Willy Loman, a traveling salesman, returns home early from a business trip seeming disoriented. His wife Linda suggests he ask his boss Howard for a job in the local office. That night, Willy has flashbacks and talks loudly to imagined people, worrying his sons Biff and Happy. The next day, Willy is fired instead of given a new job. Biff's plan to get a business loan also falls through. Unable to face further disappointment, Willy commits suicide.

1. WillyLoman,an oldsalesman,returnsearlyfromabusinesstrip.Afternearlycrashingmultiple times,
Willyhasa momentof enlightenmentandrealizeshe shouldn’tbe driving.Seeingthatherhusbandisno
longerable todo hisjobas a travelingsalesman,Willy’swife,Linda,suggeststhathe askhis boss,
Howard,to give hima local office jobat the New Yorkheadquarters.Willythinksthatgettingthe new
jobis a sure thingsince he (wrongly) seeshimself asavaluable salesman.
We begintolearnsome familybackgroundandhearaboutWillyandLinda’sgrownsons,Biff andHappy.
Biff hasjust returnedhome fromworkingasa farmhandinthe West.WillythinksBiff couldeasilybe rich
and successful,butiswastinghistalentsandneedstogetontrack. WillythinksBiff isbeingwish-washy
to spite him.
Later that night,Willystartshavingflashbacksandtalkingtoimaginedimagesasif theywere real
people.Youguessedit.Somethingiswrong.He’srantingsoloudlythatHappyand Biff wake up.The
brothersare legitimatelyworried,astheyhave neverseentheirfatherlike this.Biff,feelingasthoughhe
shouldstayclose to home andfix hisrelationshipwithhisdad,decidestotalktoa formeremployer,Bill
Oliver,aboutgettingaloanto start a business.
In the middle of the night,Willy’stalkingtohimself soloudlythateveryonewakesup.Lindaadmitsto
hersons that she andWillyare strugglingfinancially.Worse,Willyhasbeenattemptingsuicide.She’s
worriedandtakesitout on her boys,accusingBiff of beingthe cause of Willy’sunhappiness.NowWilly
getsin onthe familydiscussionandthe situationgoesdownhill.He andBiff begintoargue,butHappy
interjectsthatBiff planstosee Oliverthe followingmorning.Willyisoverjoyed.Everyonegoestosleep
believingthattomorrowwill fulfill theirdreams:Willyexpectstogeta local job,and Biff expectstogeta
businessloan.
The nextday,of course,everythinggoeswrong.Willyfeelshappyandconfidentashe meetswithhis
boss,Howard.But rather thangive hima transferto the New York office,Willyendsupfired.Destroyed
by the news,he beginstohallucinate and,yes,once againspeakwithimaginarypeopleashe headsout
to meethissonsat a restaurant.
Waitingfortheirdad at the restaurant,Biff explainstoHappythat Oliverwouldn’tsee himanddidn’t
have the slightestideawhohe was.Distressed,spiteful,andsomethingof akleptomaniac,Biff stole
Oliver’sfountainpen.Bynow,Biff hasrealizedthathe was crazy to thinkhe wouldevergeta loan,and
that he and hisfamilyhave beenlyingtothemselvesforbasicallytheirentire lives.WhenWillycomes
intothe restaurantdemandinggoodnews,Biff strugglestoexplainwhathappenedwithoutlettinghis
fatherdown.Willy,whocan’thandle the disappointment,triestopretenditisn’ttrue.He startsdrifting
intothe dreamypast again,relivingthe momentwhenBiff discoveredhis(Willy’s)affairwithawoman
inBoston.While theirdadisbusybeingdetachedfromreality,Biff andHappyditchhimfortwogirls.
Biff andHappy returnhome fromtheirdatesto findtheirmotherwaitingforthem, fumingmadthat

2. theylefttheirfatheratthe restaurant.A massive argumenterupts.Noone wantstolistentoBiff,buthe
managesto getthe pointacross that he can’t live upto hisdad’sunrealisticexpectationsandisbasically
justa failure.He’sthe onlyone whoseesthatthey’vebeenlivingalie,andhe tellsthemso.
The night’sfightendswithWillyrealizing thatBiff,althougha"failure,"seemstoreallylove him.
UnfortunatelyWillycan’tgetpastthe "failure"bit.He thinksthe greatestcontributionthathe himself
can make toward hisson’ssuccessisto commitsuicide.Thatway,Biff coulduse the life insurance
moneytostart a business.
Withina fewminutes,there’saloudcrash.Willyhaskilledhimself.
In the final scene,Linda,sobbing,stillunderthe delusionthatherhusbandwasa well likedsalesman,
wonderswhynoone came to hisfuneral.Biff continuestosee throughhisfamily’sliesandwantstobe
a betterman whoishonestwithhimself.Unfortunately,Happywantstobe just like hisdad.
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