Death of a salesman
Death of a Salesman
Act 1
Page 7-9 Willy Loman is coming home from a sales-trip. He doesn’t feel well, because he had a car accident; he was driving and suddenly he begun to study on something else and so he arrived in the ditch.
Page 10 Linda Loman asks Willy to ask his Boss, if he could work in New York. Because she thinks that her husband is too old for travelling through the States. Willy promises Linda to ask him.
Page 11-15 Linda and her husband are talking about their older sun Biff, who has just returned from being away for several years.
In the opinion of Willy Biff is a looser, who is wasting his life with boy-jobs. Further he explains Linda that he wouldn’t fight any more with Biff.
Page 17-26 Biff and his younger brother Happy are talking about the old times. Happy thinks that Biff is now shyer than in the past and he lost his self-confidence. Then they change the topic of their conversation. Biff asking why Dad always mocked him? Happy means that it stresses Willy that Biff has no normal job.
For Biff it’s not possible to work the whole day in an office, he prefers to work on a farm under the open air. But he has no motivation to work for 28 dollars a week; he realized that he wastes his life. They are also talking about Happy and his job. Happy may earn a lot of money, but he isn’t really happy, because he feels himself inward lonely. Biff offers him to go west with him. But Happy refuses Biff’s offer, because he is too ambitious; he wants to show to the executives, that he’s successful.
Biff will ask Bill Oliver, who is an old employer of him for work and then when he has enough money, he will buy a ranch.
Page 27-44 Willy has a daydream about the past, when his sons were young. He was playing with his boys in the garden and he was telling them about his excellent reputation. In this time Biff was a good football-player with ambitions for a sport-scholarship. He was also a very popular personality on his school. Suddenly Bernard, a school-friend of Biff appeared, he wanted to pick up Biff for learning Math.
But Biff showed no interest on learning Math. Bernard was the meaning that Biff will fail the exams, if he doesn’t start to learn. Then, still in his daydream, he was talking with Linda about the business, which didn’t go well at this time. Later a woman, who he had met in Boston appeared Willy. The woman seemed to love Willy, suddenly Willy has kissed she.
Page 44-49 After Willy’s dream Charley visits Willy and they are playing cards.
Charley offers Willy a good job, but Willy refuses the generous offer, with the explanation, that he has already a job. Suddenly Uncle Ben appears Willy as an illusion. Now Willy is talking simultaneous to Uncle Ben and Charley. For Charley this is very confusing and so he leaves the house.
Page 49-55 Willy continues the talk with Ben, he invites Ben to tell him how he earned his life when he was young. And Ben explains Willy that he went to the jungle when has was 17 and that he walked out very rich, when he was 21.
He talks about Willy’s father; he tells about his greatness, his famous inventiveness and his good reputation.
Page 55-62 Ben disappears in the night, but Willy is still talking to him. Linda joins the scene. She asks Willy what he was doing and if he’s all right. But Willy wants to be alone and he goes out and starts to walk around the house. Then Biff comes in the kitchen.
They are talking about Willy’s mental state. Linda explains Biff that his Dad isn’t always like this. Only when Biff is coming home, because Willy can’t open his heart and his mind to Biff. They are also talking about the relationship between Linda and Willy. For Linda, Willy is the dearest man in the world. But for Biff, Willy has no character, because he only takes advantage of Linda.
But Linda tries to explain Biff that his father is burnt out by the long, lonely trips he has to attend. And that it’s a great trouble for him to be not so successful in business, as he would be. She also shows Biff, that Willy has worked for his sons only his whole life.
Page 62-66 Unexpectedly Linda says Biff that Willy has tried to commit suicide. Biff is very shocked by this message. It turned out, that the car-crash, which Willy had in February wasn’t a crash, but it was a self-accident.
Further he tried to gas himself. Whining Linda means that Willy’s life is in Biff’s hands, because Willy put his whole life in Biff, and now he shows him the cold shoulder. Consequently Biff juries Linda that he will try to get a job.
