Death of a Salesman Review Questions

How much money does Charley usually give Willy each week?

$50

What did Biff steal from Bill Oliver's store when he was a boy?

A crate of basketballs

What does Biff steal from Bill Oliver's office as an adult?

A fountain pen

To what kind of store does Willy ask Stanley to direct him?

A store or hardware store that sells seeds

What does Biff allow Bernard to carry to the Ebbets Field game?

Shoulder pads

How does Willy's desperate quest for the American Dream resemble a religious crusade?

Willy becomes so obsessed with success and achieving the American Dream that he forgets everything else, including his family. This is similar to a religious crusade, but in the wrong ways. Our ultimate goal is heaven, then everything else, like good deeds, comes second. In Willy's case, that ultimate goal that he's shooting for pushes him away from what is really important instead of helping him focus more on it.

Willy and Biff have different explanations for Biff's failure to succeed in the business world. How are their explainations different?

Willy thinks that Biff's failure is thanks to his own personal aduturous affair. He believes that Biff doesn't want to follow in the shoes of someone so dishonest and end up becoming something he hates.. Biff's interpretation as to why he failed is that Willy sold him the idea that the American Dream is as easy as getting on that social ladder and being successful right away. He also believes that it can also be because he's not cut out for a sales job and would rather enjoy what he does.

How old is Happy?

32

How long has Willy worked for his sales firm?

34 years

What does Howard show Willy in his office?

His wire recorder

Where did Ben end up when he went looking for his father?

Africa

Where did WIlly's father go after he abandoned his family?

Alaska

Where dies Buff find Willy with The Woman?

At a hotel in Boston

What did Willy's father sell?

Handmades flutes

Why does Willy reject Charley's job offer?

He is insecure and too prideful to accept a job from Charley. By accepting the job, it would be like saying Charley did actually play the business game better than he did and in the end, became more successful.

On the sales trip that immediately precedes the beginning of the play, which city did Willy reach before turning back?

He made it to Yonkers.

What does Happy order at Stanley's restaurant?

He orders lobster.

How old was Dave Singleman when he died?

He was 84.

What was Biff's position at Bill Oliver's store when he was a boy?

He was a shipping clerk.

What was Biff doing in the West before the play begins?

He was doing farm work out West.

Where does Happy work?

He works at an unnamed store as 1 of 2 assistant to the assistant buyer.

What is Bernard's adult occupation?

He's a lawyer.

How does Willy's interview with Howard reveal that Willy transfers his professional anxieties onto his relationship with his family and conflates that professional and personal realms of his life?

In both lives, Willy kind of lives in the past which takes away from his reality. In the interview, he talks a lot about his past in the company he had worked at previously and the things he did there, even though they really didnt amount to much apprently, since he got fired. With Biff, Willy is always talking him up, saying he was popular and such in high school, when now he's not exactly like that. That past doesn't mean a stright path to sucess in the future, not matter how Willy may look at it.

Willy recalls his sons' teenage years as an idyllic past. What evidence can we find to show that the past is not as idyllic as Willy imagines it to be?

In the Willy's imagination, we see that Willy almost encourages his son's stealing habit. He also had an affair with a mistress.

What role does the fear of abandonment play in Willy's life?

It forces him to live in the past and makes him have hallucination about when his life was better. There was a time when he was doing very well in his job, money was not really something to worry about, and his family was happy, which is unfortunately different than his reality.

What is the name of Charley's secretary?

Jenny

What subject did Biff fail in high school?

Math

For what region is Willy responsible in his sales?

New England

What product does Willy sell?

The play doesn't explicitly say what he sells. This smbolizes that the American Dream is the pursuit of nothing.

How is Willy's retreat into the past a form of escape from his unplesant present reality? How does it function as a way for Willy to cope with the failure to realize his ambitions?

The way Willy retreats into the past, when life was better and more stable in his opinion, in order to escape from the fact that his reality is falling apart, with his unemployment, his family issues, and finacial problems. The past helps Willy cope with the failure to realize his ambitions because though it's apparent that he wasn't cut out to be a salesman, dwelling on the success he had earlier in his career gives him comfort and makes him believe that he has done a lot for this company.

What evidence can we find to show that Willy misses the distinction between being loved and being well liked? What are the consequences of Willy's failure to distinguish between the two?

There's several moments where Willy shows that he doesn't really recognize the line between being well liked and loved. At the begninning, Willy notes that Biff was well liked and popular in high school, and hence should have no problem being successful now. Willy also believed that he was well liked and valued at work because of all that he had done and he would be praised for that. Unfortunately, Biff isn't successful in the way Willy wants and Will gets fired from the job he worked so hard on. His broken relationship with his family, specifically Biff is another consequence. Overall, because of this blurred line, not many people showed up to Willy's funeral.

What is the name of the restaurant where Happy and Biff take Willy?

They go to Frank's Chophouse.

On what day of the week does Willy die?

Tuesday

How does Willy's home function as a metaphor for his ambitions?

Willy had a decent life, with a home and such, but they weren't at all well off despite all the work he he did. They hadn't even paid off their house until the very end of the play. This reflects his ambitions because while he works very hard to be the best salesman out there, all the work he has put in really hasn't amounted to much. In fact, after more than 30 years of working for the same company, they just fire him.

What evidence can we find to show that Willy may have chosen a profession that is at odds with his natural inclinations?

Willy had always loved building things, such as part of his home, and working with his hands. He also notes that he longs to be outside, like when he looses his concentration while driving because he wants to lay in the sun.