Death of A Salesman Teaching Unit

Death of a
Salesman
Teaching Unit
1
Before Reading
Research Task:
Research and make notes on the playwright, Arthur Miller.

Think of his life, what plays he wrote etc...
In groups, make posters (with pictures) of your findings

(possibly do a spider diagram with a different branch for
different sections of your findings, e.g. a branch for his plays,
another for his wives etc...)
Arthur
Miller
2
THE CONTEXT OF THE PLAYWRIGHT
• Arthur Miller was born in New York in October 1915 into a Jewish
Polish family.
• In 1929, during the Depression, his father’s business was ruined
and the family moved to a house in Brooklyn, which is thought to be
the model for the Loman’s house in Death of a Salesman.
• After a youth spent playing football and working in a car warehouse
to raise the funds, Miller attended the University of Michigan,
graduating in English in 1938. During his time at University, he was
awarded a prize for playwriting, along with Tennessee Williams.
• He returned to New York and began a career writing for radio.
• He married his college sweetheart in 1940 and they had two
children.
• He was exempt from being drafted into the US Army because of
an injury.
• He married Marilyn Monroe in 1956, but they were divorced in
1961.
• In 1957, he was brought before the House Committee on Un-
American activities and called upon to explain his Communist
tendencies. He was convicted of contempt for refusing to name
names.
• In 1962, he remarried.
• Arthur Miller died in February 2005.
3
THE MAJOR PLAYS
All My Sons 1947 About a family coping with New

having a son listed as missing York
in action during WWII. Drama
Critics
Circle
Award
Death of a 1949 An examination of American Drama

Salesman life and consumerism Critics
Circle
Award;
Pulitzer
Prize
The Crucible 1953 About witch-hunts in colonial Tony

Salem, it implied a parallel Award
with the McCarthy trials
A View From the 1955 The self discovery and fall of

Bridge a Brooklyn dock worker
questioning US immigration
laws
After the Fall 1964 About an unhappy marriage
4
Before Reading
Research Task:
Research and make notes on the following:
• The Depression
• The Wall Street Crash
• The American Dream
• The Tragic Hero – Greek definition and Miller's definition
• Consumerism
• Capitalism
• Find a definition of the word 'expendable' in the

dictionary.
5
CONTEXT – THE AMERICAN DREAM
• The idea of the American Dream is that, through a combination of

hard work, courage and determination, prosperity can be achieved.
These values came to America with the early settlers and were
passed on to later generations.
• In the later half of the 19th Century, there was a distinct
possibility of coming across a fortune through relatively little
effort, as long as you were able to invest in land. Many early
prospectors bought cheap land west of the Rockies in the hope of
finding deposits of gold. The American Dream was a driving force
in the Gold Rush of the mid to late 1800s, as well as encouraging
the immigration that followed.
• The Irish Potato Famine and other problems in Europe encouraged
mass immigration to America. People fled the problems at home in
order to prosper from the freedom and financial security that they
had heard existed in America.
• As the 20th Century drew closer, the Dream became that of
industry and capitalism, with men such as John D Rockerfeller
beginning life in humble conditions, but going on to control vast
corporations and the fortunes that resulted.
• Successes such as these suggested that talent, intelligence and a
willingness to work hard were all that was needed to achieve the
dream.
• America has always been perceived as a place where the streets
are paved with gold; consequently, there are more legal immigrants
to the US per annum than any other country in the world. They
were (and are) drawn to work in the major cities such as New York,
Chicago and Detroit.
• During the 1920s and 1930s, the Depression was a cause of major
hardship and seemed to be a reverse of the Dream which people
had held dear for so long.
• The end of WWII drew young American families to live in comfort
and stability in the suburbs, living the life of a ‘perfect family’.
6
However, the rise of the hippy values of the 1960s rejected this
ideal – but did not kill it off entirely.
• Some say that that the American Dream is misleading. It is
impossible for everyone to gain prosperity simply through hard
work and determination. The consequence of this is that those who
do not achieve success believe that it is entirely their fault.
• In addition, the poor are penalised as their poverty is seen as proof
of their laziness.
• The American Dream does not take account of the fact that the
family and wealth are things that one is born into, as well as traits
such as natural intelligence, have a bearing on potential success in
life.
• The word ‘Dream’ is important – what does it suggest?
• In Death of a Salesman, Miller shows that the American Dream is
superficial and meaningless.
“The dream of a land in which life should be better, richer, fuller for
every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or
achievement. It is a dream of social order in which everyone should be
able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are capable and be
recognised by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous
circumstances of birth or position.”
James Truslaw
Quotation Task
As you read through the play, look and make a note of quotations that are
relevant to the theme of the American Dream. Make up and add them to
your Dream Quotation Chart.
7
THEATRICAL CONTEXT
In 1947, Miller saw Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire on

stage and was impressed at how Williams had used a mixture of realism
and expressionism to create a unique feeling for his play. It is this
influence that we see in Death of a Salesman.
REALISM
* An artistic movement which began in France in the 19th Century.

* It sought to accurately portray everyday characters, situations and
problems.
* The language used was as close as possible to natural conversation.
* Costumes were contemporary and sets were three-dimensional and
lifelike.
* the plays were usually about social problems.
Miller was fascinated by Expressionism but didn’t want to give up the

conventions of Realism. In Death of a Salesman, he incorporates the two
so that we see the reality of the events as well as the turmoil that Willy
is undergoing.
Sometimes, this takes the form of Willy’s past experiences being acted
out; at other times, it is in the appearance of characters from the past in
Willy’s present.
8
Some people call these events ‘flashbacks’. Miller did not. He said that it
is ‘literally that terrible moment when the voice of the past is no longer
distant but quite as loud as the voice of the present’. … ‘There are no
flashbacks in this play but only a mobile concurrency of past and present
… because in his desperation to justify his life Willy Loman has destroyed
the boundaries between now and then.’
EXPRESSIONISM
* Was a reaction to realism and began in the 1900s.

* It sought to portray the inner psychological life of a character,
concentrating on a subjective view of the world rather than an
objective one.
* Plot, structure and characterisation were less important than poetic
dialogue.
* Lighting was used to create atmosphere.
9
THEATRICAL CONTEXT – TRAGEDY
• A tragedy, in the theatrical sense, is a serious play which

represents the disastrous downfall of a central character (the
protagonist). In some Ancient Greek tragedies, a happy ending was
possible, but the more usual ending is that the protagonist dies.
• Aristotle (4th Century) defined a tragedy as an action which is

serious and complete, with the protagonist achieving catharsis
(purification) through incidents which arouse pity and terror. The
protagonist is led to this point through hamartia (an error) which
often takes the form of hubris (excessive pride).
• Traditionally, the protagonist would be of high status.
• The protagonist in a tragedy has a character defect or tragic flaw

which brings about their downfall.
• Death of a Salesman, with its concerns for a socially inferior

protagonist, may be considered a domestic tragedy.
“The change of fortune should be from good to bad and it should come
about as the result of some great error or frailty.”
Aristotle
“Death of a Salesman relies on it's tragic seriousness on the degree to

which Willy is representative of the ordinary man whose aspirations
reflect the false values of a consumer society; the effect on the
audience is one of compassionate understanding rather than tragic pity
and terror.”
James Truslow
10
'Death of a Salesman'
Synopsis
This play is about the Loman family who live in America in the
1940s. The protagonist, Willy Loman, is a salesman struggling
to make enough money to pay the bills who is obsessed with
appearing to be successful and ‘well liked’. Willy has a long-
suffering wife, Linda, and two sons: Biff and Happy. Although
Biff was extremely popular and a talented footballer in his
youth, he is still trying to ‘find himself’ at the age of thirty-
four while the ironically named Happy is boastful and
competitive but equally dissatisfied with his life. The structure
of the play is such that we are not so much interested in
asking, ‘what is going to happen to this family?’ as ‘what has
happened to this family to make them like they are?’ The play
is pervaded by different kinds of dreams: the American
dream, hopes and ambitions and daydreams and fantasies.
These dreams motivate the characters, (temporarily) shield
them from the disappointing ‘reality’ of their lives and give
them false hopes. Arguably, it is the characters’ dreams which
ultimately lead to the play’s tragedy.
11
Themes
• Dreams: The American Dream, hopes and ambitions,

daydreams, fantasies.
• Parents and children / fathers and sons
• Popularity and success
• Consumer society and the dangers of capitalism
• The world of business
• Masculinity
• Depression
• Memory
• The past
• The family
• The role of women
• Illusion
• Responsibility
• Competition
• Technology
• Failure to adapt to modern society
• Disillusionment
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Characters
Willy Loman
Willy Loman is a travelling salesman in his sixties. We know from the title that he is
going to die. He is experiencing an emotional crisis. His past, recurring to him in
vivid scenes, is interfering with the present. Each time he returns from an episode in
the past, he brings with him a discovered piece of information that throws new light
on his troubled present. He is realising that he has lived his whole life by the false
standards that you can lie and cheat to make your fortune as long as you are “well
liked”.
Willy`s name – Loman – is significant as it suggests “low man”. The company Willy
has worked for all his life has recently stopped his salary and is paying him only
commissions on sales, like a beginner. They claim he`s not getting the business, and
they can`t afford to keep him on. Now he`s having trouble driving – he can`t pay
attention so the car keeps going off the road. If he can`t drive, travelling (the only
kind of selling he knows) will have to stop.
He`d like to be able to count on his two sons, but he knows he can`t. The older one,
Biff, disappears for months at a time between jobs in the West. Willy idolises him, but
for years whenever they have been together they quarrel. Happy, the younger son,
has a steady job but is taking bribes and wasting his money. Willy`s wife Linda is his
mainstay, but he is reduced to supporting her with handouts from a neighbour.
Now Willy is recalling the most important events in his life – his life is passing before
his eyes – as he searches to understand what went wrong.
What Willy wanted in life was to make a lot of money by being well liked. As he
relives past experiences, we see that he went after what he wanted with energy and
ingenuity. But he wanted success so badly that he lost a realistic sense of himself. He
forgot that he loved making things with his hands, and he ignored the standards of fair
play.
Willy is like a boy in his impulsive enthusiasm and sudden discouragement. The
many contradictions in his character reveal a man who doesn`t know himself at all.
For instance, he will borrow money from his neighbour Charley but refuses to take a
job working for him. He`d rather die than work for a man he sees as inferior.
Until the day he dies Willy never stops dreaming up ways to better his life. He is full
of imagination, even to the point of committing suicide in a scheme to make $20,000
on his insurance policy. Because of his eternal hopefulness and resourcefulness, he is
a lovable character who gives an actor great scope.
Willy`s struggle was long and finally tragic. Linda says, “A small man can be just as
exhausted as a great man.”
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Biff Loman
Biff is 34 and has just come home again from farm work in the West. A star athlete in
high school, Biff would conquer the world, thought Willy. Biff`s success would
mean that Willy had raised him right. But Biff is not a success. He feels “mixed up”,
confused, uncertain as though he`s wasting his life.
Is he wasting his life though? When he talks about the farms where he`s worked,
from the Dakotas to Texas, he speaks with such enthusiasm and eloquence that his
brother calls him a “poet”. That he doesn`t make enough money to “get ahead”
makes him feel that he isn`t fulfilling his fathers expectations. He has been forced to
move from job to job because he steals. Now he has come home to try to figure out
how to get into something permanent – a job or marriage. But at home he fights with
his father.
While he was growing up, Biff had idolised his father, and Willy had thought Biff
could do no wrong. But during Biff`s senior year of high school something happened
between him and Willy that no one else knows anything about. The two of them have
not admitted, even to each other, what happened, but it has affected their relationship
ever since. Biff`s return upsets Willy, and brings back the first experience from the
past.
Of course, the Biff we see in the past is Willy`s romanticised version, but still we may
begin to see how his problems developed. Willy favoured Biff so clearly over his
younger brother, Happy, that Happy would literally jump up and down to get
attention. All Biff`s friends fawn over him, eager to do whatever little job he`ll give
them. Bernard, the neighbour`s unathletic son, loves and admires Biff and helps him
with his studies.
Willy believes – and makes Biff believe – that anyone so confident, so gorgeous, so
natural a leader has the right to make his own rules. He doesn`t punish Biff for
“borrowing” a football from school; he lets Biff drive without a license; he
encourages Biff to steal from a nearby construction site. Biff so believes in his father
that when he fails a math exam, he`s certain Willy can talk to his teacher, and he goes
to Boston to find him. When Biff discovers something about his father that shocks
him, he gives up on himself and his father. He refuses to grow up and accept
responsibilities. At 34, Biff says to his brother, “I`m like a boy”.
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Biff is the mentor of the same false ideals that are killing his father. Like his
grandfather and father before him, Biff is good with his hands and has an appealing
personality, but he doesn`t want to start at the bottom. He says to Willy, “You blew
me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody.”
Biff, like his father, has refused to see what he has actually done with his life. But on
this return to his parents` home a crucial difference between Biff and Willy develops.
Biff is aware of his own unhappiness. He takes a long and clear eyed look at himself
– and at his father. He insists on telling his father what he sees: that he has never been
what his father thinks he is. From that new and painful truth, Biff is able to
understand Willy and to forgive him and to give him the love that has long been
stilled between them. The hope we are given at the end of the play is that Biff is
capable of accepting himself. This balances the futility of Willy`s life.
Biff says Willy had the wrong dreams, “All, all wrong.” What becomes of Biff after
his father`s death is an intriguing question, but he`ll do it on his own terms. He has
become his own man.
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Linda Loman
“You`re my foundation and my support,” Willy tells Linda. Even then he may be
understanding her devotion to him. She is the model of a loving, devoted, patient
wife. When she married Willy, his dreams must have seemed like all she ever wanted
in life.
Those dreams have turned into a lifetime of frustrations. Disappointed and worried,
Willy sometimes treats Linda cruelly or insensitively, but she understands the pain
and fear behind his behaviour, and forgives him those moments. A man with as
fragile a sense of self-worth as Willy cannot tolerate his wife`s disagreeing with him,
so Linda has long practiced ignoring her own opinions. She has always supported
Willy in his illusions about himself – he had so convinced her of his possibilities at
home that she talked him out of his one chance to go to Alaska with Ben. She
manages to be cheerful most of the time.
Linda as she was in the past is the way Willy chooses to remember her (as is the case
with all the characters when he recalls them). Willy`s guilt turns her into an even
sweeter and more noble woman, a shining example of a “good woman”. We also see
that it is Linda who has kept a clear picture of their finances. When Willy boasts of
big sales, she gently questions until she learns the truth – never rebuking him for
exaggeration (lying). She does the best she can with their meagre income to pay their
endless bills. She must manage well, for we learn in the Requiem that she has made
the final payment on their house and they are “free and clear”.
Linda has made a child of her husband, always indulgent and affectionate with him.
She senses that Willy is in trouble, and to protect him she is terrifyingly tough on the
two grown-up boys. She is a good and understanding mother, but will not tolerate her
sons crossing their father. After the boys abandon their father in a restaurant for dates
with women they’ve picked up, she blisteringly attacks both of them: “There’s no
stranger you’d do that to!”
Linda knows her beloved Willy is a “little man,” but she feels he deserves at least the
respect of his sons: “Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person.”
Probably Linda speaks the playwright’s attitude toward Willy more than any other
character in the play.
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Happy Loman
Happy is 32, two years younger than Biff. Like his brother, Happy is an attractive
and powerful man. The playwright comments that sexuality lingers on him like “a
scent that many women have discovered.” Hap’s name suggests happy-go-lucky. He
seems to have inherited his mother’s good nature and acceptance of the way things
are.
In the scenes from the past we see Happy doing everything within his power to get his
father to notice him. He keeps up a vigorous routine of exercises, and his refrain as a
boy is to ask his father whether he’s noticed that he’s losing weight. It’s almost as
though he’s asking Willy whether he sees him at all.
In the present Hap has found a similar line. “I’m gonna get married, Mom. I wanted
to tell you,” he throws in at inappropriate times, desperate for attention. He’s learned
how to say what people want to hear, but neither of his parents take him seriously.
Linda says, “Go to sleep, dear,” and Willy offers, “Keep up the good work.”
On the face of it, the grown-up Happy appears to have achieved the things Willy
wanted for his boy—a steady job, the social life of a popular single man, a car, and his
own expensive apartment. However, Happy turns out to be a sham. Instead of a
buyer, he is an “assistant to the assistant” buyer. He takes bribes from salesmen who
want to do business with the company he works for. He seduces women in whom he
has no real interest, especially women engaged to executives above him in the
corporate structure. He confesses to his brother that he has “an overdeveloped sense
of competition.” He is lonely and longs for the chance to prove himself. He wants to
meet a woman of substance like his mother. But he never will. He is a man without
scruples and has no real desire to develop a life with values. He is generous enough
to send his father to Florida for a vacation, but he isn’t interested in spending time
with him. By the end of the play it is clear that he is callous toward both his parents.
Hap abandons his father in the moments Willy is most distraught, saying to the girls
he’s picked up, “No, that’s not my father. He’s just a guy.” It’s no wonder Happy
rejects his father after his father’s lifetime rejection of him. But over his father’s
grave he exclaims, “…Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s
the only dream you can have –to come out number-one man.” Happy seems fated to
be another Willy.
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Charley
Charley is a large, unimpressive man about Willy’s age. He is Willy’s neighbour and
the father of Biffs schoolmate Bernard. Uncovered about appearances, Charley first
appears in pajamas and robe, when he comes over in the middle of the night to see
why Willy’s home.
Making clear that his play is not an attack on business in general, Miller writes that
“the most decent man in Death of a Salesman is …Charley whose aims are not
different from Willy Loman’s. The great difference between then is that Charley is
not a fanatic. Equally, however, he has learned how to live without that frenzy, that
ecstasy of spirit which Willy chases to the end.”
Charley stands in contradiction to everything Willy believes in. He is not concerned

