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!"
After the argument is over, Willy absentmindedly remarks, "Isn't that remarkable? Biff-he likes me!" Here, Willy finally realizes that Biff is really being honest about his feelings, not merely trying to "spite" his father, as Willy initially believes.
Alone again, Willy returns to his imagined conversation with his brother Ben. When Ben says that "the jungle is dark but full of diamonds," Willy seems to believe that his brother is advocating his decision to commit suicide for the life insurance money. "Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty thousand dollars in his pocket?" Willy asks his imaginary brother as he thinks of Biff. In this way, it seems as though the death of this salesman is near. Though he won't die in his idealized green slippers, Willy believes that suicide is the best option left.
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