Death+of+a+Salesman+4A

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Key Quotes & Comments on Willy & Linda (first impressions)
Dylan Atkin

"He is past sixty years of age, dressed quietly. Even as he crosses the stage to the doorway of the house, his exhaustion is apparant. He unlocks the door, comes into the kitchen and thankfullly lets his burden down, feeling the soreness of his palms. A word-sigh escapes his lips -- it might be "oh boy, oh boy." He closes the door, the carries his cases out into the living room, through the draped kitchen doorway.

Although in the stage directions, it says hes a salesman, in the actual performed play, one would have no idea that he is. Therefore the cases tell us that hes just come back from work. It describes the cases as thankfully being let down, suggesting that its thankful that something bad didnt happen at work and it calls his cases, representive of his job, as a burden. It also tells us a bit about his age and that he is exhausted, probably from the stress of his job.

//Actually, there are multiple references to his job as a salesman through the play, and of course the title lets the audience know what he does and signifies its importance. Could we say the suitcases symbolize his job, as you say, as a burden? Compare him with Ben, whom he imagines light, white, unburdened - because he was successful. Ms K.//

Charlotte Van Damme Quote: Why am I always being contradicted? The first impression we get of Willy is that he is a tired, somewhat bitter old man. This quote is one of the first ironic moments in the play, as he is the one usually contradicting himself. It also follows a debate with Linda showing that he does not take kindly to change in his life. As well as not wanting a change of cheese, he is also seen upset about the new man who is in charge (Howard). //Good!//

Akshay Verma Quote:“Most often jovial she has developed an iron repression of her exceptions to Willy’s behavior- she more than loves him, she admires him, as though his mercurial nature, his temper, his massive dream 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”

This quote is part of the stage directions given at the beginning of the play. This quote is the first description given of Linda, and the most direct characterization of any characters given. While the dialogue in most of the first part seems to show Linda as being a somewhat clueless wife, who doesn’t understand her husband, suggesting that he pick up his new glasses when he says he nearly drove off the road, or when she picks out the wrong cheese. However the stage directions, written by the dramaturg, tell the audience from the beginning, that she does understand her husband, and despite all his faults loves him.

//We also see how well she understands him in her conversation with Biff and Happy at the end of act one. She knows all his secrets,for example that he borrows $50 from Charlie every week, except for his affair. She is aware and very concerned; she needs her sons' help to care for him with her but carries the burden alone, and mostly unthanked. I like your comment about how Miller uses the stage directions to give direct characterisation. Ms K.//

Ragna Schwung: //Linda: "I just thought you'd like a change"// //Willy, in response: "I don't want a change!" (Page 17)//

It is made clear from the very start of the play Willy has issues with change and we as an audience quickly learn that he dwells in the past. As the play continues we are constantly reminded of Willy's inability to accept or want change. This is then re-emphasised when Linda, his wife, replies that she just wanted to surprise him. Throughout the play it continuously alludes to Linda being somewhat more realistic, and trying to get Willy out of his misery from his past mistakes. It seems as though the small cheese incident was insignificant at the time, however it marked the start of Willy's chaotic and contradicting behaviour, which is reflected throughout the entire play. Arthur Miller truly does capture the audience with his way of foreshadowing and characterisation. This is one of the examples that truly intrigued me as a reader, simply because Willy completely overreacted to the smallest change, yet the audience soon finds out it's about much more than just cheese. //It's always more than just cheese! Nice line!//

