AO1- Key quotations Flashcards
“It is small and fine”
(stage directions)
-First line of the play, audience is already exposed to the fragility of Willy
-Link to Isabella as she is described as vulnerable and weak
“Fragile seeming home”
(stage directions)
-Mirrors the conflicts happening within the Loman family
-Foreshadows Willy’s affair with The Woman
-Link to Isabella through the disruption between the relationship with her brothers
“Present barely visible”
(stage directions)
-Already showing how the boys are insignificant
-Link to how brothers think Lorenzo is insignificant because of his low status
“Calls with some trepidation”
(stage directions)
-Portrays Linda’s state of mind
-She feels constant anxiety around Willy
-Link to Isabella through her and Lorenzo having to sneak around due to the fear of being caught
“I’m tired to the death”
(Willy)
-Foreshadowing death from beginning of play
-Heightens tragedy
“Maybe it was the steering again”
“Maybe it’s your glasses”
(Linda)
-Throughout play, Linda is constantly pacifying Willy as if he is another one of her sons rather than her husband
-Blindness of Willy= not only physical but the also mental blindness of his family in general
“I’m the New England man”
(Willy)
-Willy’s whole sense of identity is his job
-Delusional
“Biff Loman is lost”
(Willy)
-Biff represents a younger Willy so by saying Biff is lost, he’s saying his own self is lost
“It’s a measly manner of existence”
(Biff)
-Alliteration shows how Biff doesn’t conform to the American Dream
-Going against societal expectations- seen in Isabella with her relationship with Lorenzo
“Why, you’re making money aren’t you?”
(Biff)
-Materialism
-Everything is about wealth and possessions rather than love
-Contrast to Isabella as everything is about love
“I can’t get rid of her”
“I don’t want the girl”
(Happy)
-Willy’s sexist gender attitudes of how women are portrayed is becoming apparent through his sons
“I’m losing weight, you notice, Pop”
“I’m takin’ one play Pop. You watch me Pop”
(Happy)
-Is he actually losing weight or is he just saying this to get the attention he longs for from his father
“He’s liked, but he’s not - well liked”
(Willy)
-Success to Willy is all about how well liked you are
“Chevrolet”
(Willy)
-Brand names
-Realism
“You’re my foundation and my support, Linda”
(Willy)
-Willy relying heavily on Linda
-Betrayal when Willy has an affair
-Link to Isabella and betrayal of her brothers
“Something’s happened to him. He talks to himself”
(Happy)
-Fear about Willy’s breakdown
-Link to Isabella when brothers notice her attachment to pot of basil
“Once in my life I would like to own something outright before it’s broken”
(Willy)
-Symbolic of issues with ownership in capitalist society, everything is forever breaking
-Not only possessions but people also living within capitalist society
“May you rot in hell if you leave this house!”
(Willy)
-Loman household fully broken down now
-Foreshadowed since opening stage directions of play
“Will you stop mending stockings”
(Willy)
-Motif
-Symbolise the money they don’t have but Willy can spend it on The Woman because she satisfies him- heightens tragedy
-Guilt
“It’s changing Willy. I can feel it!”
(Linda)
Linda constantly feeding Willy’s false sense of security
“The grass don’t grow anymore, you can’t raise a carrot in the backyard”
(Willy)
-Motif of trying to grow a garden
-Tried to plant seeds of the expectations of the American Dream into his sons heads but has failed
-The impossible successes of the American Dream have caught up to Willy and ultimately cause his downfall
“Only the music of the flute is left on the darkening stage”
(Stage directions)
-Motif of light
-Light gets darker and darker the more Willy’s mental state decreases
-Ending with the darkest ‘darkening’
-Motif of music- started and ending- represents Willy
-Link to Isabella- light gets darker in Death of a Salesman, basil grows more in Isabella or The Pot of Basil