about being well liked, and says to Willy: “Why must everybody like you? Who like
J.P.Morgan? Was he impressive? In a Turkish bath he’d look like a butcher. But
with his pockets on he was very well liked. “Will recalls Charley in the past, looking
ridiculous in knickers his wife bought for him. Charley doesn’t care about sports in
the least. He has no ability with tools. His relationship with his son Bernard has been
casual, and he has never given him advice. Charley isn’t obsessed about the business
world.
However, Charley is successful in business. To make money is as natural for him as

carpentry is for Willy. Charley is prospering well enough that he can regularly lend
Willy money which, although Willy assures him he’s keeping strict accounts, Charley
knows he’ll never see again.
Charley is not threatened by Willy’s abilities, which are different from his . He
admires the ceiling, telling Willy that “to put up a ceiling is a mystery to me.” He is
stern about Willy’s low standards of fair play, and impatient with his childlike
dreams, urging Willy all through the years to “grow up.” Charley is a realist. He
knows that Willy doesn’t much like or respect him, but that doesn’t keep him form
caring about Willy and seeing his good qualities. Despite Willy’s refection of his
offers, Charley twice tells him that he could use him in his firm. In the final hours
when he is reviewing his life, Willy recognizes what Charley has meant to him, and as
he leaves Charley’s office, stops to say with real feeling, “Charley, you’re the only
friend I got.”
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Bernard
Bernard comes into the play in an episode Willy is imagining, and Willy exaggerates
what the young Bernard was like. A bookworm, spending little time outdoors, he is
several times mockingly called “an anemic” by Willy and his boys. Both Bernard’s
behaviour and the Lomans’ making fun of him provide much of the humour in the
first act. Later, in the present, Willy wonders how such a pathetic excuse for a kid
could become the self-possessed lawyer of the present.
Even in the first-act caricature, however, we note the qualities that will permit
Bernard to build a career. He works hard at his studies. As much as he admires Biff,
he can’t go along with his friend’s stealing and cheating. But he never turns his back
on Biff when they’re students, and tries to help him with his schoolwork.
In the present Bernard has developed a promising career, has a wife and two sons, and
keeps a friendly relationship with his father in which both are self-sufficient. He
hasn’t forgotten how promising Biff was, though, and we feel that he still honestly
wishes Biff well. He tries to tell Willy that he would help Biff by leaving him alone.
Howard
Howard Wagner is thirty-six and inherited the company from his father. It is
extremely difficult for Howard to face up to firing Willy. Whenever Willy tries to
bring up business, Howard diverts the conversation with talk about his family. We
learn that he is a devoted father and that he is fascinated by gadgets, always taking up
the newest fad. Howard is not an insensitive man, but Willy for a long time has not
been pulling his weight. We feel that he is somewhat sorry for Willy, but his
responsibility is to running a profitable company.
Stanley
Stanley is the young waiter in the restaurant. Early in the sequence we see the joking
attentiveness that is the way to better tips. However, Stanley has a compassion worth
noting. After Happy and Biff have left their father in the washroom, Stanley is
concerned about Willy and helps him to his feet. In gratitude Willy tips him, and
Stanley slips the bills back into Willy’s coat pocket.
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The Woman in Boston
The Woman in Boston exists only in the past, as Ben does. She works at one of the
companies to which Willy sells. She is a dignified, middle-aged, single woman who
likes Willy because he makes her laugh. She is lonely, just as Willy is when he’s on
the road and their affair is casual. It’s painful for her that she cannot expect anything
enduring from the relationship, and looking for some reward, she prizes highly the
silk stockings Willy gives her. In the first act Willy is trying to persuade her to stay
overnight; in the second act, when Biff discovers them, she is obviously spending the
night with Willy. She is embarrassed and humiliated, and in the transitory nature of
her relationship with Willy she feels like a “football,” as she tells Biff in leaving.
Miss Forsythe and Letta
Miss Forsythe and Letta are the women Happy picks up in the restaurant while he and
Biff are waiting for Willy. In some commentaries these two characters are described
as prostitutes, but they’re not. They’re young women looking for a good time that
evening in the same spirit Happy and Biff are.
Jenny
Jenny is Charley’s secretary, who has to handle Willy’s erratic behaviour on his visits
to borrow money from Charley. She is relieved when Bernard takes responsibility for
Willy while Willy is waiting for Charley.
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‘DEATH OF A SALESMAN’ BY ARTHUR MILLER
ACT ONE NOTES
STAGING
MUSIC – The use of music serves several functions in the play. It

serves to constantly remind us that we are not watching a strictly
naturalistic play – we do not live our daily lives accompanied by
background music. It also adds to our understanding of the play as it
reminds us of when the action switches from past to present. A clear
example of this is ‘Ben’s music’, which prepares us for the appearance of
Ben out of the depths of Willy’s confused mind. Music also highlights the
emotional impact of the play and heightens the intensity of the snatches
of apparently ordinary conversation.
We are told that Willy’s father used to make and sell flutes. This
connects with two aspects of Willy’s life: the importance he places on
working with his hands, and salesmanship. If the relationship between
father and son is being considered as one of the play’s themes it is
essential to bear in mind that Willy’s father often occupies his mind
through memories and ‘facts’ borrowed from Ben. When Willy and Ben
talk of his father there is ‘New music (is) heard, a high rollicking tune.’
This suggests that Willy’s father had a pioneering spirit and an ability to
survive with very little. It suggests energy and confidence, opportunity
and new life, none of which Willy has available himself.
Flute music is the most common in the play. The mood of the music is
often specified in stage directions e.g. ‘It is small and fine, telling of
grass and trees and the horizon.’ When it introduces Willy, and at other
times throughout the play, it is when he is closest to his true self. The
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flute music symbolises Willy’s longing for freedom, space and a connection
with nature. In some instances, the music suggests the past that Willy
has idealised and the dream that has driven him throughout his life. It is
for this dream that Willy sacrifices himself, even though his eldest son
Biff recognises, ‘He had the wrong dreams.’ The music is introduced when
Willy thinks of happier times, when life seemed closer to the dream that
he finds it at that moment. However, the past is not always the nostalgic
haven evoked by the flute. Other types of music suggest a past that can
be vibrant and joyful, or conversely, painful and guilt ridden.
Arthur Miller was working within the general conventions of the theatre
of realism. In the theatre of realism an audience watches what happens
on stage as if they were spying through the window of the family’s sitting
room, privy to absolutely everything.
Nevertheless, it should be clear to the audience that Miller does not

attempt to create an illusion of total reality. The top half of the Loman’s
room is missing and there are incomplete walls and no roof at all. The
audience can also see the buildings around the house. With such a set
design Miller is able to suggest that the barriers between the past and
the present are very insubstantial.
The use of a multiple set allows the playwright to use the cinematic
technique of a flashback within the structures of live theatre where the
laws of physical reality are in operation.
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nostalgi
Past:
innocent
Joyful/
Past:
sensual
Past:
painful
Past:
poignan
Present:
ominous
Present:
Hopeles
Bleak/
Present:
QUOTE
‘A melody is heard, played
upon a flute”
‘He breaks off in
amazement and fright as the
flute is heard distantly’
‘Music insinuates itself as
the leaves appear’
‘Music is heard behind a
scrim’
‘Ben’s music heard.’
‘Linda hums a soft lullaby’
‘Now the music is heard-
Ben’s music’
‘The gay music of the boys
is heard’
‘The music rises to a
mocking frenzy’
‘Suddenly raucous music is
heard’
‘A single trumpet note jars
the ear’
‘Raw, sensuous music
accompanies their speech’
‘…the sound of the flute
coming over’
‘The gay music of the boys
is heard’
‘frenzy of sound…the soft
pulsation of a single cello
string’
‘The music has developed
into a dead march’
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THE SET AND LIGHTING
It is important to note that much of the play’s action takes place in

Willy’s home. In the past, the Brooklyn neighbourhood in which the
Lomans live was nicely separate from the bustle of New York City. As
such, there was space within the neighbourhood for growth and a garden.
When Willy and Linda bought their house, it represented the ultimate
expression of Willy’s hopes and dreams for the future. Now, however,
the house is trapped between apartment buildings on all sides, and
sunlight barely reaches their yard. Willy remembers the time there were
elm trees and a garden and is filled with sadness, whilst feelings
threatened by the new houses that crowd around him – he longs for
natural surroundings and space. His house has come to represent the
failure of Willy’s hopes, even though ironically, his mortgage payments are
almost complete which is a colossal achievement, particularly given the
family’s struggle for money. Just as the new apartments threaten the
house, doubts and the growing evidence that he will never experience the
fame and fortune promised by the American Dream constantly trouble
Willy’s mind.
Lighting is used in the opening scene and throughout the play to reflect
Willy’s state of mind. This is particularly effective when an angry orange
glow lights the apartment buildings, suggesting that Willy is threatened
by the progress of modern life which is causing his dreams and prospects
to disappear.
24
ACT ONE QUESTIONS
Read the stage directions at the start of Act 1 carefully.
Think very carefully about the impact of the set design,

music, sound effects, lighting, costumes and props.
1. What impressions does the audience get of the kind of people who
live in the house from the general layout of the house and the
possessions they have? Quote from the play to support your
answer.
2. The play is set in an urban environment. How does the set

emphasise this and what feelings are aroused in the characters by
the setting? How does this prepare the audience for what is to
come in terms of the plot and the characters?
25
3. How does the music blend or contrast with the setting? Does the
music suggest other places such as the country or an imaginary
world etc?
4. ‘An air of dream clings to the place.’ Line 8.

What does Miller mean by this line and how does he demonstrate
his meaning in the stage directions?
5. What is important about the refrigerator (line 10) and the athletic
trophy (line 15)?
6. Miller’s initial idea for a title for the play was ‘The Inside of his
Head’. He wanted the set to be a huge face that opened up to
reveal what was going on behind it, that is what was going on in
Willy’s mind.
How much of the original idea has Miller kept in the set that he has
used? Does the set still achieve Miller’s purpose, and, in your
opinion, is it more or less original than his initial idea?
26
Act 1 Notes.
WILLY'S ARRIVAL HOME.
The stage directions on page 2 portray Willy as a man who is

literally and metaphorically weighed down by worries and the
stress of trying to earn a living. His house, which in the past
represented Willy’s hopes and aspiration, was a refuge from
the world but it seems that now even here Willy cannot escape
the harsh realities of his life. Willy’s clothes reflect his
insignificance.
Willy’s reality profoundly conflicts with his hopes. Throughout

his life he has constructed elaborate fantasies to deny the
mounting evidence of his failure to fulfil his desires and
expectations.
27
‘DEATH OF A SALESMAN’ BY ARTHUR MILLER.
ACT ONE QUESTIONS.
WILLY’S ARRIVAL HOME.
1. From the stage directions on page 2, what do the audience learn

about Willy’s temperament?
2. Willy at first says, ‘nothing happened’ but then goes on to

explain why he has returned home early. In your own words,
explain what DID happen. What excuses does Linda make for
what happened?
3. Willy becomes very upset by two other situations in this first

section of Act One. What are these two things and why do they
upset him so much? What does this tell you about Willy’s state
of mind at this point in the play?
4. For what reasons is Willy wholly dissatisfied by his job?
5. In what ways is Willy’s life claustrophobic and how is this

suggested at this point in the play?
28
6. Give an example of Willy’s reminiscing and explain what this
habit suggests about him as a character.
7. Find an example of Willy’s inconsistent attitude towards his

eldest son, Biff. What conflicts appear to exist between the
two men?
8. What does the audience learn about Willy and Linda’s

relationship from this section of the play? Provide quotations
to support your answer.
9. Biff and Happy’s visit creates a great deal of tension in the

Loman household. How does Linda react to this tension and
what does her reaction tell the audience about her role within
the family?
29
Act One Notes
Biff and Happy.
Biff and Happy are both to a significant degree trapped in

their adolescence. They are well built, but their emotional
development does not mirror their physical appearance. The
tone of their conversation is adolescent, or at least nostalgic.
Happy reminisces about his first sexual experience, while Biff
handles a deflated football, symbolic of his youth and lost
dreams. The setting highlights their childishness even their
names seem in appropriate for grown adults. At the start of
this part of Act 1 we see how Biff tries to make excuses for
his father’s behaviour. Happy however says Willy just doesn’t
pay attention.
Biff: Maybe he’s colour-blind

Happy: Pop? Why he’s got the finest eye for colour in the
business. You know that.
We learn how Biff tries to evade the truth and how Willy has
trained both of his sons well. In the end they relate everything
to the value it has in terms of business. Even personal
characteristics are valued in terms of their usefulness.
Biff is a drifter who demonstrates little sense of maturity.
30
ACT ONE QUESTIONS
BIFF AND HAPPY
1. From their conversation on page 9, in what ways do Willy’s sons

appear to be like their father? Consider their attitudes
towards life, ambition and money. Provide at least two
quotations to support your answer.
2. Why is Biff unhappy with his relationship with his father?
3. What do we learn about Biff’s life and his career thus far?
4. How serious is Biff’s suggestion about the ranch? Why do you

think he is so eager for Happy to join him?
5. In your own words describe Happy’s attitude towards women.