Abie Epstein: Commenting on Ragna's post. I think Ragna is correct with everything that she is saying. However, i would like to add that it is not just that Willy can not accept change nor does he want it, but that he can also not handle it! He is falling behind the in the new modern world and it seems that to him the idea of change is scary. This is shown through when Willy is talking about his old boss and how if he was still alive he would have made Willy the head of New York. However, when talking about his new boss Willy states that he doesn't "appreciate", meaning that he thinks his boss does not appreciate his work and that is why he is not being promoted. What is interesting though, is that we later find out that Willy was really never very good at his job. From this we can assume that the reason Willy was not promoted in his job was because he could not keep up with the marketing world. It was changing and Willy was not changing with it. However Willy does not face this and instead blames his boss and makes it out to seem like it's his boss that has the problem not Willy himself. Underneath he may know that he is falling behind but that is just a guess. On the surface Miller makes him seem very much outdated. I think that it is important because it may be one of the reasons that Willy has for being depressed. He does not know how to deal with the change in everything that makes up his life and he can't handle it. There is not only his job becoming more modern but also of the city he lives in. He complains about the noise and the apartments and the loss of the trees. He does not look at the change of the city as a good thing because, like Ragna said, he does not like it and he can't face it. This causes him to talk about the countryside in such a loving way. He sees it as a more traditional and un-changing environment. Even in class when we talked about countryside versus city a lot of us said things along the lines of the countryside is traditional and the city is high tech and ever changing. This shows a lot of Willy's character and helps us to understand why he is the way he is and why he is so depressed. // Good! //

Anna Kargl: //Willy: "It’s all right. I came back." (pg. 12)//

In this second line of the play, the audience is introduced to Willy in a peculiar manner as he gives them reason to believe that he may not have come back, demonstrating the complexity of his character from the very beginning. It is a perfect example of Miller’s use of foreshadowing within the beginning of the play to create suspense for the audience. Furthermore, from this line the audience can start to guess at possible conflicts that will unfold later on regarding Willy. //Good!//

Rob Gibson: Willy: "Goddamit, I could sell them!" (Page14)

Even though this quote is quite short, the audience can learn a lot about Willy from this. In reality Willy is a bad salesman but in his mind he is a great one, this quote shows how passionate he is about his job. When he comes home from a bad day of work it is surprising to the audience that he is still motivated to sell the products, letting them know he is determined to do well at his job. The audience also beginnings to see the relationship between Linda and Willy, as he curses in front of her. //You're right that he has some passion for his job, but remember this line is about the past and his incorrect recognition of it - he is very nostalgic but not everything is how he remembers. In actuality he spent his life working hard day in, day out, at a job he wasn't good at, trying desperately to be liked and failing.//

Inaki Ortiz Linda: I don’t think there’s more people. I think— Willy: There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining the country! The first impression the audience gets from Linda is that she is a lot more of a reasonable character and less temperamental than Willy. This quote represents the contradiction of characterization. The way Miller uses this technique of contradicting characters is what makes the audience more interested and intrigued on the play since the opening of this. //Good! This use of contrast is very effective indirect characterisation that helps us understand them both.//

Jeffrey Chen Linda:WIlly, darling you're the handsomest man in the world- Willy: Oh, no, Linda. Linda: To me you are.//Slight pause//.The handsomest

The first impression I got when I saw this line was that even though WIlly is not successful and is unconfident, but Linda is a supportive wife who constantly encourages him. Linda is fairly optimistic while Willy is quite emotionally distressed and sad. Willy's self denial is quite evident when he says oh no. Miller uses the stage direction of 'slight pause', to emphathize that even though Willy may be aged and not that handsome, but to Linda, in her mind Willy will always be that handsome man she loves. //Lovely, good choice.//

Dion Loke Quote: Willy: //If old man Wagner was still alive I will be in charge of New York now! That man was a prince, he was a master full man. But that boy of his, that Howard, he don’t appreciate.//

In this quote, we understand that Willy believes that of his old past was still alive, his position in the company would be higher. Willy also believes that Howard does not appreciate his efforts despite Willy's age and experience (assuming he has). Furthermore, this quote shows how Willy is resistant to change. The management of the company has changed, but Willy has not adapted to that new situation and tries to become successful. Instead, he clings on to the past, reminiscing the past, thinking about the "if" rather than the "now". //Well done.//

** Ashley loh **

Arthur Miller uses the technique of withholding information in the opening to draw the readers in. Lines like "It's all right. I came back." (pg 12) and ""I have such thoughts, I have such strange thoughts." (pg 14) create suspense because it makes the readers formulate questions about the character and the way he thinks. This technique is very effective because it also foreshadows the events that will happen later in the plot and keeps the readers guessing. // Good! //

