Biff's Self Realisation

I believe Biff does have a self realisation and achieves a new sense of self. He questions 'why am I trying to become what I don't want to be?'. He notices that he has been striving in the wrong direction during his whole life, which has led to a lack of success. He realises that 'all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am!'. Biff knows what he wants to do, he wants to be outdoors, be 'out there'. This is a change from the Biff of old, who was trying to work in offices and for companies. He realises that 'I'm just what I am'. He doesn't feel the need to pretend to be someone else to try and please anyone else. He is no longer interested in pleasing anyone else, as he decides to leave and cut contact with his family: 'I'm going and I'm not writing anymore.

This self realisation does add to the tragedy. Through this realisation Biff tries to show Willy that the dream world he is living in isn't real and that he needs to snap out of it and face reality, symbolised by Biff trying to 'make Willy face him' and the truth. However, Willy misinterprets what Biff is saying. When Biff breaks down into tears, Willy believes that Biff is crying for him, not because he has broken down from trying to get his father see the truth. This results in Willy killing himself under the impression that Biff will 'worship' him for it when in actual fact it is the opposite of what he wants, shown by Biff 'rushing down the stairs' to stop him.

Biff's self realisation therefore could be argued to be the cause of the tragedy of the play due to Willy misunderstanding what Biff is trying to say to him.