Page 66-74 Willy rejoins the scene, now the whole Loman Family is united. Biff states Willy, that he and Happy will meet Bill Oliver the next morning. They will ask Bill Oliver for a loan, because they have the idea to open an own sports-goods-company.
Willy’s filled with enthusiasm by this news. Before Biff and Happy are going to bed, Willy gives them a couple of good hints about the clothes and the behaviour, for the interview with Mr. Oliver. He also remembers Biff that the most import thing in the world is to be well liked. The first Act ends with the question of Linda if Willy will ask Howard for a new job in New York and Willy promises Linda, that this will be the first thing he will do the next morning.
Act 2
Page 74-80 A new morning has broken.
The second act starts with a dialogue in the kitchen, between Linda and Willy. Linda informs Willy that the two boys left the house early in the morning, she means that Biff was very changed and very excited to see Mr. Oliver. But Willy seems to be changed, too. He is very happy about the fact that Biff is taking a new run to get into the business life. Willy gets ready to see Howard.
Linda requests Willy to ask for a loan, so that they can pay the insurance premium and the last payment of their 25 years old mortgage. Before Willy quits the house, Linda informs him about the dinner tonight to which his sons invite him. Now Willy leaves the house in a very good mood.
Page 80-90 Willy meets his Boss Howard. Willy explains him that he doesn’t want to travel around again. But Howard replies him, that Willy is a roadman and that this company only had half-dozen salesmen in the office in New York.
They begin to argue because Willy is the meaning that he has helped to build up this company and now the company handle him like an old car, which doesn’t meet the new standards. He also explains Howard, that in the past values like personality, fidelity and loyalty counted and now only the money is important. Further Willy says Howard, that he only needs forty dollars a week. But Howard shows him, that he can’t take blood from a stone. Howard means that Willy is too old for this business and he should take a long rest. “Howard, are you firing me?” replies Willy very shocked.
Howard thinks that’s on the time that Willy’s Boys are looking for Willy’s livelihood. Then Howard leaves the room for a meeting.
Page 90-96 Ben appears Willy again. He announces his departure to Alaska and he offers Willy to come with him. But Linda keeps him back. Ben claims that Willy has to loose here and that he would have a lot of opportunities if he will go with him to Alaska.
Willy agrees Ben in the point, that he perhaps hadn’t reached anything materials but here in the USA a person can get rich on the basis of being well liked. Ben leaves the scene. Willy’s still in past with his thoughts. It’s the afternoon of a big football-game of Biff and Bernard absolute wants to accompany Biff to the locker room. Charley appears, he is making jokes about football and Biff and Willy are very annoyed about it.
Page 96-105 Suddenly Willy is in reception room of Charley’s office.
The living Bernard is there, too. They are talking about Biff. Willy is asking Bernard why Biff’s successful live ended after that football-game. His speaking-partner explains him that Biff never had trained for something again after this game. “Then he had flunked math, but he didn’t go to summer-school. Why, Willy” asks Bernard.
Willy doesn’t know why. Bernard only remembers of a very strange experience with Biff: Biff went to Boston to see Dad and after he was back, he was very changed. But Bernard doesn’t know what was happened there in Boston. Willy doesn’t want to talk about this meeting in Boston. Suddenly Bernard’s father, Charley appears. Willy asks Charley for a loan of 110 dollars for the insurance.
Charley offers Willy a good job, in which he doesn’t have to travel around. But Willy refuses and he tells Charley that he’s broken. Charley offers Willy the job again, but Willy refuses again. Now Charley is very angry, but he gives Willy the money.
Page 105-124 The next scene plays in a restaurant. There are already Stanley (the waiter) and Happy.
Happy sees some nice girls and he offers them champagne and he begins to flirt with them. Then Biff joins the party. Biff and Happy are talking about Biff’s meeting with Bill Oliver. It turns out that Biff has waited the whole day for Mr. Oliver and finally Bill Oliver didn’t remember him. And this moment he realized, that he isn’t a salesman.
