Death of a Salesman: Summary and Analysis

Author: Arthur Miller was a famous American playwright and essayist. He attended the University of Michigan and has written other famous plays including The Crucible and All My Sons. He was considered to be one of the greatest dramatists of the twentieth century.

Setting: This play is set in New York City, mostly in the Lomans’ home and yard in Brooklyn. Their house has walls missing so that it is partially transparent. Scenes are also in Howard’s office, Charley’s office, Frank’s Chop House, and a hotel room in Boston. There is no specified time period in which the play is set, but it is typically placed in the 1940-50’s.

Plot: Act one begins with Willy returning to his home after a long day of selling. He comes home to a worried Linda who was in bed. She asks him if he got in another car accident to which he eventually admits and blames himself. Linda blames other things and then asks him to ask Howard for a stationary position. He agrees to do this and then begins talking about Biff and complaining about the way he has lived his life. Willy then goes down to the kitchen for some cheese.

                Focus is turned toward Biff and Happy at this point as they see Willy talking to himself in the kitchen. They reminisce and talk about how Willy always “talks to” Biff. Willy then has a flashback to when Biff and Happy were washing his car and Biff is a football star who has a lot of influence over his friends. Bernard is also in the memory and he is telling Biff that he needs to study for math. The boys leave the memory and Linda and Willy talk. Willy first says he was very successful at work but Linda gets him to admit that they soon will not be able to make all the payments on the things they have bought and that he doesn’t think he is well liked. Laughter is heard and a new memory takes place: he talks to the woman and gives her stockings. The previous memory resumes and Willy is scolding Linda for mending her stockings. Bernard enters looking for Biff. Linda criticizes Biff’s behavior with woman and stealing and Willy gets furious at the two of them. The memory ends, but Willy still talks to himself.

                Happy comes downstairs to console Willy who shouts about not going to Alaska with Ben (who got rich with Diamond mines in Africa). Charley comes in because he could hear the yelling from his house and Happy goes back upstairs. The two play cards and Charley offers Willy a job, but he is insulted by it. Half in a daydream, Willy sees Ben enter and is talking to him about going to Alaska. Charley doesn’t understand who Willy is talking to and questions it. Willy gets mad and Charley leaves. The scene becomes a full memory in which Linda walks in and meets Ben. Willy asks Ben what his life is like and Ben talks about himself and their father. Ben is about to leave and Charley and Bernard run in to tell Willy that Biff and Happy are stealing lumber from the building site. Ben leaves but Willy still talks to him.

                The memory fades out and Linda comes downstairs to find Willy outside. Biff and Happy come down too and they talk to Linda about what’s wrong with their father. Linda gets mad and mentions that Willy is trying to commit suicide and that she found the pipe. Happy blames Biff and then Willy enters and yells at Biff until Happy suggests that he and Biff start a sporting equipment company. This makes Willy happy and he tries to give a lot of advice but this frustrates Biff. Willy gets mad and goes to bed. Linda tells Biff to say goodnight and by the end of the night Willy is excited for Biff.

                Act two begins with Willy eating the breakfast Linda made. Linda brings up their expenses and tells Willy that this is their last house payment and asks Willy to ask for an advance. Willy says he will go in and ask Howard for a stationary position and the advance. Linda tells Willy that Happy and Biff will take him out to dinner that night at Frank’s Chop House. Willy goes to the train to go to work and Linda gets a call from Biff and reminds him to be nice to his dad.

                Willy enters Howard’s office while he plays with a wire recorder. His daughter, son, wife, and self are on it. Willy finally asks about a New York job and Howard rejects the idea entirely. Willy yells talking about how he named him and brings up the successful Dave Singleman. Howard leaves, saying he will be back and Willy must pull himself together. Willy gets mad and accidentally sets off the recorder and yells for Howard who turns it off, fires him, and leaves again. Ben enters and the reminiscing begins. He asks him to come to Alaska and Linda says he shouldn’t go. Biff enters and Willy talks about how well liked he is. Ben leave and Bernard enters and he fights with Happy over who will carry Biff’s helmet to the big game. Charley enters as well and jokes around to Willy.

                Now in the present Willy is at Charley’s office where Jenny (the secretary) and Bernard are. Willy tells them that Biff is working on a big deal, but then asks Bernard why Biff ended up so bad and Bernard asks what happened in Boston because that changed everything. Willy gets defensive, Charley enters, and Bernard leaves. Willy asks Charley for more money than usual and Charley offers him a job again which he continues to refuse. Charley accuses him of being jealous and Willy exits angrily.