Provide a quotation to support your answer.
31
6. What advantages does Happy have in terms of his personality,
job and lifestyle? Is Happy content with his life? Quote to
support your answer.
7. In what capacity did Biff work for Oliver? Why was Biff
sacked? How realistic do you think Biff’s plan to ask Oliver to
sponsor him is?
8. Looking at the conversation in its entirety, how does Miller

convey the boys’ false sense of their success and opportunities?
Provide quotations to support your answer.
9. In what ways are the themes of dreams, lost opportunity,

failure and dishonesty conveyed through this conversation?
Quote to support your answer.
10. In what ways are the boys similar to each other? (Page 9)
11. In what ways do the boys have a similar attitude towards Willy?
(Pages 14 – 15)
32
'DEATH OF A SALESMAN’ BY ARTHUR MILLER
ACT ONE NOTES
FLASHBACK – BIFF AND HAPPY’S SCHOOLDAYS
STAGING – the use of lighting is particularly important at the start of

this scene to indicate a change in time and action. The orange light of
the city fades, symbolising the fading of the present and of Willy’s
present troubles. Although Willy is sitting inside his house, his mind is
far in the past. A light effect suggesting sun shining through the leaves
of overhanging trees fills the stage, cleverly turning it into an outdoor
area. The leaf pattern always announces the scenes of Willy in the past
at home. The sound of the flute reinforces the sense of warmth and
hopefulness associated with the past. The sudden changes make the
audience realise how abrupt the shifts between past and present are in
Willy’s mind.
SCENE ANALYSIS – the purpose of these scenes is to explain how the

teenage Biff and Happy became the men they now are in their thirties.
The tone of the scenes is idyllic; the tension between Biff and Willy does
not yet exist and both characters display a confidence and contentment
that is non-existent in later times. The scene displays the cause of Biff
and Happy’s immaturity. Willy has ingrained in the boys the idea that
appearances are more important than actual achievement or talent,
contrasting his athletic and handsome sons with the hardworking,
academically successful yet uncharismatic Bernard. It is crucial to notice
that costumes, props – such as the punch bag – and actions - such as
Happy’s desperate attempts to gain Biff and Willy’s attention – emphasise
the central importance of competition within the Loman family. Willy
values characteristics such as personality above any tangible measure of
achievement, which he rejects as unimportant in the business world.
Willy identifies a contrast between men who are ‘liked’ and ‘well-liked’.
He believes ‘well-liked’ labels a man who is charming and physically
attractive, and this, in his eyes, is the major criterion for success:
“Willy: …Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave
home any more.
Happy: Like Uncle Charley, heh?
Willy: Bigger than Uncle Charley! Because Charley is not-liked. He’s
liked, but he’s not well-liked.”
The above illustrates a recurring idea that must be remembered. Being

‘liked’ or ‘well liked’ is Willy’s way of measuring success.
The audience also witnesses how Willy’s success criterion leads Biff to
neglect his studies in favour of athletic achievement. Happy boasts about
losing weight, whilst Biff, with the opportunity of a college scholarship,
disregards his studies and fails math. This scene also foreshadows Biff’s
later troubles; he steals from the locker room as a teenager, just as he
admits that he stole from Bill Oliver as an adult in the previous scene.
When Biff confesses he ‘borrowed’ the football it is with a mixture of
guilt and pride. Laughing with him Willy tells him to return it – reminding
the audience that Biff is the favourite son, who can do no wrong. When
Happy interrupts, jealous of the attention Biff is getting, Willy remarks,
‘He’s gotta practise with a regulation ball, doesn’t he? Coach’ll probably
congratulate you on your initiative!’ This is an example of the way in
which Willy justifies events – twisting something bad into something good.
It is echoed in Biff’s plan to make points in the football game rather than
pass as he is supposed to; like his father he makes up his own rules to suit
his needs.
Although Willy does not speak directly to Happy about how he should
treat girls, Miller suggests that it is from his father that Happy gains his
disrespect for women, who Willy believes should not be taken seriously.
Willy encourages the competitive attitude to girls that Happy displayed in
the last scene.
34
Miller defines several of the major themes of the play in this scene.
Most importantly he defines the theme of success and the different
characters’ definition of success. Charley and his son, Bernard, are
presented as genuine examples of success; Bernard is a conscientious
student, while Charley owns his own business. Willy, however, cannot
accept the success of these two characters, believing that it is his
personality that will make him a greater success than Charley and his sons
are more successful than Bernard. All three Loman men are in the habit
of making fun of Bernard. He lacks charisma, athletic physique, and the
‘gift of the gab’ – all qualities of ideal manliness, in Willy’s eyes.
“Willy: Bernard is not well liked is he?

Biff: He’s liked, but he’s not well liked.”
In these lines, the audience recognises just how much the Loman boys
have been influenced by Willy’s view of the world. There is an
unmistakable degree of delusion in Willy’s boasting; he fails to realise the
limits of charm and charisma when they only cover superficiality. Even
his boasts of his own success seem false: he brags about meeting
powerful men, yet can name no one other than the Mayor of Providence.
In addition, he worries that others do not respect him as they do Charley
and that he is not making enough money. Even in the prime of his life,
Willy is to a great extent a fake whose dreams far exceed his ability.
This realisation prepares for his final failure when he is no longer a young
and active man.
35
ACT ONE NOTES
FLASHBACK – THE WOMAN
Miller switches from location to location during the play, as the flashback
to Willy at home switches to a flashback of Willy in a hotel room in
Boston. This acts as an ironic contrast to Linda’s comments that Willy is
idolised by his children; that he is having an affair shows that he is not a
man worthy of such strong admiration:
“Linda: Willy, darling, to me you’re the handsomest man in the world - …

Few men are idolised by their children the way you are.”
Miller shows the cruel lack of respect for women that Happy
demonstrates as an adult, yet where Happy disregards women with whom
he has passing affairs, Willy cheats on the devoted Linda. This also
shows that Willy is not a man respected by others; the woman with whom
he has an affair chose Willy for his sense of humour rather than for any
substantial qualities or strength of character. She shows a similar lack
of regard for Willy that he shows for her. Willy’s womanising is linked to
his deep-seated need to be liked. The irony is that he betrays Linda, who
truly loves and values him despite his faults, seeking false approval
elsewhere.
36
SYMBOLISM – THE STOCKINGS
Willy’s obsession with the state of Linda’s stockings foreshadows the

later flashback to Biff’s discovery of Willy’s affair with The Woman.
Biff accuses Willy of giving Linda’s stockings to The Woman, which
undermines his claim to be a family man who will do anything for his
family. Stockings represent Willy’s phoniness, betrayal and sexual
infidelity. New stockings are important for Willy’s pride in being
financially successful and able to provide for all his family’s needs:
“Willy (noticing her mending): What’s that?

Linda: Just mending my stockings. They’re so expensive –
Willy (angrily taking them from her): I won’t have you mending stockings
in this house! Now throw them out!
(Linda puts the stockings in her pocket).”
The new stockings also help Willy ease his guilt and bury the guilty
memory of his betrayal. It is crucial to note that Linda puts the worn
stockings in her pocket – this reflects her sense of reality which directly
contrasts with Willy’s outlook.
37
'DEATH OF A SALEMAN’ BY ARTHUR MILLER
ACT ONE – NOTES
FLASHBACK - THE TROUBLE WITH BIFF
This section of the play, also a flashback, returns to the setting of the
Loman house, which indeed is the setting for the majority of the play.
Miller contrasts life on the road for Willy with his behaviour as a husband
at home. A great deal of Willy’s dedication to Linda stems from his own
sense of pride; he dislikes that she mends stockings not because it is a
degrading task, but because he cannot make enough money to buy her new
ones. Although the audience sees how Linda reassures him and how he
depends on her a great deal, Willy can be brutal towards Linda as we see
when she tries to discuss Biff’s behaviour with her husband:
“Linda: He’s right, Willy, you’ve gotta –

Willy: (exploding at her) There’s nothing the matter with him! You want
him to be a worm like Bernard? He’s got spirit, personality.”
Unintentionally, Linda confronts Willy with the truths he is constantly

trying to escape. Here, her voice and that of Bernard and the laughter of
The Woman, crowd in on Willy’s mind, emphasising how much he struggles
to deny the reality of his failure and betrayal.
In this scene, Miller also further emphasises the contrast between Biff
and Bernard. Ironically, Bernard is more concerned with Biff’s studies
than Biff or Willy actually is. Similarly, Bernard is genuinely concerned
for others whilst Biff is constantly reckless and abusive. At this point in
the play, the audience is painfully aware that Biff has learnt his distorted
values directly from Willy.
“Willy: …What did I tell him? I never in my life told him anything but
decent things.”
Willy insists to Linda that there is nothing wrong with their eldest son.
It is apparent, however, that Willy feels the strain of his own
indiscretions as shown when he hears The Woman’s laugh. The strain that
Willy continues to feel in his later years is to a large extent self
inflicted, the result of his long years of guilt about his deceitful actions.
39
‘DEATH OF A SALEMAN’ BY ARTHUR MILLER
ACT ONE NOTES
FLASHBACK- CHARLEY’S VISIT
In this scene, we see Happy’s offer to help Willy retire is met with scorn:
“Willy: Where are you guys, where are you? The woods are burning, I
can’t drive a car!”
This is the final disaster for Willy because as a travelling salesman his
life depends on his ability to drive – if he loses this skill he cannot
maintain his lifetime fantasy of being popular and that he is capable of
being a success in the business world.
Charley and Bernard, who are symbols of genuine obtainable success, are
contrasted with Willy’s older brother, Ben, a symbol of the greatest,
unrealistic dreams of success. Ben is the physical representation of
Willy’s imagination. He left for Africa when Willy was just three years
old and the audience assumes that his story is merely a product of Willy’s
fantasy of the way in which success may be easily obtained. Ben
represents a fantastic success gained through luck rather than
dedication and hard work. Ben has gained what Willy has always wanted
but never been able to achieve.
“Willy: Walked into a jungle and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and
he’s rich!”
Willy has made Ben into a hero. Having no one to advise him who does not
threaten his fantasies, Willy relies on the image of Ben when he feels
insecure. Ben is not a fully developed character in the play, thus he
reflects the unrealistic nature of what he represents.
“Willy: Ben! That man was a genius, that man was success incarnate!
There was a man that started with the clothes on his back and ended up
with diamond mines!”
Willy is clearly jealous of Charley, and as such he offers Charley some

advice in order to assert some power over him. Charley contradicts
Willy’s view that appearances are important for success and he shows
genuine concern in his offer of a job for Willy. However, Willy refuses to
admit what he sees as defeat in front of a man he considers to have no
personality or charisma.
“Willy: I got a good job.”
For Willy, the epitome of masculinity is a man who is good with his hands
and is creative:
“Willy: A man who can’t handle tools is not a man. You’re disgusting.”
Willy returns to the value of physical strength over wealth or social

status to undermine Charley’s superiority. This is clearly ironic as whilst
Willy defines being a man as being creative, he fails to create anything
himself.
Charley has great pity for his friend, Willy, and although he hurts his
pride by offering him a job this is unintentional. He gives Willy good
advice about letting Biff go to Texas, yet Willy cannot accept this.
“Willy: Then what will I have to remember?”
These words powerfully suggest that Willy relies on his memories of the
past and Biff’s potential to avoid the disappointing reality of the present.
41
SYMBOLISM – DIAMONDS
To Willy, diamonds represent tangible wealth and therefore the success

of one’s work, life and the ability to pass material goods onto your
children; two things that Willy desperately craves. As a result, diamonds
– the discovery of which led Ben to his fortune – also symbolise Willy’s
ultimate failure as a salesman. Despite Willy’s belief in the American
Dream, a belief that is so powerful that he refused the chance of going
to Alaska with Ben, the Dream’s promise of financial security has eluded
Willy. At the end of the play, Ben encourages Willy to finally enter the
‘Jungle’ and retrieve this diamond – that is to kill himself for insurance
money in order to make his life be remembered with some form of
meaning attached to it.
42
ACT ONE NOTES
FLASHBACK – BROTHER BEN
As this scene begins we see Willy’s increasing struggle to balance the

confusion ever present in his mind. He accuses Charley of cheating to
conceal that he has been talking to Ben and claims, “I don’t play that kind
of game!” This emphasises the tension between the contradictory sets of
values that Willy holds.
In this apparently imagined scene Willy’s failed ambitions are contrasted

against Ben’s achievements. Ben is a legend in Willy’s mind and he
embodies Willy’s fantasy of the American Dream. Out of pure luck, Ben
ended up owning a diamond mine. Ben speaks of their father in similar
terms as Willy speaks of Ben – in almost mythological terms.
“Ben: Father was a great and a very wild-hearted man … he made more in
a week than a man like you could make in a lifetime.”
These heavily exaggerated boasts are meant to emphasise Willy’s feelings

of inadequacy when he compares himself to his father and brother. Willy
even pathetically tries to justify his life in Brooklyn and compare it to the
outdoors. This again serves to emphasise the way in which Willy has
sacrificed being content pursuing his love of working with his hands and
the outdoors to chase after material success.
The relationship between Ben, Willy and their father mirrors Willy’s
relationship with his own sons. Biff feels himself a failure in his father’s
eyes and Willy considers himself inadequate compared to Ben and his
father.
The second appearance of young Biff and Happy in this scene reinforces
the values Willy has passed onto them. Happy brags about losing weight;
again this shows the constant focus on physical appearance present in the
Loman household. Willy, as a means of impressing Ben, tells Biff to steal
from a construction site. For Willy, stealing is just another means of
succeeding economically; therefore he sees it as justified. He sees no
difference between the ‘fearless character’ in jail or the stock exchange.
This shows the flaws in Willy’s views of success – he attributes success
to luck, daring or immorality and cannot see the value of hard work and
discipline as shown by Charley and Bernard. Here, Charley and Ben can be
viewed by the audience as representing contradictory sides of Willy’s
conscience:
“Ben: Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You’ll never get out of the
jungle that way.”
At the end of this scene, Willy confesses that he is afraid he is not

teaching his sons “the right kind of thing”, but he is reassured by Ben,
who we must not forget is the highest authority in Willy’s mind. The
audience sees how Willy uses his imaginary dialogue with Ben to escape
the harsh reality of his life and validate his obsessive pursuit of material
wealth.
“Willy: That’s the spirit I want to imbue them with! To walk into a jungle!
I was right! I was right!”
44
SYMBOLISM – THE JUNGLE
The jungle, as well as the American West and Alaska, represent the
potential of adventure and natural instinct to Biff and Willy. Willy’s
father found success in Alaska and his brother Ben became rich in Africa.
These exotic locations, especially when compared to Willy’s Brooklyn
neighbourhood, make it clear how Willy’s obsession with the commercial
business world of the city has trapped him in an unpleasant reality.
Whereas Alaska and the African jungle symbolise Willy’s failure and the
harsh, competitive environment of the business world, the American
West, on the other hand, symbolises Biff’s potential. Biff realises that
he has only been contented and happy when working on farms, out in the
open. His westward escape from both Willy’s delusions and the
commercial world of the eastern United States suggests that he has a
pioneer mentality. Unlike Willy, Biff is a man who is willing to follow his
own path, live freely and create something new in the world for himself.
He recognises the importance of the individual; Willy’s failure to do this
is yet another reason for his unhappiness and, indeed, his failure.
45
46
‘DEATH OF A SALEMAN’ BY ARTHUR MILLER
ACT ONE NOTES
PRESENT DAY – THE TRUTH ABOUT WILLY
Miller quickly establishes that flashbacks occur in Willy’s imagination and