**Spencer** Willy: “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!” One of the first impressions the reader is aware of is that Willy is a hard working father, who criticizes his son Biff for not having found a steady job that he enjoys. This line shows that Willy wants his sons to make money and be successful, however, one could argue that Willy has also not found himself, despite his old age. Throughout the play, it becomes more evident that Willy prefers to be in the countryside working physically such as by growing plants and using his hand, but instead has chosen a selling career in the city. This ironic sentence relates back to the fact that Willy contradicts himself throughout the play and helps characterize Willy for the audience. // Excellent! //

** Father Son Relationships: **
The father-son relationship is one of the major motifs in //Death of a Salesman//. The relationships of Bernard and Charley, and Wagner and Howard act as a foil to Willy’s own relationship between his sons. The major reason for Willy’s fallout with his sons (Biff in particular) is due to his own upbringing from his father. Willy’s loss of his father so early in his own life can account for some of his difficulties and mistakes in bringing up his own sons. Moreover, Willy’s father was a salesman, which can help explain Willy’s avidness towards becoming a well-liked salesman. In the play, a son’s desire to follow the footsteps of one’s father is emphasized by Miller, as seen with Howard’s action of taking over Wagner’s company. Charley, known as a man of reason and practicality, translates these qualities into Bernard. This is exemplified when Bernard pesters Biff to study for his math exam. Bernard ends up to be a successful businessman because of his upbringing from a practical and realistic father, whereas Biff ends up unemployed due to Willy’s false hopes and dreams. In addition, Miller emphasizes how a father’s actions can impact his son’s behavior. Willy’s adulterous character is translated into Happy’s personality as a womanizer, although Happy does not realize the roots for his personality. Biff’s character as a hopeless, unemployed man is the cause of Willy’s affair. Biff was going to enroll in summer school to pass his math exam, but as soon as he catches Willy with the other woman, his dreams shattered and he lost all hope in himself, as well as respect towards Willy. The actions of a father impact his son dramatically, as seen in this play. Throughout Death of a Salesman Miller toys with the idea of Father Son relationships through Willy's relationship with his own sons. The most prominent relationship presented in the play is between Biff and Willy. In the present the relationship between father and son is hostile, in contrast to the more loving and respectful one they had in the past. Biff was in Willy's eyes the perfect son: while not academically successful, he was a football star, loved by girls and was due to get into University of Virginia under a football scholarship. Biff was in reality far from perfect, dealing with girls roughly, stealing football from the high school locker room, cheating (and still failing) in his math exams. But Willy disregarded those attributes as minor and saw Biff as a way to get into something greater: as a way of achieving the American Dream. In the present their relationship is hostile, with Biff the only person who has knowledge of Willy's affair, and Willy regarding his son as a form of a colosall failure in comparison to what Willy aspired him to become. When in reality it was Willy that broke him when Biff found out about the affair- leaving him so broken even in his own abilities. Willy's relationship with Happy on the other hand is far different. Willy paid less than a fraction of the attention he played to Biff, leaving Happy with a bit of a Daddy Complex. Because of that Happy is far more like his father than he realizes. Happy shares the same sexual appetite, the same propensity for lies/hyperbole, the same reckless behavior. It is ironic that Willy seems to force the same path he took on Biff while Happy is on the same path- the path leading Willy to subconscious believe that his life was worthless while Biff decides to take a different path one- one that might actually lead him to success.
 * Karen Chik **
 * Akshay Verma: **


 * Ragna Schwung:**

After reading and analyzing “Death of a Salesman” one thing that I noticed by the end of the play was the character change, or rather, lack of character change. While Willy is arguably the protagonist in this play, throughout the play his character seems to remain static. In contrast to his son, Biff, he does not adapt well, and does not want to accept change. This distinct character contradiction and relationship Biff and Willy share helps highlight the main ideas throughout “Death of a Salesman”. Constant time changes between past and present help the audience see that Willy has been, and always will be a man with his head in the clouds. His ideas, hopes and wishes always seem unrealistic and unreachable. He expects his family, especially his son Biff, to live up to great expectations, when they constantly end up disappointing him. Whether these dreams are of Biff being a football star, or simply putting up a hammock in the back yard, Willy never seems to accomplish any of his dreams. Which reflects Biff’s character when he’s older, he realizes his entire life he was put on a pedestal by his father, and is now facing trouble finding a suitable job. However, unlike Willy, Biff’s radical character change by the end of play seems to enlighten the readers/audiences to accept the present the way that it is, because you cannot change your past, but realizing you can set realistic goals for yourself and you can reach them, which was something that Willy wanted to do for his sons, but was never able to.

