Death of a Salesman

In Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, he writes of a man and his family. Willy, the father, only wants success for his sons. He pushes them to do a lot so that they can be successful. Willy also does many attempts to nearly kill himself but he never dies. His two sons are not trying to become successful regardless of how many times Willy pressures them to. One of his sons, Biff, was kicked out the house and was gone for a really long time with no work. He always fights with his father and all Willy ever wants is for him to have a job and have success. In the end, Willy makes amends with his son and that is when his time to go comes because he dies at the end. The purpose of the play is to demonstrate that all parents want for their children is success.

Vocabulary:

• accommodate (v.) to make fit, suitable, or congruous
• undercurrent (n.)  a current below the upper currents or surface
• crestfallen (adj.) having a drooping crest or hanging head
• simonize (v.) to polish with or as if with wax
• measly (adj.) infected with measles
• anemic (adj.) lacking force, vitality, or spirit
• imbue (v.) to permeate or influence as if by dyeing
• fob (n.) a short strap, ribbon, or chain attached especially to a pocket watch
• saccharine (adj.) of, relating to, or resembling that of sugar

Tone:
The tone of the play is sincere and gloomy.

Rhetorical Strategies:

• idiom- "..I'm tired to the death" (13). 
• simile:  ".. and laid down and died like a hammer hit him" (93). 
• antithesis: ".. you end up worth more dead than alive" (98).
• colloquialism: "G'by, I'm late" (74).
• monologue: "Forgive me, dear. I can't cry. I don't know what it is, but i can't cry. I don't understand it. Why did you ever do that? Help me, Willy, I can't cry. It seems to me that your just on another trip. I keep expecting you. Willy, dear, I can't cry. Why did you do it? . . . " (139).  

Discussion Questions:

• Why do you think Willy was so hard on Biff and Happy about their lives?
• Why do you think Willy always rejected Charley's job offer?
• At the end of the play, Willy dies. Why do you think the Miller killed him off at that point rather than the previous attempts he tried? 

Quote:

"Oh, Ben, I always knew one way or another we were gonna make it, Biff and I!" (135).