summary of the death of the salesman

1. Aligarh Muslim University
Murshidabad Center
TOPIC: THE DEATH OF THE SALESMAN
(AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY)
BY: ARTHUR MILLER
GROUP MEMBERS:
1.ASAD QADRI
2. MINARUL HAQUE
3. SIRAJ NASIR

2. ABOUT THE AUTHER
• Miller Arthur Born in New York City on October 17, 1915
• Began as playwright at University of Michigan
• Pulitzer Prize winner for Death of A Salesman

3. THE AMERICAN DREAM
• People have the right to a decent place to live, a fair reward for hard
work and recognition of their worth as human beings.
• This play is similar to A Raisin in the Sun in that it asks the same basic
questions: Has the American Dream become an un-kept promise?
• Is it just a mirage?

4. DRAMATIS-CHARACTER
1. Willy Loman
2. Biff Loman
3. Linda Loman
4. Happy Loman
5. Ben Loman
6. Charley
7. Bernard
8. Howard Wagner

5. WILLY LOMAN
• Father, traveling salesman
• Believes in chasing the American Dream although he
never achieves it
• Pins his failed hopes on his sons, Biff and Happy
• Becomes mentally ill when pressure of reality crushes his
illusions

6. LINDA LOMAN
• Loving, devoted wife
• Knowledgeble and realistic of Willy’s hopes
• Emotionally supportive of Willy
• Willy’s strength until his tragic perishing

7. BIFF LOMAN
• Elder son, 34 years old
• High school standout-football star, many male friends.
• Academic failures lead to a life of depression
• Represents Willy’s vulnerable, tragic side
• Fails to reconcile his father’s expectations

8. HAPPY LOMAN
• Younger son, 32 years old
• In Biff’s shadow all his life
• Relentless sex and professional drive
• Represents Willy’s sense of self importance and ambition
• Often engages in bad business ethics

9. BEN LOMAN
• Willy’s older brother(died)
• Independently wealthy
• Diamond business tycoon
• Appears to Willy in daydreams
• Willy’s symbol of success that he desperately wants for his
sons.

10. CHARLEY
• The Lomans’ next door neighbor
• Successful businessman
• Often gives Willy financial support
• Described sadly as Willy’s only friend although Willy is
jealous of Charley’s success

11. BERNARD
• Charley’s son
• Successful lawyer
• Often mocked by Willy for being bookish
• Compared to Loman sons by Willy; they do not measure
up to his success

12. HOWARD WAGNER
• President of the Wagner Company
• Successor to his father, Frank
• Not sympathetic to the aging Willy Loman and his problems with
mental health
• Wrapped up in himself and his success, even though he never
personally achieved it; he inherited his position with the company

13. The play have three parts:
• Act I
• Act II
• The Requiem

14. Act I
• Willy comes home early from his work trip because he is no longer
able to drive. For a traveling salesman, this means he also can’t do his
job. Things are falling apart and money is a problem.
• His wife, Linda, encourages him to ask his boss for a non-traveling job.
• Willy’s mental health isn’t so good, and his sons are noticing that he’s
talking to himself more than is socially acceptable. Willy’s mental
wanderings are preoccupied with Biff’s aimlessness and inability to
find success in business.
• To please his dad, Biff decides to ask a former employer, Bill Oliver,
for a business loan the next day in order to start a small business.
• As a result, both Willy and Biff go to sleep with a plan and high hopes
of the next day bringing financial and business success.

15. Act II
• The following morning, Biff leaves to talk to Oliver and Willy heads to
his boss’s office to ask for a job transfer. Oliver refuses to see Biff for
more than a few seconds and Biff definitely doesn’t get a loan. Biff
realizes that he was totally deluded and steals Oliver’s pen.
• Willy has approached his boss to get a non-traveling job, and has
totally failed. He ends up begging to keep his original traveling gig, but
is fired instead.
• Depressed about his failed dreams of success, Willy attempts to hide
from his son’s failures as well. Biff continues to try to force the truth on
his father.
• The argument ends with Willy understanding that Biff loves him.
However, Act II still ends with Willy’s suicide.

16. REQUIEM(the funeral pray)
• The Requiem takes place at Willy’s funeral.
• Biff declares that his father pursued the wrong dream and didn’t
know himself. Biff refuses to live life as his father did.
• Happy, however is defensive and buys into his dad’s misguided
dreams.
• Linda, on the other hand, can’t figure out why her husband killed
himself, especially since she just made the last payment on their house
that day. Linda is still clueless.

17. CONCLUSION
• Be practical in life is good but extreme level is not good but we can’t
ignores the bookish or theoretical knowledge.
• The is also the difference between the reality and illusions.
• Dreaming are also good but do not go to the extreme of the level of
dreaming. It will harm someone’s life and also destroy life.