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Summary A* DEATH OF A SALESMAN NOTES - Plot
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A* DEATH OF A SALESMAN NOTES - Plot
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Death of a Salesman revision booklet AQA A Level English Lit B
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compare & contrast of the characters Willy Loman and Charley in the play Death of a salesman by Arthur Miller
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Death of a Salesman as a story told through mind and memory of Willy Loman
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PlotThe Loman's small and fragile house is surrounded by a solid vault by towering vault of solid
apartment buildings.
Stage directions explain how the play handles time. In the present the actors observe the wall
divisions of the set, entering the house through the door but in the past these divisions are
broken. A flute is also heard playing in the background.
Linda is described as jovial due to her iron repression to Willy's behaviour and we see her
unwavering love and devotion from the beginning due to her intentional blindness to Willy's true
nature.
The theme of nature vs the man made is introduced.
As Willy describes losing his way on the trip he expresses how he's lost in life. He's frustrated
by his inability to achieve the American dream and the social recognition that comes with it.
As Willy describes how he is losing his way on the trip he also describes how he is losing his
way in life
Nature vs a man made environment is a theme that is creates. Willy complains about how boxed
in they are.
The tension between father and son raises questions about what success is and what it means
to leave a legacy. There is a conflict between Biff and Willy about what it means to be a
success.
Biff and Happy talk in the present while Willy downstairs talks in the past. Stage directions show
that both boys are lost in different ways. Happy has no real moral centre. Biff was fired by Bill
Oliver for stealing a basketball but both boys misremember the incident showing how the do not
want to face the truth about themselves. The misremembered fact stays uncomfortably at the
back of the play.
Biff wants him and his brother to be the Loman brothers similar to the Lehman brothers who
owned a bank in the 40s.
The incident with the stolen ball reveals some cracks in Willy's moral code. Instead of playing
the fatherly role and disciplining Biff, he embraces the notion that the rules do not apply to Biff
because he is special and has the kind of ambition that makes a person successful. Willy makes
similar exceptions for himself, as seen when his affair is revealed.
Happy states that he is lonely even though he has his own house and woman. Cold ambition
does not lead to fulfilment.
Willy's idea that being liked and having a good reputation are the keys to success. He explains
that "the man who makes an appearance ... is the man who gets ahead" and brags that people
up and down New England know who Willy Loman is.
The tone of Willy's memory is initially happy as he looks back on his time with his sons and his
dreams for his own and their futures. However, by the end of this section, he is full of doubt and
disillusionment because he does not believe he is well liked. Fluctuating between self-
promotion and despair, Willy is unable to make peace with who he really is.
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