Death of a

Salesman
Written by: Arthur Miller
1949
Arthur Miller

• A native New Yorker, attends

the University of Michigan.
• In May, 1936, wrote his first
play, No Villain, in six days
during spring break. In May
that year, No Villain receives
the Hopwood Award in
Drama, a prestigious U-M
writing award.
• In 1937, that play is produced
in Ann Arbor and Detroit.
• Also in 1937, Miller receives a
2nd Hopwood Award.
• Graduates in 1938
Death of a Salesman
• Death of a Salesman opens
on Broadway in 1949,
directed by Elia Kazan.
• It wins the New York Drama
Critics Circle Award, the
Pulitzer Prize, and the Tony
Award, among numerous
other honors.
 Personal Life
• In 1956, Arthur Miller divorces
his wife and marries… Marilyn
Monroe!
• Was a stormy marriage; ended
in divorce 5 years later.
• Miller continues to write and
produce plays on Broadway.
• Death of a Salesman enjoys
numerous Broadway revivals
and is considered his greatest
work.
• He dies in February 2005.
Death of a Salesman
• Takes place in a New York
City suburb, late 1940s.
• Characters are:
• Willy Loman and his wife
Linda
• Their 2 adult sons, Biff and
Happy
• A neighbor/friend, Charlie,
and his son Bernard
• Willy’s brother Ben
Death of a Salesman
• Play has 2 Acts and a
“Requiem” (a very brief final
act).
• Most of the action is at Willy
and Linda’s home.
• Play is frequently a “stream of
consciousness” from inside
Willy’s head.
• He talks to himself and goes in
and out of flashbacks.
 Overall Plot
• A traveling salesman named Willy Loman is
burdened by the American Dream and wants to
succeed, but is troubled by it all.
• He has daydreams, ranting to himself and makes
up stories about how successful he is.
• This happens through lying to his sons and wife,
even cheating on her.
• He pushes his sons, Biff and Happy to achieve “the
dream” through the ways he feels best.
• Willy attempts suicide a few times by inhaling gas
through a rubber tube with the heater that fuels
his own home.
 Plot (contined)
• His mental health is so poor that he gets fired
when asking for a local job.
• He meets his sons at a restaurant one day to
discuss their careers, but can’t get beyond the
fact that Biff has failed yet again and continues to
deny and deny the facts.
• Eventually, this ongoing lying and burden Willy
withholds lead to his own death when he crashes
his own car.
• In the end, barely anyone shows up to his funeral
and now the money from his death allows his
family to pay off their house for good.
Characters
 Willy Loman
• Main character of this
play, a traveling salesman,
who gets fired as a result
of going mental.
• Obsessed with the
American Dream
• Exhausted, old, delusional
• A dishonest man, lying to
his family members and
himself
 Biff Loman
• Willy’s son who failed to live up
to his father expectations and
would work out west.
• Once was a football star in high
school, but then flunked math
and decided not to go to
summer school.
• Unlike his other brother and
father, Biff realizes who he
really is by the end of the play.
 Happy Loman
• Willy’s younger son who wished to
follow in his father’s foot steps.
• Ended up working as an assistant's
assistant in a department store
• But always seemed to be “happy”
with his life, whether it be sleeping
with countless girls or acting
bigger than who he really is.
 Linda Loman
• Willy’s wife full of loyalty
and strength, completely
unaware of Willy’s cheating
on her.
• Full of emotion and just
wants to be free of debt
• Nurturing yet takes out
some anger on Biff when
Willy continues to fail.
 Charley
• Next-door neighbor of the Loman’s
• Owns successful business
• Offered Willy a job at one point but he declined
 Bernard
• Charley’s son
• Biff’s friend who worked
hard in school
• Warned Willy of Biff
flunking math but he
ignored him
• Ended up a successful
lawyer
 Howard Wagner Ben
• Willy’s boss who ends up • Willy’s older dead brother
firing him although much who appears in his
younger daydreams.
• Wealthy and successful
Bill Oliver
• An old employer who is
involved in business and
met with Biff at his
interview
 Key Events
• Willy gets fired from his job by Howard.
• Biff flunks math in high school and does not
go to summer school because he found out his
dad cheated on Linda.
• Biff goes to talk with Bill Oliver and Willy tells
him how to go about it.
• Willy and Biff’s argument both at the
restaurant and at home (mostly about being
failures and their lives full of lies)
• Willy’s death and funeral
 Major Themes to
Keep in Mind
• The American
Dream
• Dishonesty and Lies
• Hopes and Dreams
• Success vs Failure
• Identity
 Closing
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM5_oxo
ux8Q