                Happy is at the restaurant talking to Stanley. He then starts flirting with Miss Forsythe. Biff enters and the girl goes to meet her friend. Biff says that Oliver didn’t recognize him and that he was never a salesman, but a shipping clerk. Biff stole Oliver’s pen. Willy enters and Biff tries to tell him the truth but Happy cuts in saying he was successful. Willy believes Happy and Biff gets angry that Willy will not listen. Willy enters another memory with Bernard telling Linda that Biff failed math, so in the present he brings it up. Then, back in the memory Willy is in a hotel room with the woman until Biff says he will have lunch with Oliver tomorrow. Biff gets mad that the lie interested him and yells. Back in the memory, and Miss Forsythe and Letta enter the restaurant. Willy goes to the bathroom. Biff storms out and Happy and the girls follow him out the door, leaving Willy. Back in Willy’s memory he answers the hotel door to find Biff telling him he failed math. Biff catches Willy and the woman and storms out. In the present, Stanley helps Willy up and out of the restaurant, returning his money. Willy asks him where to find a seed store and Stanley points him in the right direction.

                Back at the house, Biff and Happy enter the kitchen.  Linda is angry with them for abandoning Willy and Biff goes to find him planting a garden with a flashlight. Willy is talking to Ben about a $20,000 proposition. Biff tries to bring him inside and Willy gets mad about Biff’s failure again. Happy tries to pacify through lies and Biff and Willy explode at each other. Biff cries and says goodbye to Willy. Willy is touched by Biff’s tears. Everyone goes to bed but Willy, who is again talking to Ben following him out the door talking about the insurance money. Linda calls out for Willy but he is gone and the car speeds away to a crash.

                Later Linda, Happy, Biff, and Charley are at Willy’s funeral. No one else came. Biff says Willy had the wrong dreams and Happy defends them. Charley also defends Willy as a victim of his profession. Biff invites happy to go out west and Happy says no and that he will become successful in New York so that his father did not die in vain. They all step aside except for Linda who cries and says they finally made the last of the payments and that they are finally free.

Characters: Willy (traveling salesman in New York who is obsessed with success), Linda (Willy’s wife who worries about him and pacifies him at all opportunities), Biff (Linda and Willy’s son who was once envied by his father but never finished high school and went to college so has become a failure), Happy (Linda and Willy’s other underappreciated son. He has a steady clerical job in New York City but is not overly successful. Neglected by his parents), Charley (Willy’s best friend and neighbor who owns a business in the city. Charley is very laid back in his parenting styles, contrary to Willy), Bernard (Charley’s son and successful lawyer who was friends with Biff in high school and helped him cheat), and Howard (Willy’s boss who is self-important and does not care about Willy’s background with his father).

Style: There is not a narrator in this play but we are often given sight into Willy’s mind and memories. The tone is often hopeless in reference to Biff and Willy and regretful as well. Being that it is a play, there is little need for imagery however the surroundings often symbolize things within the play. The house is a key example of this. Many of the walls in the house are supposed to have gaps in them that are completely transparent. This symbolizes the transparency of Willy’s mind because the audience is brought right into his memories. All material items also symbolize Willy because they are all breaking down and falling apart as he feels that he is.

Quotes:

1.       “Linda: Well, the fan belt broke, so it was a dollar eighty.

Willy: But it’s brand new.

Linda: Well, the man said that’s the way it is. Till they work themselves in, y’know?” (35).

These lines are significant because it describes Biff. Biff was only seventeen when he gave up on working toward success—he was broken. From there, he didn’t know who he was. It was not until the end of the play that he finally discovered himself. He had “worked himself in”.

2.       “We’re free and clear. We’re free. We’re free… We’re free” (139).

This quote is significant because it has a lot of meanings. The most direct of which, is that they are free of having to make any more payments on the house. It also means that Willy is free of having to live in his defeated state, that Biff is free of having to live up to Willy’s standards, Linda is free of fearing for Willy, Happy is free of trying to impress Willy (although he seems to continue to want to do this, despite his death), and Charley is free of having to pay Willy. Since many of these things are insensitive, they would never be directly stated however this line says it all.

Theme: The theme of this play is that the need to be the embodiment of the American dream will lead to destruction.

·         This is because Willy’s primary goal throughout this play is to be successful and for his boys to be successful in American business—the American dream. Unfortunately he becomes so obsessed with this that it causes him to be a lesser father and husband, ending in conflict with his family. It also causes him to develop false beliefs on good decisions—his suicide. He kills himself so that his family will get the life insurance so that Biff can start his own business.