that they are part of a larger dementia that he suffers throughout the
play. The audience learns that he works on commission like a beginner in
his ‘profession’, that he drives 700 miles a day, and makes no money. It is
therefore little wonder that Willy talks to himself and finds the reality
of his life too hard to face. He borrows $50 a week from Charley; this
fact alone goes a long way to explaining Willy’s resentment of Charley:
“Linda: And what goes through a man’s mind, driving seven hundred miles
home without having earned a cent? Why shouldn’t he talk to himself? …
And you tell me he has no character? The man who never worked a day
but for your benefit?”
Linda blames Willy’s instability on Biff’s presence – a sign that Biff

reminds Willy of his failures as a father and as a businessman. Linda has
had to deal with Willy’s unpredictable behaviour alone, and doing this has
aged her considerably. Since her existence and identity depend entirely
on her husband and family, she defends Willy, even when she is well aware
that he does not deserve it. When she tells Biff that he cannot love her
if he does not love Willy, Linda essentially makes a choice of her husband
over her sons. She does this mainly because of a strong feeling of duty
toward Willy, for she knows that she is the only person who will show any
concern for whether Willy lives or dies. It is most significant that she
focuses her defence of Willy around his value as a human being – not in
his role as a father or a worker.
“Linda: I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of
money … But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him.
So attention must be paid.”
Linda declares that someone must pay attention to Willy, but does not
specify who, thus she condemns society in general for the ill treatment
and neglect of Willy Loman. He has worked his whole life only to be
ignored and devalued by his colleagues and his own children – all of whom
cast him aside when he is no longer of any economic worth to them.
“Linda: A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man.”
This is one of the most important lines of the play and the concept that
tragedy can involve the common man rather than a traditional tragic hero.
Miller believed that we can all identify with the struggles of an ordinary,
modern character, as he said, “… the tragic feeling is evoked when we are
in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need
be, to secure a thing – his sense of personal dignity.” Despite all of this,
the audience does wonder why Linda fails to confront Willy with the
evidence of his attempted suicide. It is not, we assume, because she
wants him to kill himself, but that this would mean discussing his failure,
which is something that Willy cannot face. Linda also hates to admit that
Willy is not all he longs to be; in many ways she is as committed to the
fantasy of success as her husband is. It was Linda who urged Willy to
think of his “good position” at home when he was thinking about going to
Alaska with Ben.
Biff, however, provides the most accurate picture of Willy as a fake who
cannot accept others who realise his own false character. Feeling guilty,
Biff promises to make a new start in business, even though he feels he is
not suited to this. He will try once again to be what Willy wants him to
be. Happy tells Biff that he must try to please people he works for, but
the thought of this is too much for Biff:
48
“Biff: They’ve laughed at dad for years, and you know why? Because we
don’t belong in this nuthouse of a city! We should be mixing cement on
some open plain, or – or carpenters.”
The final part of Act One serves as a turning point for Biff who realises
he can’t be around his father without fighting. We see how keeping
Willy’s secret is poisoning the father–son relationship:
“Willy: Ah, you’re counting your chickens again
Biff: Oh, Jesus, I’m going to sleep!
Willy: Don’t you curse in this house!
Biff: Since when did you get so clean?
However, when Happy surprises Biff with his plan he makes a final
extreme effort to try and do what will please his father, thus showing his
unending dedication to him. Biff’s idea for a sporting business shows the
flaws that both he and Willy possess. It continues the Loman family
emphasis on appearance and personality over real achievement:
“Willy: Start off with a couple of good stories to lighten things up. It’s
not what you say, it’s how you say it – because personality always wins the
day.”
Willy assumes the force of Biff’s personality and Willy’s own ability to be
liked and remembered will be sufficient to influence Bill Oliver. Willy’s
advice goes against the evidence of his life, which has driven him to the
brink of suicide. The plan also emphasises the immaturity of Biff and
Happy; both men want to work in sporting goods in an attempt to relive
their youth and high school glory. Willy shares their enthusiasm seeing
this as a chance for both himself and his sons to regain the happiness and
popularity they once enjoyed. As they are building this fantasy, we see
Linda brighten with renewed hope, but soon Willy cuts her down and this
leads to another confrontation with Biff. The air of optimism is clearly
very superficial and short lived in the Loman household. Before he goes
to bed, Biff removes the rubber tube Willy has used to try and take his
own life. The significance of this action resonates with the audience into
Act Two.
49
ACT ONE QUESTIONS
PRESENT DAY – THE TRUTH ABOUT WILLY
1. What does the pawning of Uncle Ben’s fob watch tell us about
Willy?
2. What criticisms does Linda make of her sons in this section of

Act One?
3. Why is Linda so prepared to defend Willy against all criticism?

What is your opinion of the character of Linda at this point in
the play?
4. Biff claims that Willy threw him out because Biff knew that
Willy was a fake. What does Biff mean by this statement?
5. In what ways has Willy attempted suicide? What is your opinion

of the character of Willy on learning this information?
6. Linda says to Biff and Happy, ‘He put his whole life into you and
you’ve turned your backs on him.’ To what extent is this a fair
and accurate criticism of her sons?
7. Why has Happy managed to hold onto his job whilst Biff has
not? What difference does this highlight between the two
brothers? Look carefully at the means Happy has used to
continue in his chosen career.
50
ACT ONE QUESTIONS
HAPPY ENDING?
1. Although by the end of Act One, Scene 10 the Loman family

appear to be happier, there are signs that all is not well and
that their optimism is misplaced. Identify what these signs are
considering the following areas:
• Oliver’s sponsorship of Biff

• The Loman brothers working as a partnership
• Willy’s advice to Biff about running a business
• Willy’s attitude towards Linda during the family’s discussion
• Willy’s final self-deception
Wherever possible you should use quotations to support your answers.
2. On what note does this scene end? Why do you think Arthur
Miller chose to end the first act of the play in this way?
51
HOMEWORK
ACT ONE - UNDERSTANDING THE PLOT QUESTIONS
1. How is Willy’s condition described as he comes on stage?

2. How does Linda try to reassure him?
3. How does Willy explain his state of mind?
4. What does Linda suggest as a solution to the problem?
5. Why is Willy unwilling to accept this?
6. What is Willy’s opinion of his own abilities?
7. Why had Willy and Biff argued earlier?
8. What is Willy’s opinion of Biff?
9. What do Happy and Biff do for a living?
10. What is Happy’s attitude towards women?
11. What do we learn of Willy’s relationship with Happy and Biff when
they were children?
12. Who is the Woman?
13. Why does Willy seem unsure of himself?
14. How is Bernard contrasted with Biff and Happy?
15. Why does Charley come round to see Willy?
16. What are the audience’s first impressions of Ben?
17. Why does Linda accuse Biff of behaving badly towards Willy?
18. What did Linda find in the cellar?
19. Why does Biff agree to see Bill Oliver?
20.What is Willy’s reaction to this?
52
ACT ONE KEY QUOTATIONS
• “A melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine, telling

of grass and trees and the horizon. The curtain rises.”
(Opening Stage Directions, page 1)
• “Most often jovial, she [Linda] has developed an iron repression of

her exceptions to Willy’s behaviour – she more than loves him, she
admires him, as though his mercurial nature, his temper, his
massive dreams and little cruelties, served her only as sharp
reminders of the turbulent longings within him, longings which she
shares but lacks the temperament to utter and follow to their
end.”
(Opening Stage Directions, page 2)
• “WILLY: I’m tired to death.”

(Page 2)
• “WILLY: They don’t need me in New York. I’m the New England
man. I’m vital in New England.”
(Page 4)
• “WILLY: The trouble is he’s lazy, goddammit!” [Biff]

“WILLY: Biff is a lazy bum!”
“WILLY: Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a
young man with such – personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such
a hard worker. There’s one thing about Biff – he’s not lazy.”
(Page 5)
53
• “Biff is two years older than his brother Happy, well built, but in
these days bears a worn air and seems less self-assured. He has
succeeded less, and his dreams are stronger and less acceptable
that Happy’s.”
(Stage Directions, page 8)
• “Happy is tall, powerfully made. Sexuality is like a visible colour on

him, or a scent that many women have discovered. He, like his
brother, is lost, but in a different way, for he has never allowed
himself to turn his face toward defeat and is thus more confused
and hard-skinned, although seemingly more content.”
(Stage Direction, Page 8)
• “BIFF: I’ve always made a point of not wasting my life, and every
time I come back here I know that all I’ve done is waste my life.”
(Page 11)
• “HAPPY: But then, it’s what I always wanted. My own apartment, a

car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I’m lonely.”
(Page 11 – 12)
• “HAPPY: I get that any time I want, Biff. Whenever I feel

disgusted. The only trouble is, it gets like bowling or something. I
just keep knockin’ them over and it doesn’t mean anything.”
(Page 13)
• “HAPPY: I’m losing weight, you notice, Pop?”

(Page 17)
• “WILLY: Sure, he’s gotta practise with a regulation ball, doesn’t

he? Coach’ll probably congratulate you on your initiative!”
(Page 17)
• “WILLY: (angrily) What’re you talking about? With scholarships

to three universities they’re gonna flunk him? … Don’t be a pest,
Bernard! (to his boys) What an anaemic!”
(page 20)
• “WILLY: That’s why I thank God Almighty you’re both built like
Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the
business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man
54
who gets ahead. Be liked and you’ll never want.”
(Page 20)
• “WILLY: I’m fat. I’m very – foolish to look at, Linda.”

(Page 23)
• “LINDA: Willy, darling, you’re the handsomest man in the world - …

To me you are. The handsomest.”
(Page 23)
• “The woman bursts out laughing, and Linda’s laughter blends in.
The woman disappears into the dark. Now the area at the kitchen
table brightens. Linda is sitting where she was at the kitchen
table, but now is mending a pair of her silk stockings.”
(Page 25)
• “WILLY: (noticing her mending) What’s that?

LINDA: Just mending my stockings. They’re so expensive …
WILLY: (angrily, taking them from her) I won’t have you mending
stockings in this house! Now throw them out!
Linda puts the stockings in her pocket.”
(Page 25)
• “WILLY: (exploding at her) There’s nothing the matter with him!

You want him to be a worm like Bernard? He’s got spirit,
personality …
As he speaks, Linda, almost in tears, exits into the living-room.”
(Page 26)
• “Charley has appeared in the doorway. He is a large man, slow of

speech, laconic, immovable. In all he says, despite what he says,
there is pity, and, now, trepidation.”
(Page 27)
• “WILLY: I got a job, I told you that. (After a slight pause.) What
the hell are you offering me a job for:
CHARLEY: Don’t get insulted.
WILLY: Don’t insult me.”
(Page 28)
55
• “WILLY: What the hell are you bothering me for? …A man who
can’t handle tools is not a man. You’re disgusting.”
(Page 29)
• “Uncle Ben, carrying a valise and an umbrella, enters the forestage

from around the right corner of the house. He is a stolid man, in
his sixties, with a moustache and an authoritative air. He is
utterly certain of his destiny, and there is an aura of far places
about him.”
(Page 29)
• “BEN: Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle,
and when I was twenty-one I walked out. (He laughs.) And by God
I was rich.”
(Page 32)
• “BEN: (patting Biff’s knee) Never fight fair with a stranger, boy.
You’ll never get out the jungle that way.”
(Page 33)
• “WILLY: Whatever happened to that diamond watch fob?

Remember? When Ben came from Africa that time? Didn’t he give
me a watch fob with a diamond in it?
LINDA: You pawned it, dear. Twelve, thirteen years ago. For
Biff’s radio correspondence course.
WILLY: Gee, that was a beautiful thing.”
(Page 36)
• “LINDA: He’s the dearest man in the world to me, and I won’t have
anyone making him feel unwanted and low and blue. You’ve got to
make your mind up now, darling, there’s no leeway anymore. Either
he’s your father and you pay him that respect, or else you’re not to
come here.”
(Page 38)
• “LINDA: Then make Charley your father, Biff. You can’t do that,
can you? I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a
lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest
character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible
thing is happening to him.”
(Page 38)
56
• “LINDA: Last month … (with great difficulty) Oh, boy, it’s so hard
to say a thing like this! He’s just a big stupid man to you, but I tell
you there’s more good in him than in many other people. (She
chokes, wipes her eyes.) I was looking for a fuse. The lights blew
out, and I went down to the cellar. And behind the fuse-box – it
happened to fall out – was a length of rubber pipe – just short.”
(Page 41)
• “LINDA: It sounds so old-fashioned and silly, but I tell you he put

his whole life into you and you’ve turned your backs on him. She is
bent over the chair, weeping, her face in her hands.) Biff, I swear
to God! Biff, his life is in your hands!”
(Page 42)
• “WILLY: Will you let me talk?

