Willy Loman

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Play Analysis

Directions: Your play analysis should be typed onto this form (Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, single-spaced, 1-inch margins), spell-checked and grammar-checked. Please do not bold answers. (5 points)

A) Summary of the Play (30 points)

1. title and author: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
2. setting (time and place): Brooklyn, NYC and Willy’s imagination. Takes place in the 1940’s 3. main characters (complete descriptions):
Willy Loman (60s years old) – The main character of the story. Willy is a salesman who committed suicide—which is what the play is written around—most likely because he was extremely unsuccessful in acquiring the American dream and he was in an unimaginable amount of debt. All of Willy’s life, …show more content…

Biff had a good life at school; he was a great football player with a scholarship until he was forced to drop out of high school because he failed math. After he dropped out of high school, Biff could not maintain a job because he could not stop stealing things. He had no reason to steal and would even steal things with little to no value. This impulse disorder lead to him having metal issues and a difficult time succeeding in life. Biff went to three different states to have a life, but he could not succeed, so he moved back home with his parents, Willy and Linda Loman. Willy forced the dream of going into business with Biff’s brother on him, however, Biff knew that he would not be able to succeed, but he did not speak up for himself until the end of the story. Biff’s goal throughout the play is to find the truth about himself: what he wants to do and who he wants to be. Biff ultimately created this goal when he discovered that his father had an affair. In coalition with all of this, Biff also wanted to uncover all the lies that his father and mother have created surrounding their …show more content…

Linda is an enabler of Willy’s delusional life. Even though Linda knew that Willy would never succeed as a traveling salesman, she neglected to stop him from digging such a deep hole that he would not be able to climb out of it which ultimately lead to Willy’s death. Linda did this to keep the family intact, which worked for a long time, but it clearly was not a permanent solution to the family’s problems. Linda’s full dedication to keeping the family happy caused her to slightly fall into the allusion herself, but ultimately, she knows that the family has serious

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