Even though Willy/Biff and Bernard/Charley are the more prominent father-son relationships in the play, I am also curious about the inclusion of the scene between Howard and his son. To me, it felt like a really random scene for Miller to include. In this scene, we hear Howard's son reciting a list of US State Capitals and how proud Howard is of his son. It reminds us of a younger Willy who placed emphasis on his son's education and wanted Biff to succeed in life. Later in the scene, Howard asks Willly: "Where are your sons? Why don't your sons give you a hand?". The idea that seems to be presented here is that fathers put effort into their sons, hoping that in the future they can continue their legacy (Howard/Wagner) and that fathers can rely on sons to provide for them when they are old. In this case, sons are almost like a mirror image of their father. Like Karen mentioned, the action of a father drastically affects his son. However, as a Willy/Biff and Howard/Howard's son comparison might tell us, even if a father puts all his efforts into his child, he must exhibit a good behavior for his son(s) to replicate.
 * Dion:**

The Father/Son relationship occurs repeatedly throughout the play. There are several juxtapositions between different father/son relationships however one of the more interesting juxtapositions is how Willy treats his two sons differently and how they treat him differently. In the flashbacks within the play, Willy treats Biff differently than Happy. Although there are only limited scenes with Willy and Young Happy/Biff, Biff is the more liked one whereas Happy is less liked. This is a kind of favouritism by Willy as he always talks about Biff whilst Happy goes unnnoticed. It is therefore ironic that it is Biff, not Happy, that strays from his father. It is obvious by the end of the play that Happy treats Willy very different Biff does. This is demonstrated through the Requiem where Happy vows to follow Willy whereas Biff rejects his ideals. At the end of the play though, both are a product of their past and it was one event that changed everything....
 * Dylan Atkin:**


 * Rob Gibson:**

Family relationships are the key to the plot. Through a families interaction with one another, the reader is able discover certain conflicts of the play. Within a literary family, various characters play different roles in each other's lives, usually being connected emotionally or physically. In the play, “A Death of a Salesman”, Arthur Miller uses the interaction between, the protagonist, Willy Loman and his sons, Happy and Biff, to comment on father-son relationships and the conflicts that arise from them. The main reason for Willy constantly falling out with his sons is because of how he was brought up by his father. Willy’s father was a salesman, giving the reason for why Willy became a salesman; following in his footsteps, Willy wanted to be like his father. Willy’s dad died when Willy was still young, this could account for why Willy makes mistakes when he is bringing up his own sons. Biff is always letting down his father, because his father ideas are unrealistic and out of reach, also because Biff, throughout the play, doesn’t accept change. The way Willy has brought up Biff, by filling his head with huge ideas and telling him to not accept anything less than the best, in the present Biff finds it incredibly hard to find a job, as he cannot stand to take orders from other people. At the end of the play and in the requiem the audience witnesses Biffs’ character change, where he realizes that you have to accept your past and if realistic goals are sett then you can achieve them. Ironically this is what Willy has been trying to do for his sons his entire life.

**Spencer Gould:**

In the play Death of a Salesman, the relationship between the Father and his sons is an important component in understanding the play and the characters. The protagonist Willy, is the father of his two sons Happy and Biff, however, both sons share a different relationship with Willy. The key to understanding these relationships is the juxtaposition of the past and the present seen through Willy’s perspective as he reminisces over past experiences and his hallucinates. As seen in the past, Happy and Biff seem to follow their father and share a unique relationship with their father, however, Biff seems to be recognized more so by his father than Happy does, because he is more athletic and has a promising future in college. Although Biff doesn’t follow through with this athletic career, both boys end up following in their father’s footsteps and attempt to become a businessman or salesman. However, in the present and in the end of the play it becomes evident that Biff and Happy seem to have different views of their father. Biff shows a moment of realization when he understands his father and himself and realizes what he wants for a job, but Happy almost shows a mirror image of Willy as he supports him and wants to follow in Willy’s footsteps completely. Therefore, it is ironic that Biff chooses to part ways from Willy even though he was much more liked by his father than his brother Happy. Both Biff and Happy love their father, but express their feelings and share a different relationship with their father as well.