BIFF: Don’t yell at her, Pop, will ya?
WILLY: (angrily) I was talking, wasn’t I?
BIFF: I don’t like you yelling at her all the time, and I’m tellin’ you,
that’s all.
WILLY: What’re you, takin’ over this house?”
(Page 46)
• “Biff wraps the tubing around his hand and quickly goes up the
stairs.”
(Final Stage Direction, End of Act One, page 49)
57
ACT TWO - NOTES
THE PRESENT AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
Act Two begins with a dramatic shift in tone from Act One, as Willy is
seen as cheerful and optimistic. He now speaks about buying a place in
the country, and believes that he can now work in New York City:
“Willy: Gee, on the way home tonight I’d like to buy some seeds.”
The repeated suggestion that Willy is, and would always have been,
happier pursuing a simpler lifestyle is sharply contrasted against his
enthusiasm for Biff’s plans and Willy’s hopes of demanding new work
conditions – both of which seem entirely unrealistic. While he’s dreaming
of a better life, Linda asks him for an advance of $200 to cover recent
bills. Willy complains that just as he gets something, such as the
refrigerator, it wears out:
“Willy: Once in a lifetime I’d like to own something outright before it’s
broken! … They time those things. They time them so when you finally
paid for them, they’re used up.”
The audience sees Willy, and ordinary people like him, are caught in an
endless cycle of working to meet payments for goods that then break,
thus beginning the series of payments all over again. We understand how
life is full of torment for Willy; he sees his tiny income disappear and
58
never owns a thing – and we also understand why Linda is so frugal and
darns old stockings. Goods such as stockings and the refrigerator
represent consumerism and the idea that material possessions relate to
personal success – Miller intends us to interpret this as a flawed belief.
It may also be seen as a metaphor for workers such as Willy who, just
like his own refrigerator, have a limited period of usefulness and when
they are no longer of service, they are disposed of and replaced with a
new model.
It is an important day in the Loman household for several reasons – the

mortgage is nearly paid; Willy is confident he can stay in the New York
office; and Biff and Happy have invited their father to dinner. After
Willy rushes off to meet them, Linda talks to Biff. She can hardly wait
to tell him the rubber hose has gone – she assumes that Willy himself has
disposed of it. She is severely disappointed to learn that Biff was
responsible, and we see that see wanted to believe that their problems
could be as easily resolved as Willy likes to pretend. She reminds Biff to
make an extra effort with his father that night at dinner:
“Linda: Be loving to him. Because he’s only a little boat looking for a
harbour … Oh, that’s wonderful Biff, you’ll save his life.”
The metaphor here is very appropriate. Willy has been exhausted by his
troubles and his rescue seems to be entirely dependent on Biff. Linda is
so sensitive to the importance of Biff’s love and respect that she puts
her comments about their relationship in terms of life and death. It is
crucial to note that she is not exaggerating: “you’ll save his life”, is not a
cliché in this instance.
59
SYMBOLISM – THE RUBBER HOSE
The rubber hose is a stage prop that reminds the audience of Willy’s
desperate attempts at suicide. He has apparently tried to kill himself by
inhaling gas, which is, ironically, the very substance essential to one of
the most basic elements with which he must provide his family’s health
and comfort – heat. Literal death by inhaling gas parallels the
metaphorical death that Willy feels in his struggle to afford such a basic
necessity.
SYMBOLISM – SEEDS
Miller uses the image of seeds throughout the play to symbolise Willy’s
need and desire for success. For Willy, seeds represent the chance to
prove the worth of his years of labour, both as a salesman and as a
father. His desperate night time attempts to grow vegetables signify
shame about barely being able to put food on his family’s table and having
nothing to leave his children when he dies. Willy feels that he has worked
hard but fears that he will not be able to help his children anymore than
his own abandoning father helped him. The seeds also symbolise Willy’s
60
sense of failure with Biff. Despite the American Dream’s formula for
success, which Willy considers infallible, Willy’s efforts to cultivate and
nurture Biff have failed miserably. Realising that his All-American
football star has turned into a “lazy bum”, Willy takes Biff’s failure and
lack of ambition as a reflection of his abilities as a father. In spite of
the fact Willy attempts to plant his garden near the end of the play, it is
too little too late. His life has already been a failure and he has left
nothing of any substance by which he can be remembered.
61
ACT TWO QUESTIONS
THE PRESENT AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
(Pages 50 – 54)
1. Willy is seen to be more cheerful at the start of this scene. What

evidence can you find of Willy’s cheerfulness in what he says?
2. Willy continues to day-dream in this Act but his dream is new.

What form does Willy’s new dream take? In what way is this
dream different from the old one?
3. Why is Willy proposing to buy seeds?
4. Why does Willy’s plan to build one or two guest houses sound
unrealistic?
5. Why does Willy not want to see Linda mending stockings?
6. In what ways does Linda’s telephone conversation with Biff remind

us of Act 1?
62
ACT TWO NOTES
THE PRESENT – NO JOB FOR WILLY
In this part of Act Two, Miller uses Howard Wagner as a symbol of

progress and innovation which directly contrasts with Willy Loman’s
outdated ideas of business strategy. Most of the details in Howard’s
office emphasise technological innovation and novelty, from his well-
designed, modern office to the recording machine that fascinates him.
This shows that Howard is more interested in the future that the past,
as he ignores Willy to focus on the new machine. He says that he is going
to throw out, “my camera, my band saw, and all my hobbies” in favour of
the new machine, mirroring the way in which he will fire Willy in favour of
younger, more ruthless salesmen who can take his place. In contrast,
Willy speaks not of his future with the company but of his history and
past promises. The fact that Willy is frightened by the recording
machine is a symbol of Willy obsolescence within a modern business world;
he cannot deal with innovation and change and has no place in the modern
business world that men like Howard inhabit. Willy himself remarks that
even his values belong to a different time:
“Willy: Today it’s all cut and dried, and there’s no chance for bringing
friendship to bear, or personality … They don’t know me any more.
Howard: That’s just the thing, Willy.”
Willy reminisces about a time when being a salesman demanded respect

and friendship, which seems to indicate an environment that has passed,
yet this can also be viewed as another example of Willy idealising a past
that never actually existed. It is doubtful that his claims of having
earned $170 a week are genuine.
“Willy: … Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at

the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up
63
a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different
people?”
The audience is aware that Willy romanticises the business world and
relies on success in his career to justify his own sense of self worth.
Willy once again falls victim to the idea that personality and personal
relationships are vital factors in business. He recalls when Howard’s
father brought Howard as a baby into the office and how Willy helped to
name him, yet in terms of the business world, this is of little relevance.
“Willy: Look, it isn’t a question of whether I can sell merchandise, is it?

Howard: No, but it’s a business kid, and everybody’s gotta pull his own
weight.”
Howard pays little heed to Willy’s desperation and patronises him by

repeatedly referring to him as “kid”. This is not necessarily cruelty on
Howard’s part, but more a straightforward recognition of market forces.
Although he claims Willy can return after a rest, both men know that this
will never happen. When Howard suggests Willy asks Biff and Happy for
help he remarks, “This is no time for false pride” he identifies one of the
main characteristics of Willy’s personality. Miller intends the audience to
realise that Willy is defined by false pride which has sustained him and
his dreams for years.
The terrible realisation that Willy is dispensable cannot be escaped in

this scene as he becomes increasingly desperate to convince Howard that
he has some worth:
“Willy: I put thirty-four years into this firm, Howard, and now I can’t pay
my insurance … You can’t eat the orange and throw away the peel – a man
is not a piece of fruit!”
64
THE PRESENT – NO JOB FOR WILLY
QUESTIONS
(Pages 54 – 61)
1. What is impression is given to the audience of Howard Wagner?
2. Almost immediately, Willy’s interview with Howard goes wrong.

Why is this?
3. Give brief details of the embarrassing moments present in this

scene.
4. What is the dramatic purpose of Howard’s recording machine?

Why can Willy not turn the machine off?
5. Why do you think Miller decided Howard should play with a

recording machine during his interview with Willy?
6. Why does Willy become angry during the course of the

interview? Explain this in detail, referring to the play.
7. Explain what we learn about the realities of the business world

in this scene.
8. What lessons does Willy learn from Howard in this scene?
9. In your own words, describe Howard’s attitude towards Willy.

10. Why does Willy talk at such great length about Dave Singleman?
11. Look carefully at Willy’s speech, “Oh yeah, my father … They

don’t know me anymore.” (pages 58 – 59) How does what Willy
says reinforce the knowledge the audience already has of him?
12. What is your reaction to Willy’s claims about his 1928 earnings
13. In your opinion, was the outcome of Willy’s interview inevitable?

Give your opinion in detail, considering both the circumstances
and the characters involved.
65
ACT TWO
THE PAST – ALASKA AND EBBETS FIELD
The setting for the play once again shifts in order to contrast Willy’s
present experience with those of his idealised past. The reappearance of
Ben is symbolic of those dreams that Willy has sacrificed in favour of his
tiring and unsatisfying existence:
“Willy: … I am building something with this firm, Ben, and if a man is

building something he must be on the right track, mustn’t he?
Ben: What are you building? Lay your hand on it. Where is it?”
Linda’s reassurance to Willy that he would be a member of the firm is

ironic, for the presence of this promise, which was never fulfilled, has
kept Willy from pursuing a more adventurous way of life. It seems that
Linda has taken Willy’s optimistic fantasies to heart to such a degree
that she defends them even against Willy himself. This scene in Act Two
also gives some indication that Linda has in some ways limited her husband
by forcing him to take a more stable path in life. She claims that not
every man has to conquer the world, thus assuming that Willy is incapable
of doing so. However, Miller also re-emphasises Willy’s belief in personal
connections being the crucial factor in business:
“Willy: … the wonder of this country, that a man can end up with
diamonds on the basis of being liked! And that’s why when you get out on
66
the field today it’s important … When he walks into a business office his
name will sound out like a bell and all the doors will open to him!”
By this stage in the play, Willy’s firm belief that, “It’s who you know and
the smile on your face” is what counts has been thoroughly disproved, as
Willy was fired by a man whom he has known through childhood. Bernard
and Charley reappear in this segment foreshadowing their later roles in
the play. This scene re-establishes the uneasy relationship between
Charley and Willy, who is shocked to think that Charley may not be in
complete awe of Biff’s athletic achievements, while demonstrating how
Bernard remains in Charley’s shadow. The relationship between the
characters has clearly shifted, and Miller’s use of a flashback at this
point foreshadows a later development of the dynamic between the
Lomans and Charley and Bernard.
67
THE PAST – ALASKA AND EBBETS FIELD
QUESTIONS
(Pages 61 – 63)
1. In what way does Miller suggest that Linda has been influenced by
Willy’s attitudes?
2. This scene presents the audience with Willy’s version of the

American Dream. In what way has this dream been shattered?
3. How would you describe Willy’s sense of values?
(Pages 63 – 66)
1. What do we learn about Willy in this scene?
2. In what way do the characters of Willy and Charley contrast?
3. Why does Willy have such a poor attitude towards Charley?
68
THE RETURN OF BERNARD
QUESTIONS
(PAGES 66 – 71)
1. What is Bernard’s dramatic function in this scene?
2. Why does Willy think that Bernard’s success “looks good for
Biff”?
3. Why is Willy so reluctant to discuss what happened in Boston

seventeen years ago?
4. “But sometimes, Willy, it’s better for a man just to walk away.”
What does Bernard mean by these words?
(Pages 71 – 73)
1. What is the secret of Bernard’s success, and in what way does

this success throw light on Biff’s failure?
2. When he is talking to Charley, Willy displays a strange sense of

values. Explain what these values are.
3. What is the significance of Charley’s reference to J. P. Morgan?
4. Do you think Charley is entirely fair to Willy in this scene?
5. Willy describes Charley as his only friend. Do you think Willy’s

behaviour mirrors this?
69
ACT TWO NOTES
THE PRESENT – THE RESTAURANT
While Biff’s failures and flaws have been a major concern throughout the
play, this segment in Act Two shows how damaging Happy’s flaws can be.
A compulsive womaniser, Happy tells blatant lies to the women he meets,
claiming that Biff is a professional athlete. The audience is also made
aware that Happy, like Willy, idealises their golden years of adolescence
and promise when Biff seemed a hero with the world at his feet.
Furthermore, like his father, if the truth is not pleasant, Happy changes
it to satisfy himself - putting on an act is his speciality. Happy forgets
about Willy in favour of seducing Miss Forsythe. In the final, cruellest
move that Happy makes, he denies that Willy is his father, thus turning
his back on his father even more callously than Biff has done.
By contrast, Biff does little out of calculated planning in this scene, but
merely continues his pattern of foolish mistakes. While he may have
started to fail to spite Willy, by this point in the play his self-
destructiveness is a habit. His plan to ask Bill Oliver for money was
doubtful at best, but Biff makes it even more unlikely by stealing the
fountain pen. Unlike Happy, Biff shows some real concern for Willy’s
feelings: he worries that Willy will think that Biff spoiled the interview
with Bill Oliver on purpose. The Loman boys’ insistence on putting the
70
best possible slant on the meeting with Bill Oliver shows that their
interest in the sporting goods business is not for their own gain, but
rather to please their father, whose emotions they must continually
consider. Biff believes he cannot tell Willy the truth about his meeting
as Willy will believe Biff’s failure was a deliberate insult against him.
Biff’s greatest concern is what his father will think and what effect it
will have on him. Biff’s own embarrassment about taking the pen is barely
considered unless it involves how his father will react. Biff has finally
realised the cycle of deception that has been the basis of the Loman
family history and demands an end to it:
“Biff: … And then he gave me one look and – I realised what a ridiculous
lie my whole life has been. We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen
years. I was a shipping clerk.”
The audience cannot fail to acknowledge the dramatic tension in this

scene as Biff’s need for the truth and Willy’s need for fantasy collide.
“Biff: Who was it, Pop? Who ever said I was a salesman with Oliver?
Willy: Well, you were.
Biff: No, Dad, I was a shipping clerk.
Willy: But you were practically – “
It is a Loman family habit to say “practically” or “almost” – it’s the way

the men have been able to rewrite the past. This is what Biff is now
rejecting as he tries to make a clean start on the basis of who he is
rather than who Willy wants him to be.
71
THE RESTAURANT
QUESTIONS
(Pages 73 – 79)
1. Explain exactly what Happy is like as a character, as illustrated

in this scene.
2. What evidence do we get of Happy sharing some of Willy's less

attractive qualities?
Lying Exaggeration
3. In what ways do the attitudes of Happy and Biff contrast in

this scene?
4. What effect has his interview with Bill Oliver had on Biff?
5. Why do you think Biff steals Bill Oliver’s pen?
(Pages 79 – 82)
6. What is Willy’s mood as he enters the restaurant?
7. Comment on the various changes in Biff’s mood as the scene

progresses.
8. How does Miller convey Willy’s anxiety for good news from
Biff?
9. Why does Biff become angry and frustrated?
72
ACT TWO NOTES
THE PAST – BIFF FLUNKS MATH
Willy’s hallucinations about young Biff failing Math and visiting him in
Boston gives a greater indication for the reason why Biff has developed
such animosity towards his father. Willy associates Biff’s visit to Boston
with his affair with The Woman. The likely confrontation between Willy’s
life at home as a father and his life on the road as a salesman seems to
provide the motivation for Biff’s spiteful, self-destructive behaviour.
73
ACT TWO NOTES
PAST AND PRESENT
As Willy’s confusion becomes evident during the time the Loman men are
at the restaurant, Biff realises he is clearly unstable and that the only
thing that will calm him down is a huge lie about Bill Oliver. The audience
is painfully aware that this reflects the unbearable pressure Willy’s
expectations have placed on Biff. Biff is startled by the expectations
the lie commits him too and he wavers between sticking to the truth and
backing down. Such actions throw Willy back in dejection and he violently
lashes out at Biff:
“Willy: (Strikes Biff and falters away from the table): You rotten little
louse! Are you spiting me?”
Willy refers to Biff’s negative attitude or reference to the truth as

“spite” but the audience struggles to accept that Biff does not have good
reason to mistreat Willy here.
74
ACT TWO NOTES
THE PAST – “A PHONEY LITTLE FAKE”
Willy’s rage is increased in this scene as he replays in his head the instant
when Biff found him with The Woman. Here, Miller finally gives the full
explanation for Biff’s refusal to take a summer school course and thus
pass Math, the key event that determined his later successive failures.
It is Willy’s infidelity that prompted the dramatic change in Biff’s
character, as he learned that his father was having an affair with The
Woman in Boston. First, the audience is reminded of the values Willy has
taught his sons – Biff believes that he is in trouble as he mocked the
teacher in order to gain popularity. Willy encourages this childish
behaviour and even suggests that Biff exploits Bernard in order to pass
his exam. This emphasises how Biff, like Willy, disregards the
importance of hard work, believing that the power of appearances alone is
tantamount to gaining success.
“Biff: You gotta talk to him before they close the school. Because if he
saw the kind of man you are, and you just talked to him in your way, I’m
sure he’d come through for me.”
Biff has always been aware of Willy’s tendency to exaggerate, but he did
not believe this extended to such crucial events. He had been motivated
by his father’s fantasies and here, as the image of his father is
destroyed, so his image of himself is shattered too. The revelation of
this reason for Biff’s bitterness is not the only example of the way in
which Willy has carelessly ruined the lives of those around him. The
audience is aware that Willy has sacrificed his own chances of genuine
happiness and the happiness of others in order to feel popular and
successful, if only superficially. He has ruined the reputation of The
Woman, but can offer nothing in return. He has made The Woman false
promises, such as the stockings, but he refuses to acknowledge her
existence to others and ultimately abandons her. This parallels Willy’s
earlier insistence that Linda must not mend stockings, reflecting that the
stockings symbolise what Willy can provide for his family and thus they
are a measure of his success.
Willy is severe with Biff, but Biff refuses to collude with his father’s
denial of the truth. Biff’s weeping pierces Willy’s heart. He tries to
explain that The Woman meant nothing to him, she was a means of
alleviating his loneliness, but Biff’s reply shows that he cannot see past
his father’s betrayal: “You gave her Mama’s stockings!”
Biff realises that the promises of a successful and prosperous lifestyle

