Death of a Salesman Flashcards
Who is described as “carrying the wash basket”?
Linda
Who is described as “mending his stockings”?
Linda
Who’s opening stage direction is “she more than loves him, she admired him”?
Linda
Who’s opening stage direction is “longings which she shares but lacks the temperament to utter and follow to their extent”?
Linda
Who does willy describe as “like a young God - Hercules”?
Biff
Who says “take this phony dream and burn it”?
Biff
Who says “I’m like a boy”?
Happy
Who’s is the “silver athletic trophy”?
Biffs
Who says “the funeral will be massive”?
Willy
Who says “be liked and you will never want”?
Willy
Who says “what the hell are you offering me a job for?” and “I’ve got a job”
Willy to Charley- he is too proud to accept help
Who calls Biff a “great football player”?
Happy, inherenting willys false sense of pride
Who says “I’m not a dime a dozen, I am Willy Loman and you are Biff Loman”
Willy
“we’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years”
Biff
“you cannot eat the orange and throw the peel away; a man is not a piece of fruit”
willy
“I’m vital in New England”
willy
“I still feel - kind of temporary about myself”
willy to ben
“he had the wrong dreams, all - all wrong”
biff
“take that phony dream and burn it”
biff
“biff is one of the greatest football players in the country”
Willy
“this is no time for false pride”
Howard shows willy the reality
“Now Willy you never averaged”
Howard presents the reality to Willy
“from the darkness is heard the laughter of a woman”
Imaginings become more frequent in Act 2 as Willy’s mental state deteriorates
“there was a man started with the clothes on his back and ended up with diamond mines”
Ben represents the American Dream for Willy
“Studebaker” “Hastings” “Simonize” “Chevorelet”
obsession with the American dream emphasised by brand names
“Yes, outstanding with twenty thousand behind him”
Willy believes that there will be positivity in his death
“I’m not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you”
Biff breaks the cycle
“we never told the truth for ten minutes in this house”
Biff
“nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground”
The seeds are a symbol of Willy Loman’s failed efforts to achieve the tenets that he lived by, and which he considered essential to achieve his own American Dream
“carrying a flashlight, a hoe and a handful of seed packets” juxtaposed with “The grass don’t grow any more, you can’t raise a carrot in the back yard”
Willy is described as planting seeds in Act 2, he wants life to be better for his sons, but this is futile as they are ultimately trapped
“why didn’t anybody come?” “I can’t understand it”
Linda is a victim of Willy’s death and doesn’t understand it, there is no hope or positivity as she has no answers and is trapped in the tragedy whereas willy escaped in death
“A salesman is got to dream boy, it comes with the territory”
Charley is also a victim of the American dream and cannot see the falsity of it
“I’m gonna beat this racket […] I’m gonna win it for him”
Happy speaks in declaratives he is completely disillusioned by the American Dream
“He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have”
Happy is still trapped at the end of the play
“I’ll start out in the morning. Maybe I’ll feel better in the morning”
Willy is trapped by the American dream
“I hate myself for it. Because I don’t want the girl, and, still, I take it and — I love it!”
Happy is a direct parallel to willy, link to willy’s relationship with the woman
“I gotta show some of those pompous, self-important executives over there that Hap Loman can make the grade.[…] But take those two we had tonight. Now weren’t they gorgeous creatures?”
happy is just as trapped by the american dream as willy although for happy this extends to having a good time and using women
“Wait a minute! I got an idea. I got a feasible idea. […] I thought of a great idea to sell sporting goods”
Happy describes to Biff a fantasy scenario about their future. Their parents, Willy and Linda, are also part of the conversation. Happy’s enthusiasm is intended to motivate Biff and cheer up Willy, and Happy’s false optimism is so convincing that Willy eagerly gets caught up in the hype. Like Willy, Happy deceives himself with his own wishful thinking
“the jungle is dark but full of diamonds”
Ben’s lesson for willy, the promise of the American dream/success
“Walked into a jungle and comes out, the age of 21, and he’s rich!”
Ben represents the American Dream
“he’s liked but he’s not well liked”
Biff about Bernard
“A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man.”
Linda about Willy, links to tragedy and the common man
“I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He’s not to be allowed to fall in his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person.”
Linda act one, social and domestic tragedy
“After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive.”
Willy act 2
“I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been.”
biff act 2
“When the hell are you going to grow up”
charley to willy, represents his delusion
“Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises.”
willy’s false pride in his sons, Adonis connoting an extremely handsome young man, links to Greek mythology
“I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. “Willy Loman is here!” That’s all they have to know, and I go right through.”
willy’s own self deception
“I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain.”
happy is trapped at the end of the play
‘an air of the dream clings to the place’
american dream established in opening stage directions
“telling of grass and trees and the horizon”
pastoral idyll in the opening stage directions
“Sure, maybe we could buy a ranch. Raise cattle, use our muscles. Men built like we are should be working out in the open”
happy and biff’s dreams are rooted in nature and the pastoral
“the common man is as apt a subject for a tragedy in its highest sense as kings were”
Tragedy and the common man essay
