Death of a Salesman
5th Course IB
Mr. Berry M.ED
Pre-reading: Be prepared to share your thoughtful answers with the class.
1. BEFORE reading, create for yourself a personal definition of the American Dream. Where have you heard this term before? What has it meant historically? What does it mean to you? Do you believe it varies from one person to another? Does it mean the same thing it did one hundred years ago? What did it mean for the Puritans you read about in The Crucible? Think critically about your own American Dream. If you could do anything, be anyone, and have anything you desired, what would those things be? If you were creating a collage illustrating the American Dream (for you and in general), what images would you include? Record your ideas in detail.
2. BEFORE reading, explain what it takes to be a salesperson. Have you ever tried to “sell” something to your parents or teachers? (e.g., Have you ever attempted to talk your parents or teachers into or out of something?) Make a list of the qualities you believe a salesperson should possess.
While reading:
A. Death of A Salesman Study Guide – Answer in complete sentences that incorporate the question into your detailed response.
ACT I
1. Describe Willy’s home and its surroundings. (See stage directions at the beginning of the act.)
2. What is Willy’s job? Why has he returned home early?
3. Whom does Willy criticize and why?
4. Describe Biff’s career history and explain his feelings about work.
5. In what kind of unethical behavior has Happy engaged?
6. How does Bernard differ from Biff and Happy?
7. What qualities does Willy desire in his sons?
8. What memory does Willy recall immediately after he tells Linda, “You’re the best there is.”
9. What do the stockings symbolize?
10. Who is Ben and why does Willy admire him?
11. In what kind of unethical behavior has Biff engaged?
12. What does Charley offer Willy when they play cards?
13. Where does Linda lay the blame for Willy’s condition? Why does she say that “attention must be paid” to him?
14. What hidden object has Linda recently discovered and why does it concern her?
15. Identify Bill Oliver.
ACT II
1. Identify Howard and his father.
2. Identify Dave Sigman.
3. What do the seeds symbolize?
4. What topics do Ben and Willy discuss when they ‘meet” after Howard fires Willy?
5. Why is this an important day for Biff?
6. What is the significance of the scene between Willy and Charley at this point?
7. Compare and contrast the paths Biff and Bernard have taken since high school.
8. For what does Willy ask Charley? What else does Charley offer?
9. What does Willy mean when he says that “you end up worth more dead than alive”?
10. Happy lies and Biff steals: identify the circumstances. Explain the significance.
11. List the 3 flashbacks or hallucinations that Willy experiences while talking to Biff and Happy.
12. How does the scene in the restaurant conclude?
13. Describe in detail Biff’s visit to Willy in Boston.
14. Describe the interaction between Linda and the boys when they return to the house.
15. Explain Willy’s “proposition.” Does Ben approve of it?
16. What is Biff’s solution to ending the conflict between him and his father?
17. What effect does Willy anticipate his death will have?
18. What does the audience see or hear that reveals Willy’s death?
Requiem
1. Describe Willy’s funeral in detail.
2. Does his death result in the effects he anticipated?
3. How does each character at the funeral react to his death?
B. Additional Notations: In each act, highlight two significant quotations per major character (Willy, Ben, Linda, Biff, Happy, Bernard, and Charley). These quotations should be words that could only be spoken by that particular character.
C. Symbolism: Be prepared to explain (in sentence form) the symbolism of the items listed below. The first has been done for you as an example.
1. The jungle:
The jungle that Ben emerged from made him an extremely rich man and earned him Willy’s undying adoration. It represents the often dark, confusing, and chaotic nature of life and business. Unlike Ben, however, Willy never finds his “diamonds” (success and happiness).
2. Seeds and the garden
3. Biff’s thievery
4. Stockings
D. Theme: One major theme in the play is that of illusion versus reality. The structure of the play promotes this theme with Willy’s frequent forays into flashbacks and the overlapping of the past with the present. Willy is not alone, however, in having problems distinguishing fantasy from reality -- the entire Loman family has the same difficulty. For each of the characters and /or situations listed, be prepared to explain the illusion as it conflicts with the reality of the experience.
1. Willy and the “New England man”
2. Linda and the illusion of the perfect marriage and family
3. Willy’s idolatry of Ben as the definition of success
4. Biff’s image of himself and his family’s image of him as a salesman
After explaining the illusion as it exists for each of the above characters, summarize in a single statement the point Miller is making about illusions.