Willy has led them to will never actually be fulfilled. When Biff recovers
from crying he is full of rage and scorn for his father and the audience is
aware that their relationship, and indeed a part of Biff himself has been
destroyed forever:
“Biff: You fake! You phoney little fake! You fake!”
76
THE PAST – “A PHONEY LITTLE FAKE”
QUESTIONS
(Page 87 – 92)
1. Why is the episode involving The Woman introduced through a

flashback at this point of the play?
2. Explain the significance of the:
• Suitcase.
• Stockings.
• The fact the woman has no name.
3. In what ways is Biff’s response to finding Willy with The

Woman understandable?
4. Why is this flashback crucial to the play as a whole?
5. Explain the ways in which this flashback helps to introduce the

essence of the play as a whole.
77
ACT TWO NOTES
THE PRESENT – SEED TIME
Yet another humiliation occurs in this segment of Act Two. Willy’s sons
abandon him at the restaurant, leaving him alone with the waiter while
they go out with the women that Happy has met. Willy’s preoccupation
with seeds is symbolic of his realisation that nothing he has created is of
permanent value:
“Willy: I’ve got to get some seeds, right away. Nothing’s planted. I don’t
have a thing in the ground.”
As a salesman, Willy is merely a vehicle for passing on what others have

created, whilst the family he has created – whose love and devotion he
has squandered – abandon him. Seeds therefore symbolise something
greater and tangible that Willy can create as an example of his work.
This also relates back to Willy’s apparent embarrassment when Ben thinks
he cannot hunt or fish in Brooklyn. Willy has been worried that as a
salesman he has not been close to nature and the spirit of adventure and
the challenge of the fight for survival that it represents. Willy’s wish to
plant seeds is a way to compensate for his failures.
78
THE PRESENT – SEED TIME
QUESTIONS
(Page 92 – 95)
1. How would you describe Willy’s state of mind at this point of the
play?
2. Linda is furious that her sons have humiliated Willy by leaving him
at the restaurant. In what way is her defence of Willy ironic?
3. How would you describe Happy’s behaviour in this scene?
79
ACT TWO NOTES
THE BOYS’ RETURN; BEN’S ADVICE AND THE TRUTH
The final sequence of Act Two parallels the end of Act One in both
structure and emotional resolution. Linda once again acts as the
conscience and voice of reason in the Loman household, scolding Biff and
Happy for their lack of concern for Willy. The boys, in return, resolve to
improve themselves: Happy decides to settle down, whilst Biff breaks
down emotionally and cries for his father. Biff admits that he was out of
contact with his parents for months, not because he did not care but
because he was in jail, thus contradicting the audience’s earlier
assumptions that Biff lacked concern for Willy and Linda.
While Biff focuses on Willy’s false dreams for himself and his sons, Willy
seems concerned only with what his sons think of him. Willy still retains a
belief that Biff and Happy are important people, capable of great
success, while Biff takes the more realistic view that they are ordinary
people incapable of achieving their unrealistic dreams. Willy is deeply
moved by the strength of his own emotions: “Spite, spite is the word of
your undoing!” Biff answers him, and the audience finally feel that at last
the truth is spoken: “I’m not blaming you!” Willy, however, is not
listening; nothing seems to make him hear what Biff is saying so Biff
confronts him with what everyone dreads most – the rubber hose, the
80
evidence of Willy’s intention to commit suicide. Biff also lists the lies
that have shaped all their lives:
“Biff: I stole myself out of every good job since high school!
Willy: And whose fault is that?
Biff: And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I
could never stand taking orders from anybody! That’s whose fault it is!”
This is the moment of truth for Biff, and for the Loman family. It marks
a return to the theme of Willy’s boundless dreams and aspirations, which
guarantee that he will never be satisfied with any degree of success. It
is this inability to fully achieve success that drives Willy to suicide.
Willy Loman’s suicide can be interpreted as a noble sacrifice, driven by

the belief that Biff may go into business with the insurance money he will
gain from his father’s death. However, the audience may also interpret
Willy’s suicide as being driven by his reconciliation with Biff – having
realised how much Biff cares for him and convinced that Biff does not
behave out of “spite”, Willy sacrifices himself for his son. Willy seems
optimistic about the proposition. The prospect of setting Biff up
financially has far more meaning to Willy than continuing to live a life
that he now sees will never be what he dreamed for himself. He is now
completely transferring that dream onto Biff. Unfortunately, it is this
dream that Biff resents and ultimately rejects. The idea of making
$20,000 appeals to Willy because it’s the kind of deal that he’s always
longed of making. This is “guaranteed, gilt-edged” – a real profit that
Willy can see “like a diamond shining in the dark.”
Full of the feeling of promise for the future, and of forgiveness for the
past, Willy can hardly wait to rush out and fulfil his final plan for success.
When Linda urges him to come to bed he says, “It’s all settled now”.
However, these words have different meanings for them: for Linda it
means that Biff will leave and the fighting will end; for Willy it means
Biff loves him and the only thing he has left to give him is the $20,000
insurance money.
At the close of Act Two, Ben appears again – he is not a remembered

figure, but the personification of Willy’s own feelings. “The jungle is dark
but full of diamonds, Willy”, says Ben. That means that Willy is
frightened of what he has to do, but the reward makes it worth it.
81
THE BOYS’ RETURN; BEN’S ADVICE AND THE TRUTH
QUESTIONS
(Pages 95 – 97)
1. What is the significance of Willy’s seed planting at this stage of

the play?
2. What is the motivation behind Willy’s suicide plan?
3. Why is the inclusion of Ben in this scene so significant?
(Pages 97 – 105)
4. In this scene, a lot of suppressed truths are revealed. Explain what

these truths are.
5. Do you think it is possible to admire Willy’s point of view in this scene?
6. Biff blames Willy for most of his troubles. To what extent is this
justified?
7. Describe Willy and Biff’s feelings as Biff holds on to his father. Consider
each character separately.
8. In what ways are the repeated references to diamonds significant in this

scene?
82
HOMEWORK
ACT TWO UNDERSTANDING THE PLOT QUESTIONS
1. Why is Willy in financial difficulty?

2. Where is Willy going to meet Biff and Happy?
3. What was the result of Willy’s meeting with Howard?
4. What had Ben offered Willy and why did he reject it?
5. Bernard is again contrasted with Biff. What is the effect of doing
this?
6. What happened when Biff went to meet Bill Oliver?
7. How does Willy behave when Biff recounts these events to him?
8. Why did the adolescent Biff visit his father in Boston?
9. Why did this visit change his opinion of Willy forever?
10. What happens in the restaurant?
11. Why is Willy planting seeds?
12. What is the only thing which Willy feels he had left to give Biff?
13. Why does Biff tell Linda and Willy he is leaving?
14. What are his parents’ reactions to this?
15. Why does Ben reappear at the end of this act?
16. Why does Biff cry?
17. How does Willy interpret his tears?
83
ACT TWO KEY QUOTATIONS
• “WILLY: I slept like a dead one. First time in months.”

(Page 50)
• “WILLY: Gee, on the way home tonight I’d like to buy some seeds.”
(Page 50)
• “WILLY: Once in my life I’d like to own something outright before

it’s broken! I’m always in a race with the junkyard!”
(Page 52)
• “WILLY: Will you stop mending stockings? At least while I’m in

the house. It gets me nervous. I can’t tell you. Please.”
(Page 53)
• “LINDA: And be sweet to him tonight, dear. Be loving to him.

Because he’s only a little boat looking for a harbour. (She is
trembling with sorrow and joy.)
(Page 54)
• “WILLY: I tell ya why, Howard. Speaking frankly and between the

two of us, y’know – I’m just a little tired.”
(Page 57)
• “WILLY: And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the
greatest career a man could want. ‘Cause what could be more
satisfying that to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into
twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be
84
remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?”
(Page 58)
• “WILLY: (He stands up. Howard has not looked at him.) In those
days there was personality in it, Howard. There was respect, and
comradeship, and gratitude in it. Today, it’s all cut and dried, and
there’s no chance for bringing friendship to bear – or personality.
You see what I mean? They don’t know me anymore.”
(Page 59)
• “WILLY: You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away – a man
is not a piece of fruit!”
(Page 59)
• HOWARD: (getting up) You’ll have to excuse me, Willy, I gotta

see some people. Pull yourself together. (going out) I’ll be back in
a little while.”
(Page 59)
• “HOWARD: This is no time for false pride, Willy. You go to your

sons and you tell them that you’re tired. You’ve got two great boys,
haven’t you?”
(Page 61)
• “WILLY: I can’t throw myself on my sons. I’m not a cripple!”

(Page 61)
• “WILLY: It’s who you know and the smile on your face! It’s
contacts, Ben, contacts!”
(Page 63)
• “BIFF: I got it, Pop. And remember, pal, when I take off my
helmet, that touchdown is for you.”
(Page 65)
• (The music rises to a mocking frenzy.)

“WILLY: Who the hell do you think you are, better than everybody
else? You don’t know everything, you big, ignorant, stupid … Put up
your hands!”
(Page 66)
85
• “WILLY: (confidentially, desperately) You were his friend, his
boyhood friend. There’s something I don’t understand about it.
His life ended after that Ebbets Field game. From the age of
seventeen nothing good ever happened to him.”
(Page 68)
• “WILLY: (rising, faces Bernard) I regard you as a very brilliant

man, Bernard. I value your advice.”
(Page 68)
• “WILLY: Why? Why? Bernard, that question has been trailing me

like a ghost for the last fifteen years. He flunked the subject, and
laid down and died like a hammer hit him!”
(Page 69)
• “BERNARD: I’ve often thought of how strange it was that I knew

he’d given up on his life. What happened in Boston, Willy? Willy
looks at him as an intruder.”
(Page 70)
• “WILLY: (furiously) You big ignoramus, if you say that to me again

I’ll rap you one! I don’t care how big you are! (He’s ready to
fight.)”
(Page 72)
• “WILLY: (moving to the right) Funny, y’know. After all the

highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you
end up worth more dead than alive.”
(Page 73)
• “WILLY: (on the verge of tears) Charley, you’re the only friend I
got. Isn’t that a remarkable thing?”
(Page 73)
• “BIFF: I even believed myself that I’d be a salesman for him! And
then he gave me one look and – I realized what a ridiculous lie my
whole life has been. We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen
years. I was a shipping clerk.”
(Page 78)
86
• “WILLY: I’m not interested in stories about the past or any crap
of that kind because the woods are burning, boys, you understand?
There’s a big blaze going on all around. I was fired today.”
(Page 80)
• “BIFF: Why did I go? Why did I go? Look at you! Look at what’s
become of you!
Off left, the woman laughs. …
WILLY: Are you spiting me?
BIFF: Don’t take it that way! Goddammit!
WILLY: (strikes Biff and falters away from the table) You rotten
little louse! Are you spiting me?”
(Page 85)
• “BIFF: Hap, help him! Jesus … help him … Help me, help me, I can’t
bear to look at his face! (Ready to weep, he hurries out, up right.)”
(Page 87)
• “HAPPY: No, that’s not my father. He’s just a guy.”

(Page 87)
• “THE WOMAN: Gee, you are self-centred! Why so sad? You are
the saddest, self-centredest soul I ever did see-saw. (She laughs.
He kisses her.)”
(Page 88)
• “BIFF: You – you gave her Mama’s stockings! (His tears break
through and he rises to go.)
WILLY: (grabbing for Biff) I gave you an order!
BIFF: Don’t touch me, you – liar!
WILLY: Apologize for that!
BIFF: You fake! You phoney little fake! You fake!
(Overcome he turns quickly and weeping fully goes out with his
suitcase. Willy is left on the floor on his knees.)”
(Page 92)
• “WILLY: (anxiously) Oh, I’d better hurry. I’ve got to get some
seeds. (He starts off to the right.) I’ve got to get some seeds,
right away. Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground.”
(Page 93)
87
• “LINDA: (cutting Happy off, violently to Biff) Don’t you care
whether he lives or dies?”
(Page 94)
• “LINDA: (shouting after Biff) You invite him to dinner. He looks

forward to it all day – (Biff appears in his parents’ bedroom, looks
around, and exits) – and then you desert him there. There’s no
stranger you’d do that to!”
(Page 94)
• “LINDA: Get out of here, both of you, and don’t come back! I
don’t want you tormenting him any more. Go on now, get your things
together!”
(Page 94)
• “WILLY: What a proposition, ts, ts. Terrific, terrific. ‘Cause she’s

suffered, Ben, the woman has suffered. You understand me? A
man can’t go out the way he came in, Ben, a man has got to add up
to something. … Remember, it’s a guaranteed twenty-thousand-
dollar proposition.”
(Page 96)
• “BIFF: Dad, you’re never going to see what I am, so what’s the use
of arguing? If I strike oil, I’ll send you a cheque. Meantime forget
I’m alive.”
(Page 99)
• “WILLY: (stops him with) May you rot in hell if you leave this
house!”
(Page 99)
• “BIFF: Pop! I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you!

WILLY: (turning on him now in an uncontrolled outburst) I am not
a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!
Biff starts for Willy, but is blocked by Happy. In his fury, Biff
seems on the edge of attacking his father.”
(Page 102)
• “WILLY: Loves me. (wonderingly) Always loved me. Isn’t that a

remarkable thing? Ben, he’ll worship me for it!
88
BEN: (with promise) It’s dark there, but full of diamonds.”
(Page 104)
• “WILLY: (uttering a gasp of fear, whirling about as if to quiet her)

Sh! (He turns around as if to find his way; sounds, faces, voices,
seem to be swarming in upon him and he flicks at them, crying, Sh!
Sh! Suddenly music, faint and high, stops him. It rises in
intensity, almost to an unbearable scream. He goes up and down on
his toes, and rushes around the house.) Shhh!”
(Page 104 – 105)
• BIFF: (rushing down the stairs) Pop!