Biff also has stolen a fountain pen from Bill’s office. The two brothers arrange, that they tell their father that Biff will have a second meeting with Bill Oliver tomorrow. Suddenly Willy enters the restaurant, Biff tries to explain to his father, that he never was and never will be a salesman. He was his whole life only a simple worker, the rest was just an illusion. Then Willy tells Biff that he was fired today. After this confession Willy is changing the topic of conversation, he wants to know all details about Biff’s meeting.
At the end of the talk Biff confesses Willy with a heavy heart that couldn’t meet Mr. Oliver. At the same moment young Bernard and Linda appear Willy in his mind, now the conversation continuously simultaneous between Willy and Linda on the one side, and Willy and his sons on the other side. Bernard tells Linda that Biff has flunked math and that he now is on the way to Boston, to his dad. Suddenly Willy sees the stolen pen and he finds out that the pen is stolen; he is very shocked and disappointed. Now Biff tells him in his despair about an alleged lunch-appointment with Mr.
Oliver. But moments later he confesses him that this was only a lie, after that Willy leaves the room towards the bathroom. Now Biff asks Happy why he doesn’t help his father and that Happy, in contrast to him, can help dad. After that Biff, Happy and the girls leave the restaurant without Willy, but before they leave Happy disowns his father to the girls: “No, that’s not my father. He just a guy.”
Page 124-130 This scene is playing in a hotel-room in Boston in the past.
There are only Willy and a Woman. It seams that Willy has an affair with her. Suddenly there is a knocking on door, first Willy doesn’t want to open the door, but then he changes his decision, he orders the woman to go in the bathroom and he open the door. It’s Biff, who failed the math-examination. Young Biff requests Willy to talk to Mr. Birnbaum, his math-teacher.
Further Biff explains him that Mr. Birnbaum doesn’t like him, because once he aped his teacher. Biff shows Willy the imitation and both start laughing. The woman hears the laughing and leaves the bathroom. Willy tries to explain to Biff, that she’s only a saleswoman. Then Willy sends the woman out of the room, but before she leaves Willy gives her some stockings.
Now Biff is very confused about this woman. Willy explains him, that Biff shouldn’t overrate this scene and that he was simple terrible lonely.
Page 130-131 Willy illusion ends and he’s in the restaurant again. He’s asking the waiter, where his sons are and the waiter answers him that they left with some girls in the towrope. Then he inquires the waiter about a shop, where he can buy some seeds.
Page 131-138 We are in the Loman-house again.
Biff and Happy are coming back from their tour. Happy wants to give Linda some flowers, but Linda is very angry. She’s shocked about the fact, that her sons have left their father alone in the restaurant. She tells that her sons are not better then animals. Willy is outside the house and planting some seeds. He’s is talking in his mind to Ben again.
They are talking about the insurance police. He tells Ben, that when he would make suicide, the insurance would pay 20’000 dollars to his family. And with this money Biff would be able to make something of himself. Ben tries to change Willy attitude, but Willy is already glad about a great funeral.
Page 138-149 Then Biff is going to Willy. He announces to him that he will go away forever.
Because this would be the best solution for him and Willy. He wants to make a last shake-hands with Willy, but he refuses. They begin to argue and suddenly Biff confronts Willy with the fact, that he (Willy) tried to make suicide. Willy denies that. Now Biff wants to tell Willy the whole truth about himself, about the fact that he isn’t a salesman and that he had been for 3 months in jail. He is telling him that he and Willy are now leaders, they are only a dime of dozen.
And that he couldn’t be somebody, who he isn’t. Then everybody goes upstairs. Moments later Linda and the boys hear starting a car, which crashes seconds later against something. Willy is dead.
Requiem
Page 149-151 Then is the funeral of Willy. But it isn’t a great funeral, like Willy imaged that.
There are only Happy, Biff, Linda and Charley. The funeral shows the reader that Willy only has lived in a dream, far away from the reality.
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