Death of a Salesman (1985 film) while Biff goes to make a business proposition, but neither are successful. Willy gets angry and ends up getting fired when Howard tells him that he needs a rest and can no longer represent the company. Biff waits hours to see a former employer who does not remember him and turns him down. Biff impulsively steals a fountain pen. Willy then goes to the office of his neighbor, Charley, where he runs into Charley's son Bernard (now a successful lawyer). Bernard tells him that Biff originally wanted to do well in summer school to salvage his academic and athletic career
Willy Loman self-perceived traits successfully as he grew older. Loman's world crumbles around him during the play. According to Associated Press correspondent Cynthia Lowry's review of the drama, "we watched an aging, defeated traveling salesman move inexorably toward self-destruction, clinging desperately to fantasies". The play begins with the 63-year-old Loman dealing with a recent pay cut after 34 years on the job at a time when he is having difficulty meeting his financial responsibilities. In the second act, he deals with being fired. The firing was at the hands of the son of the person who had hired him 36 years prior.