As the car speeds off, the music crashes down in a frenzy of
sound, which becomes the soft pulsation of a single ‘cello string. …
The music has developed into a dead march. … All look down at the
grave.”
(Page 105)
89
REQUIEM NOTES
The Requiem is an opportunity to assess the validity of what Willy said

about his funeral and to see the aftermath of his life. Willy predicted
that his funeral would be well attended by all those who liked him; but
this turns out to be a false hope. The belief that he was well respected
is clearly unfounded. Linda has problems understanding Willy’s motives
for killing himself, and dwells on the good times. It seems particularly
galling to her that they have just freed themselves of the financial
burden of paying the mortgage. Happy intends to dedicate his life to his
father by continuing to try to set up a company called Loman Brothers.
Biff gives him a look of despair at this point. He knows that Willy “had
the wrong dreams”. Biff also states that his father did not understand
himself. Charley alone is sympathetic to Willy and he eloquently
expresses what it is like to live as a salesman, “He’s a man way out there
in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine.” Charley argues that a
salesman has to have a dream – it is in the nature of the job. Happy
defends his father’s dream “to come out number-one man” and is
determined to emulate his father. Linda is left to express her feelings
of bewilderment and angst at Willy’s death as well as her inability to cry.
The audience is left watching her battling with her feelings of both grief
and anger.
Willy is now free from earthly unhappiness. Willy and Linda are free
from the need to earn money for their mortgage and, in another sense,
the Loman family are now free to live without the pressure of Willy’s
unrealistic and unobtainable dreams.
REQUIEM QUESTIONS
Page 106 – 108
1. Looking at each of the different characters carefully, what differing

verdicts are given on Willy’s character and outlook in the Requiem? In
your opinion, which verdict is best supported by the events of the
play?
2. What are Happy’s plans for the future? How much has Happy learned
from the past?
3. Compare and contrast Biff and Happy’s views of Willy. Which view do
you agree with and to what extent?
4. Considering Linda’s point of view, was Willy’s death in vain?
5. What do you think Miller's intention with the requiem was?
91
HOMEWORK
REQUIEM UNDERSTANDING THE PLOT QUESTIONS
1. How does Happy intend to continue his life?
2. Why is Happy ‘deeply angered’ as the stage directions for his first
speech indicate?
3. Why does Charley say no one should blame Willy for his actions?
4.Linda’s closing words are ‘we’re free’. What does she mean by this?
REQUIEM KEY QUOTATIONS
• “HAPPY: (deeply angered) He had no right to do that. There was

no necessity for it. We would’ve helped him.”
(Page 106)
• “LINDA: Why didn’t anybody come? …

LINDA: But where are all the people he knew? Maybe they blame
him.”
(Page 106)
• “LINDA: I can’t understand it. At this time especially. First time

in thirty-five years we were just about free and clear. He only
needed a little salary. He was even finished with the dentist.”
(Page 106)
• “BIFF: He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.

HAPPY: (almost ready to fight Biff) Don’t say that!
BIFF: He never knew who he was.”
(Page 107)
• “CHARLEY: (stopping Happy’s movement and reply. To Biff)

Nobody dast blame this man. You don’t understand; Willy was a
salesman. And for a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life.
… He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a
shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back – that’s an
93
earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your
hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman
is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.”
(Page 107)
• “HAPPY: All right, boy. I’m gonna show you and everybody else
that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the
only dream you can have – to come out number-one man. He fought
it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.”
(Page 107)
• “LINDA: Forgive me, dear. I can’t cry. I don’t know what it is, but
I can’t cry. I don’t understand it. Why did you ever do that? Help
me, Willy, I can’t cry. … I made the last payment on the house
today. Today, dear. And there’ll be nobody home. (A sob rises in
her throat.) We’re free and clear. (Sobbing more fully, released.)
We’re free.”
(Page 108)
• “Only the music of the flute is left on the darkening stage as over
the house the hard towers of the apartment buildings rise into
sharp focus.”
(Final Stage Directions, Page 108)
94
KEY QUOTATIONS – CHARACTER
Using these prompts, collect quotations about the major characters in

the play. Also use the questions to help you think about what might be
important characteristics to consider:
Willy Loman
How does he perceive himself/his job/his family?

How does he treat other people?
How do others treat him?
Do we have sympathy for him?
Do we like/dislike him?
Linda Loman
Is she a character in her own right?
How does she treat others?
How do others treat her?
Do we have sympathy for her?
Do we like/dislike her?
Happy
What kind of life does he lead?
What kind of relationships does he have with: Willy?
Linda?
Biff?
What do we know about his past?
Biff
What kind of life does he lead?
What kind of relationships does he have with: Willy?
Linda?
Happy?
What do we know about his past?
95
Important Quotations Part 1
Find each of these quotations. Who says them? To whom? What is the
significance of these quotations within the play as a whole?
… he thinks I’m nothing, see, and so he spites me. But the funeral … Ben,
that funeral will be massive.
A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.
A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man.
Be liked and you will never want.
Gee, look at the moon moving between the buildings.
He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.
He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine.
I can see it like a diamond, shining in the dark, hard and rough, that I can
pick up and touch in my hand. Not like – like an appointment.
I know you laugh at me behind my back.
I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never
stand taking orders from anybody!
I realised what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been.
I still feel kinda temporary about myself.
I thank Almighty God that you’re both built like Adonises. Because the
man who creates an appearance in the business world is the man who gets
ahead.
I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you.
I’m not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you.
97
Important Quotations Part 2
Find each of these quotations. Who says them? To whom? What is the
significance of these quotations within the play as a whole?
I’m not interested in stories about the past or any crap of that kind
because the woods are burning, boys, you understand? There’s a big
blaze going on all around. I was fired today.
I’ve got to get some seeds, right away. Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a
thing in the ground.
In those days there was personality in it, … There was respect, and
comradeship, and gratitude in it.
It’s Brooklyn, I know, but we hunt too.
Nothing’ll grow any more.
The gist of it is that I haven’t got a story left in my head.
The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell.
98
They time them so when you finally paid for them, they’re used up.
Why must everybody conquer the world?
Will you take that phoney dream and burn it before something happens?
Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream
you can have – to come out number-one man.
Willy, dear, what has he got against you?
You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away – a man is not a piece of
fruit.
You fake! You phoney little fake! You fake!
99
THE GENRE OF THE PLAY
‘Death of a Salesman’ is a modern tragedy. Tragedy originated in Greek

theatre. Infamous playwrights such as Sophocles tried to identify a
universal problem with a particular case, that means that the playwright
would attempt to explore a dilemma, conflict or fault found within human
nature by exposing how it caused destruction of the central characters in
a play.
The impact of tragedies depended on a unified world view. This means

that there were generally held beliefs and that there was a network of
moral values that was known to, and understood by all.
An important concept in tragedy is the relationship between the main

character and his or her destiny – this suggests that an individual’s
character will directly influence their fate and vice versa. For example,
if the main character is happy, he is good. If he is good, he is happy. In
terms of its ancient origins, tragedy explores the relationship between
the gods and man – or man and the powers of fate.
There are two kinds of action in tragedy. There is a series of events

linked together with the plot, and there is a sequence of changes that
takes place in the soul of the characters. The action of a tragedy
attempts to embody of encapsulate a theme.
One of the key ideas that must be understood when studying tragedy is
the concept of the tragic hero. The central character – known as the
protagonist, which means the leading figure in the drama – is not usually
entirely good or entirely bad, but has a fatal flaw, which inevitably leads
to their downfall.
100
‘DEATH OF A SALESMAN’ AS A MODERN TRAGEDY
Arthur Miller commented of his own work: “The play was always heroic to
me, and in later years the academic charge that Willy lacked the ‘stature
for the tragic hero’ seemed incredible to me. I had not understood that
these matters are measured by the Greco-Elizabethan paragraphs which
hold no mention of insurance payments, front porches, refrigerator fan
belts, steering knuckles, Chevrolets, and visions seen not through the
portals of Delphi but in the blue flame of the hot water heater.’
Answer the following questions in as much detail as you can:
1. What conflicts or dilemmas does the protagonist Willy Loman

face?
2. What ‘world view’ can we talk of in relation to 20th Century
America?
3. In what ways does Willy’s personality control his fate?
4. In what ways have Willy’s personality and fortune been influenced
by the events in his life?
5. What are the key events in the plot? Put them into chronological
order.
6. In what ways has Willy changed as the main events in the plot have
unfolded?
7. What do you consider to be Willy’s basic fatal flaw? It is
acceptable to have more than one suggestion here.
8. Most classic tragedies concern the downfall of a great man such as
a king or a heroic warrior who is defeated by his fatal flaw. To
what extent do you feel ‘Death of a Salesman’ can truly be
considered a tragedy?
9. In your opinion, does the downfall of a man such as Willy embody a
universal problem? Answer in detail. In your opinion, is the play
tragic enough?
101
Group Discussion Questions
1. ‘Willy Loman is too naïve and superficial a character to be the hero of a

tragedy.’ Discuss.
2. Discuss the importance of dreams in Death of a Salesman.
3. ‘He had all the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.’ Discuss in relation to Willy in
Death of a Salesman.
4. To what extent is Death of a Salesman about ‘the inside of a man’s head’?
5. Discuss Miller’s use of symbols and motifs in Death of a Salesman.
6. What is the importance of the relationships between fathers and sons in Death
of a Salesman?
7. Miller has said that Death of a Salesman is ‘really a love story between a man
and his son, and in a crazy way between both of them and America.’ Do you
agree with this statement?
8. Write about Linda’s role in the play.
9. What do you think Arthur Miller is trying to say about ‘success’ and the
American Dream in Death of a Salesman? Is he using the story of Willy to
put across a message?
10. Discuss the significance of the title ‘Death of a Salesman’. What is the
importance of selling in the play?
11. Write a commentary on the Requiem showing what it adds to the play and
discussing what you feel about it as an ending.
12. Write a film review of the film version of Death of a Salesman directed by
Volker Schlondorff in 1985.
6. What is interesting about Miller’s handling of time and memory in the
play? What does this add to your understanding of the characters?
7. Write an essay about any character/ relationship in the play which you find
particularly interesting.
8. ‘Biff’s rejection of Willy’s ideas is the climax of his self-discovery.’
Discuss.
9. What is the importance of the flashback scenes in the play?
10. ‘Willy’s image of America is a mistaken one: it is no longer the land of
opportunity but a concrete jungle.’ Discuss.
11. What is the function of sound and music in the play?
12. ‘Willy’s death shows that the American dream is a phoney dream.’
Discuss.
102
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Exemplar Essay
This sample essay illustrates the following skills:
1. identifying the key demands of the question

2. collecting relevant evidence from the text, with supporting analysis, to meet
the demands of the question
3. composing a response within a clear, relevantly argued and fully illustrated
structure
©Higher Results Consultancy
(i) identifying the key demands of the question
Choose a play in which a theme of significance, is developed by the dramatist.
Briefly indicate what that theme is and then go on to show how the playwright
conveys the significance of this theme.
The highlighted areas show the most important aspects of the question, what are
called the key demands of the question. In this case there are two main stages to the
question, both of which rely on the first instruction which is to choose a play in which
a theme of significance is developed.
1. briefly identify a theme of significance in a play of your choice.

2. go on and show how the playwright conveys the significance of your chosen
theme.
Show how is a very important instruction which is really asking you to take
account of the techniques employed by the dramatist to explore his theme.
Below (in red) are the paragraphs of a sample essay which tries to answer the above
question.
103
Introductory paragraph:
In the play 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller, the playwright focuses on the
theme of failure in a success oriented society. Willy Lowman, a failed salesman,
is the central character whose 'crime', if it can be called that, is believing the
propaganda of a society which only has room for winners. Movingly, the play's
theme demonstrates how a victim of 'The American Dream' can be destroyed by
false promises which not only impact on one's business life but also set up
conflicts within personal relationships. The significance of this theme, still very
relevant to many societies today, is heightened by Miller's skilful use of a range
of key techniques, including setting, characterisation and symbolism.
This opening paragraph fulfils the following criteria:
• identifies title of text and author's name,
• makes clear reference to all the demands of the question
• sets down the structure of the essay by indicating techniques to be addressed

in the body of the essay.
Brief account of the text:
The drama focuses on the life of a middle aged salesman, Willy Loman, who, at
the outset of the play is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He lives with his
adoring but over protective wife, Linda, who acts as a buffer between her
husband and their two adult sons, Biff and Happy, whose relationship with their
father is permanently under tension. The play plots the tragic collapse of a man
who cannot face up to his moral responsibilities in a society whose false values
attach a dangerous importance to success as measured in such transient terms as
income and material possessions. Living according to these values means that
failure is likewise defined in economic terms.
(ii) collecting relevant evidence from the text, with supporting analysis, to meet
the demands of the question
Body of essay:
The play's setting contributes to our understanding of the significance of this

theme. (link sentence back to question) Willy Loman's home is presented as 'small
and fragile-seeming', (evidence) dwarfed by a wall of apartment blocks whose
presence contributes to the trapped, claustrophobic atmosphere. He makes
104
reference to a time before the build up of this area when there were 'two
beautiful elm trees', (evidence) now cut down by the builder and a garden in
which scented wisteria and lilacs bloomed in profusion. Willy complains of the
airless quality within his apartment, despite the open windows. Here there are no
signs of greenery, no views of nature which come to represent positive values in
the play. The world outside Willy's 'small, fragile' home seems oppressive and
menacing, threatening to swallow up an economic failure like Willy.
Willy's yearning for the setting of the fresh outdoors and open spaces is echoed
by his elder son, Biff, who sees himself at ease in the open country:
'To suffer fifty weeks of the year for the sake of a two-week vacation, when all
you really want is to be outdoors, with your shirt off.'
In the competitive setting of the city, he feels out of place and unable to work
with his hands, a skill which he has inherited from his father who takes pride in
building a front porch and putting up a new ceiling. In the country, Biff is not a
'success' according to the capitalist definition because as Willy points out
disparagingly:
'...he (Biff) has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week!'
The background story to Willy's father is sketched in by Ben against a setting of

wild, open spaces across which the craftsman father travelled in a lifestyle
reminiscent of the American frontiersmen. He is represented as someone who
was true to his own self, not corrupted by materialism and successful in his own
way as Ben tells us:
'Great inventor, father. With one gadget he made more in a week than a man
like you could make in a lifetime.'
The references to the 'jungle' as the setting for Ben's ruthless success carries
uneasy connotations of a place where only the fittest will survive and in which
weaker members, like the Willy Lomans of this world, will be devoured by the
capitalist system. (evidence followed by analysis)
While the playwright's use of setting helps to underline the theme of a

competitive society in which there is no room for failures, it is through
characterisation that the audience really comes to an understanding of the
significance of this situation in terms of the human cost. (topic sentence linking
back to question) Willy is presented not simply as a passive victim of society: he
is, in fact, given a choice of adopting a different lifestyle by his brother Ben but
Willy opts to stay where he is, influenced by Linda's fear of stepping out into an
unfamiliar world. Furthermore, Willy's own personality and his value system
demonstrate that he is, himself, partly to blame for his failure. He has been an
indulgent father to Biff and Happy who, as children, establish a 'matey'
relationship with Willy who is known as their 'pal'. He has transmitted to them
an ambiguous morality, failing to set down clear moral standards. For example,
he wavers about the incident with Biff taking the basketball which the latter says
105
euphemistically he has 'borrowed'. Here Willy's response is to laugh with him at
the theft, saying halfheartedly, 'I want you to return that.'
Similarly, he has no scruples about Biff being supplied with answers for school
exams by Bernard. As long as Biff succeeds in passing, it does not seem to matter
how he achieves this goal. Willy demonstrates this same moral ambiguity when
he encourages his sons to steal materials from a building site: in fact, he even
boasts to Charley of previous forays, saying unconvincingly:
'I gave them hell, understand.'
In Willy's life, therefore, there is a double standard which society has

encouraged: while at times proclaiming to his sons the virtues of clean living,
friendliness, sportsmanship and honesty, his own life denies these qualities in
that he has a mistress on the road and he lies about his business success. A basic
tolerance of dishonesty permeates his actions, a dishonesty which is reflected in
the lives of his sons. Willy's failure is not only a financial one but, more seriously,
a personal and moral failure. (analysis)
This personal and moral failure can be measured by the superficial values that
Willy encourages his sons to develop. He stresses the importance of being 'well
liked', of being physically attractive and good at sport, of being able to 'sell'
oneself: these gain preference over academic achievement which he scorns in
Bernard, calling him a 'pest' and 'an anaemic'. But his personal motto, 'Be well
liked and you will never want', turns out to be ironic in the face of Willy's
constant state of debt.' (analysis)
Furthermore, Willy encourages his son's weaknesses and inflates their image of
themselves:
'God Almighty, he'll (referring to Biff) be great yet. A star like that can never
really fade away.'
He constantly reminds himself that Biff has done 'big things'. But he has inflated
his sons' image to such an extent that when they grow up, it is an almost
unforgivable disappointment to discover that being good at sport is not enough
to ensure financial security and respect in the adult world.
Willy's sons illustrate other significant areas of this central theme of failure:
(topic sentence linking back to question) Biff opts out of the competitive world
which his father wants for him. And it is Biff who finally analyses the root cause
of their domestic friction when he says:
'We never told the truth for ten minutes.'

