1. The Loman family lives in Brooklyn. Willy is an unsuccessful salesman. He has two sons, Happy and Biff, from his wife Linda. He also has a mistress while away on one of his business trips. Willy has a Successful brother Ben. Willy commits suicide to provide his family with a much needed $20,000.
2. The theme of The Death of a Salesman is the pursuit of success. Willy represents the hard working middle class of his time.
3. The tone of The Death of a Salesman can be considered angry of frustrated. Willy is always irritated with his sons because of their laziness. “The trouble is he’s lazy, goddammit!” and “Biff is a lazy bum!”
4. The Death of a Salesman is a play and is set up by alternating character speech. Arthur Miller uses flashbacks to help us understand what Willy is thinking. The story is in real time, and we find Willy spacing out often, having fallen deeply into a past memory. He often returns to the “real world” when shaken back to reality by those around him. Arthur Miller also uses symbolism to develop his play. Willy’s wanting to suddenly plant a garden symbolized hard work, and his inability to provide for his family.