 * Abie Epstein:**

In the play Death of a Salesman father-son relationships play a predominant role when it comes to understanding the characters. The relationship between Willy and Biff is contrasted with the relationship between Bernard and Charley. For example, we see that when Bernard grows up his father is proud of the man he has become however Willy still thinks of Biff as his son who flunked math and couldn’t achieve his dreams. This may have something to do with how each family was bought up. For instance, Willy raised his children with all these false hopes and dreams of what they could achieve. Whereas Charley raises Bernard with the idea that he will only be someone if he works hard, and he doesn’t give him any special treatment at all. This is important when understanding the characters because it can explain why the men in Willy’s family end up and failures and the ones in Charley’s family succeed. It is also possible that Willy is jealous of Charley’s and Bernard’s success because when Charley offers him a job he refuses but doesn’t give a legitimate reason why. I think that it might be because he cannot stand the idea of working for the family he has thought he was better than. He cannot admit to himself that his family is more worse off than Charley’s.

Another thing is that Willy never really forced Biff to do a lot of work for school and always seemed to make fun of Bernard for studying hard. However when he sees that Bernard is successful and Biff is not he might be questioning his parenting skills therefore strengthening his feeling that his family will be better off without him.

// Well done everyone. Thanks for posting on time and building on each other's insights. //

Throughout //Death of a Salesman// there is an obvious difference in the father son relationship between Willy and Biff, and Willy and Happy. Through numerous flashbacks we see that the way Willy treated his sons when they were growing up had an explicit effect on their characters. The audience sees that Happy, who has never truly felt ‘loved’ by his father, and was somewhat neglected throughout his childhood, tries to please Willy at all costs. His character is also very similar to Willy, as he is very proud (refuses to pick up roses when Linda asks him to), and lies constantly (denies having left Willy behind in the restaurant). Biff, on the other hand, was always praised by Willy and never had to work for affection from his father. However, at the end of the point we see a profound change in Biff as he realizes that he will never be able to make his dad completely happy as an adult (because he has ruined his football career). Willy needs constant reassurance that he raised his boys right from Ben. It could be argued that Willy had unrealistic dreams for his sons, and couldn’t face the truth. However, I personally believe that Biff’s change at the end of the play is wonderful, because he accepts himself for who he is. Although this ruins his relationship with his father, he grows as an individual. Happy never manages to make this satisfactory transformation in the play.
 * Charlotte Van Damme:**

**Ashley Loh** **:** There are two important father-son relationships within Death of a Salesman, the relationship between Willy and Biff and Willy and Happy.

Willy and Happy's relationship consists of Happy trying to please Willy because he is always living in Biff's shadow. You can see this in Act One when Willy is thinking back to the past and Happy keeps mentioning to Willy that he has been working out. Happy is desperate for Willy's attention throughout the play which led to him not understanding at the end of the play that Willy had all the wrong dreams. Also, from the way Happy left Willy at the restaurant and not feeling any remorse for his actions, the readers can see that Happy doesn't actually love Willy as much as Biff does, he is just desperate for his approval.

Willy and Biff's relationship is more dynamic and it changes throughout the play. Unlike Happy, Biff genuinely cares for Willy and has always idolized him. However, when he finds out that Willy cheated on Linda, his idolization and respect for Willy disappears and therefore he becomes aimless. However, in Act Two, Biff finally sees the truth in Willy's character and the entire household. Biff no longer blames Willy but rather understands him and provides the audience with some optimism at the end that things will turn out differently for Biff than for Willy.

It can be seen that Willy's relationships with his two sons are a reflection of his own life and the decision he made.


 * Anna Kargl: **

The Father/Son relationship within the play is essential in helping to develop plot and further understanding of characters, as well as certain themes. First of all, through the strained present relationship of Biff and Willy which stands in stark contrast to their past that Willy constantly reminisces, the audience is intrigued into discovering the cause, creating suspense and interest within Miller’s play. In addition to this, the relationship of Fathers and Sons in the play, exemplified by Biff/Happy and Willy, as well as Charley and Bernard, is also