It is Biff who finally blames his father for his own failure because:
'We've been walking in a dream for fifteen years'
'I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air'
Biff comes to understand that he has been blinded by false values, unable to
honestly address who he is or where he belongs in life. (analysis)
106
The result of this understanding is that he finally faces his father with the brutal
self-knowledge:
'Pop! I'm a dime a dozen and so are you.'

His final verdict on his father and his failure is that:
'He had the wrong dreams. He never knew who he was.'
It is part of Willy's tragedy, however, that at this moment when he is asked to

confront the truth, he cannot. This failure to face up to reality is seen in Willy's
response to Biff's honest statement about what his professional position really
was:
'Who ever said I was a salesman with Oliver? I was a shipping clerk.'
To which Willy replies:
'But you were practically.'
Willy's younger son, Happy, acts as a foil to Biff, showing up his own failure to
grow into a man of integrity. He is more successful, in Willy's terms, than his
brother but has been corrupted by competitive business life. He tells Biff:
'I'm constantly lowering my ideals.'
This corruption is also evident in Happy's sexual exploits; he boasts of his sexual
conquests and treats women as sex objects, whether he is picking them up in
restaurants or seducing them at business functions. He explains his seduction of
the partners of senior businessmen as resulting from 'an over-developed sense of
competition'. Unlike Biff, Happy does not confront the reality of his life and
hence the audience is left with the feeling that, like his father, he will continue on
a self destructive course that can only end in disastrous failure in both his
professional and personal lives.
In addition to the dramatic techniques of setting and characterisation, Arthur

Miller has employed symbolism to communicate the significance of this central
theme of failure within a success oriented society. (topic sentence linking back to
question)Advertising and consumerism are very much at the centre of the society
which Willy inhabits and the products of this consumerism appear regularly in
the play, usually in relation to the idea of debt. The 'sixteen dollars' on the new
refrigerator whose fan belt has broken, the 'nine-sixty for the washing machine'
and the 'three and a half' on the vacuum cleaner represent the products of a
society which encourages the acquisition of material possessions, even when the
individual cannot afford them. Without these visible symbols of consumerism,
people like Willy are seen as failures who have not made it up the ladder of
material success.
References to nature and to growing things symbolise more positive values than
the latter. The beautiful elm trees that were axed by the builders to make way
for housing developments are associated with a freer, healthier lifestyle before
people were driven into fierce competitiveness. Perhaps the most poignant of this
group of symbols, however, is the seeds which Willy desperately tries to plant in
the dark in ground which receives no natural light. These come to symbolise his
107
need to leave something positive behind, something that will represent new
growth and investment for his sons. The audience knows, however, that the seeds
will fail to germinate in these inhospitable conditions, in the same way as Willy
and his children have failed to grow to full and healthy maturity within an
inhospitable society. (evidence & analysis)
Concluding paragraph:
'Death of a Salesman', therefore, is a play in which we see a number of central

and significant themes being developed with the aid of Arthur Miller's skilful use
of techniques such as setting, characterisation and symbolism. The exploration of
the theme of failure within a success oriented society is something which not only
had relevance for those who believed in The American Dream but which still has
great significance for our own contemporary society. For today's audience, Willy
Loman remains a poignant figure of failure, partly as a result of society's false
value system but partly because of Willy's own inability to confront life with
integrity.
The above concluding paragraph fulfils the following criteria:
• draws a final conclusion in relation to the question

• refers back directly to all key demands of the question
• leaves the reader with a conclusive personal response
108
'DEATH OF A SALESMAN' by ARTHUR MILLER
ESSAY PLAN
QUESTION:
Choose from a play a scene in which one character makes

an accusation against another character. Explain the
dramatic importance of the scene and how it affects your
sympathy for either or both of the characters.
WHAT SCENE?
Act 2 - During one of Willy’s ‘episodes’ he remembers when Biff found

him with ‘the woman’. Biff accuses Willy of being a ‘fake’. -The scene
begins when Willy says, ”Will you stop laughing? Will you stop?”
INTRODUCTION
1. Identify which scene you are focusing on.

2. Summarise what happens in the scene.
3. Make it clear what accusation(s) is made and which characters are
involved.
4. Explain BRIEFLY how the scene is important to the play as a whole
i.e. how it relates to the themes of the play or how it helps to lead
to the climax in the play.
5. DO NOT GO INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL ABOUT PLOT IN YOUR
INTRODUCTION- 10 SENTENCES SHOULD BE ENOUGH.
109
PARAGRAPH 1
1. Make a point explaining how this scene is dramatically important in

leading to the climax of the play e.g. it reflects Willy’s increasingly
unstable mental state/ shows the breakdown of the family and how
Willy feels he has failed them.
2. Provide a quote to back up your statement.
3. Explain the context of the quote and analyse how the ideas,
language, imagery etc in the quote reflect Willy’s state of mind and
how he fails his family.
PARAGRAPH 2
1. Make a point about how the scene is dramatically important in

exploring the themes of the play e.g. the desire for success at any
cost and the importance of being popular/lies and deception.
2. Provide a quote to back up your statement.
3. Explain the context of the quote and analyse how the ideas,
language, imagery etc in the quote refer to and develop our
understanding of the themes of the play
110
Death of a Salesman
Essay Plan.
Discuss the importance of dreams in the play.
Introduction
Here you need to give an overview as to what kind of dreams are important in
Death of a Salesman and in what ways they are significant. Which of the
following kind of dreams feature in the play?
1. Dreams that take place 3. Daydreams and fantasies

while asleep 4. National/ cultural dreams
2. Hopes and ambitions e.g. the American Dream
Dreams are an integral part of the play: they not only motivate the characters’
actions and go some way to explaining their behaviour in the past and ‘real
time’ of the drama but they affect the way the play is structured.
1. The American Dream
Why is the idea of the American Dream important in the play?
To decide why the American Dream is important in Death of a Salesman we

need to think about what it means. Which of the following do you think are
important to the American Dream? Can you add to the list?
1. Having the best of 3. Being successful and

everything popular
2. Owning your own land 4. Having money
5. Being in the open air
The American Dream is very much linked to capitalism and a consumer

culture. This can lead to a society where a few people manage to be
successful but others suffer from increased competition, pressure to succeed
and a feeling of disappointment and inadequacy if they are not earning
enough money or able to buy the best of everything. Capitalist society can
also lead to people being discarded when they are no longer financially
111
useful. These are all important ideas in Death of a Salesman. Think about the
motif of consumer goods such as refrigerators and cars for example. What
does the recurrence of consumer goods tell us about the Lomans and what is
important to them?
How are individual characters affected by the American Dream?
All of the male characters feel the pressure to succeed although the kind of
success they hope to achieve would not necessarily ever make them happy.
Willy also feels pressured to own the best of everything. Do any of the
characters ever question the validity of the American Dream?
2. Hopes and Ambitions
What are the hopes and dreams of each member of the Loman family in the
past and present? Where have these hopes and ambitions come from? How
realistic do you think they are? What effect do hopes and ambitions have on
the way the characters live their lives and the way they treat others? Why do
you think hopes and ambitions are so important to some of the characters in
the play? Do any of the characters change their hopes and dreams over time?
Who does and who doesn’t? Why is this significant? At the end of the play
Biff says about Willy ‘He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.’ What do you
think he means by this? How much are characters convinced by their own or
others’ dreams and illusions?
3. Daydreams, Fantasies and Memories
As mentioned in the introduction dreams affect the structure of the play as we

see Willy’s memories and daydreams acted out before us as if they were
flashbacks in a film. What aspects of stagecraft take place to help us
recognize we are seeing flashbacks (you will need to look at the stage
directions to answer this question)? The effect of seeing the reconstruction of
events in the past is that instead of wondering what is going to happen next
we are encouraged to wonder what has happened in the past to make the
Loman family like they are.
Why does Willy spend so much time thinking about the past? What do Willy’s
flashbacks reveal about the characters’ relationships with each other in the
past and how does this affect the way we see them in the present? What do
Willy’s flashbacks reveal about how Willy has brought up his two sons and
how this has affected their future lives?
Remember we never see events in the past as they actually happened but as
Willy remembers them. Do you think Willy remembers events accurately?
112
Which events does he distort, exaggerate or completely invent? What does
this tell us about Willy’s character?
Conclusion
Here, you need to sum up your main arguments. Why are dreams important
in the play? What kinds of dreams have you discussed? What do you think
Miller is trying to say about the kind of society that encourages people to have
hopes and ambitions which are well beyond their reach? What do you think
Miller is saying about how the characters in the play have been affected by
dreams?
113
Death of a Salesman
Revision Worksheet
Character
1. Consider Willy Loman.
• What makes him an interesting character?
• Is he an important character in your opinion?
• What are his major faults and good qualities?
• Do you sympathise with Willy? Why?
2. Comment on the character of Linda Loman.
3. What is your opinion of Happy Loman?
4. Compare Biff and Happy
• At the beginning of the play

• In the restaurant
• At the end
5. Consider Bernard
• What is his function in the play?

• Compare his attitude to Willy with that of Howard.
6. Comment on the character of Howard.
• What does he represent in the play?

• What important points emerge from the scene in Howard`s office?
7. Comment on the character of Uncle Ben.
114
• What are his values?
• What is his purpose in the play?
Theme
1. What in your opinion is the main theme of the play?

• How does the writer introduce and develop this theme?
• Is the theme conveyed through the characters, plot,
etc.?
2.Are there any minor themes dealt within the play? Identify the
relevant scenes for the following:
• The inhumanity of the business world

• The small man against society
• Conflict between father and son
• The right and particularly wrong values
• Loneliness and dreams
• Illusion and reality
3.Is the play concerned with matters important to modern society?
Structure
1.How is the play structured?
2.What is the purpose of using flashback scenes?
3.Examine two flashback scenes in detail and consider what they

contribute to the play.
115
Symbols
1.Find textual references and quotations for the four key symbols.
Music
1. Identify two reasons why the flute is so important.
2. Pick five scenes where music is important and consider the

following for each:
◦ What is the purpose of the music?

◦ Does it suggest the mood of the scene?
◦ Does it suggest the past?
◦ Does it suggest the great outdoors and
pioneering spirit?
Conflict
1. Discuss the importance of conflict in the play.
2. Examine the following conflicts:

◦ The internal conflict in Willy
◦ Willy`s conflict in the business world
◦ Conflict between Willy and Biff
◦ Willy`s conflict with his conscience
◦ Conflict which develops between Biff and Happy
3. Identify the scenes that show each of the above. Examine these
scenes.
116
Further Revision Tasks
• Plot tension graphs of the different sections of the play.

Where is it most tense and why?
• Choose three moments in the play you think are

particularly significant. Explain their significance.
• Work out the chronology of the play. Design a chart

showing the past and present.
• Choose a motif from the play and find three points where
it is used. Why does Miller use it and what is its impact?
• Choose a theme/concern of Miller’s and list how he

explores it in the play.
• Read through past questions. Do essay plans for the

questions.
• Practise writing essays to time. Check the introduction,

topic sentences and conclusion are clearly focused on the
assessment objectives and the examination questions.
117
118

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Death of a

Research and make notes on the playwright, Arthur Miller.

In groups, make posters (with pictures) of your findings

All My Sons 1947 About a family coping with New

Death of a 1949 An examination of American Drama

The Crucible 1953 About witch-hunts in colonial Tony

A View From the 1955 The self discovery and fall of

After the Fall 1964 About an unhappy marriage

Research and make notes on the following:

• The Wall Street Crash

• The American Dream

• The Tragic Hero – Greek definition and Miller's definition

• Find a definition of the word 'expendable' in the

• The idea of the American Dream is that, through a combination of

In 1947, Miller saw Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire on

* An artistic movement which began in France in the 19th Century.

Miller was fascinated by Expressionism but didn’t want to give up the

* Was a reaction to realism and began in the 1900s.

• A tragedy, in the theatrical sense, is a serious play which

• Aristotle (4th Century) defined a tragedy as an action which is

• Traditionally, the protagonist would be of high status.

• The protagonist in a tragedy has a character defect or tragic flaw

• Death of a Salesman, with its concerns for a socially inferior

“Death of a Salesman relies on it's tragic seriousness on the degree to

• Dreams: The American Dream, hopes and ambitions,

Charley stands in contradiction to everything Willy believes in. He is not concerned

However, Charley is successful in business. To make money is as natural for him as

Miss Forsythe and Letta

ACT ONE NOTES

MUSIC – The use of music serves several functions in the play. It

Nevertheless, it should be clear to the audience that Miller does not

It is important to note that much of the play’s action takes place in

ACT ONE QUESTIONS

Read the stage directions at the start of Act 1 carefully.

Think very carefully about the impact of the set design,

2. The play is set in an urban environment. How does the set

4. ‘An air of dream clings to the place.’ Line 8.

WILLY'S ARRIVAL HOME.

The stage directions on page 2 portray Willy as a man who is

Willy’s reality profoundly conflicts with his hopes. Throughout

ACT ONE QUESTIONS.

WILLY’S ARRIVAL HOME.

1. From the stage directions on page 2, what do the audience learn

2. Willy at first says, ‘nothing happened’ but then goes on to

3. Willy becomes very upset by two other situations in this first

4. For what reasons is Willy wholly dissatisfied by his job?

5. In what ways is Willy’s life claustrophobic and how is this

7. Find an example of Willy’s inconsistent attitude towards his

8. What does the audience learn about Willy and Linda’s

9. Biff and Happy’s visit creates a great deal of tension in the

Biff and Happy.

Biff and Happy are both to a significant degree trapped in

Biff: Maybe he’s colour-blind

Biff is a drifter who demonstrates little sense of maturity.

ACT ONE QUESTIONS

BIFF AND HAPPY

1. From their conversation on page 9, in what ways do Willy’s sons

2. Why is Biff unhappy with his relationship with his father?

4. How serious is Biff’s suggestion about the ranch? Why do you