# Opp: SBI Vidyanagar, Near HMV Junction, Hyd.

Cell: 9866979722
TS/AP-JL/PL/DL/SET/NET- ENGLISH LITERATURE
Flow Chart: Death of a Salesman- Arthur Miller

Drama@5 Death of a Salesman

American playwright Arthur Miller
Sub-title Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem
originally entitled “The Inside of His Head”
Published in 1949
Premiered on Broadway in February 1949; 742 Performances
Type Two-act Tragedy; contemporary American Tragedy;
No of Acts 2
Setting/located in set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage of memories,
dreams, and arguments of the protagonist Willy Loman, a travelling
salesman who is disappointed with his life,
Structure 2 Acts ( Act-1 with 12 Scenes) & (Act-2 with 14 Scenes)
Setting of the Play Willy Loman’s house; New York City & Barnaby River; Boston
Genre Tragedy, American Tragedy; American Dream;
It won. the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play
It is considered by some critics to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century
Beginning line LINDA: [Hearing WILLY outside the bedroom, calls with some
(Act-1) trepidation.] Willy!
Ending line WILLY: [Staring through the window into the moonlight.] Gee, look
at the moonmoving between the buildings! [BIFF wraps the tubing
around his hand and quickly goes up the stairs.]
Beginning line WILLY: Wonderful coffee. Meal in itself.
(Act-II)
Ending line LINDA: I’ll be with you in a minute. Go on, Charley. [He hesitates.]
I want to, just for a minute. I never had a chance to say good-bye.
Characters
Willy Loman Protagonist; 60 Years Old;
An aging salesman.
suffers from depression and anxiety as a result of his dissipating
career, his estranged relationship with his oldest son,
Biff, and his guilt over an extramarital affair.
At the end, Willy loses the ability to distinguish between the present
and his memories of the past.
Linda Loman Willy Loman’s wife.
She is Willy’s champion and takes it upon herself to reconcile her
family.
She will protect Willy at all costs, even if she must perpetuate his
fantasies and deny his suicidal behavior.
Biff Loman The Lomans’ older son.
Biff has been estranged from Willy for over 15 years, during which
time he has not been able to hold a steady job.
Because of his habot of stealing, he was in jail for 3 months;
Biff is the only member of the family who knows about Willy’s
affair, and he resents his father bitterly.

VENKANNA COACHING CENTRE-for DSC, JL, DL, SET, UGC/NET- HYD-9866979722

Happy Loman The Lomans’ younger son.
Happy is a womanizer driven by his sexuality.
He works as an assistant but exaggerates his position and his
authority.
Uncle Ben Willy’s older brother.
He made a fortune in the African jungle by the time he was 21 years
old.
He once offered Willy a job in Alaska.
Ben appears in the play only in Willy’s memories and fantasies.
Charley A long-time acquaintance of the Lomans.
Charley supplies Willy with a weekly loan once Willy is put on
straight commission, and he repeatedly offers him a job.
Charlie is a true friend to Willy, even though Willy is jealous of him.
Charley appears in Willy’s memories, as well as in the actions of the
present
Bernard Charley’s son.
He provided Biff with answers while they were in high school and
attempted to help Biff study so that he would graduate, even though
Willy and Biff would criticize him.
He is a successful lawyer. Bernard appears in Willy’s memories, as
well as in the present.
The Woman Willy’s former lover, with whom he had an affair many years ago in
Boston.
Biff discovered the affair when she came out of the bathroom while
he was in the room.
She appears only in Willy’s memories and fantasies; however, as the
play progresses, Willy has difficulty distinguishing between his
memories of the Woman and his memories of Linda.
Howard Wagner Willy’s current boss.
He put Willy on straight commission prior to the play’s beginning,
and later he fires him.
Howard is a businessman, unaffected by the facts that Willy worked
for his father and named him as a child.
Jenny Charley’s secretary.
Stanley A waiter.
Miss Forsythe & Young prostitutes.
Letta
Themes  addresses loss of identity and a man’s inability to accept change
within himself and society;
 American Realism; American middle-class wishes, hopes,
problems & fears;
 American Dream, the anatomy of truth, and infidelity;
 Abandonment; Betrayal

English Literature
By
Dr. KUNCHAM VENKANNA
MA, M.Ed., M.Phil., PGCTE, Ph.D.(EFLU)
SET, UGC-NET & JRF (Eng. Lit & Edn)

VENKANNA COACHING CENTRE-for DSC, JL, DL, SET, UGC/NET- HYD-9866979722