Flashcards for Death of a Salesman

Bernard

Bernard is Charley's serious and hardworking son, serving as a contrast to Biff Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

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Biff Loman

Biff Loman is the elder son of Willy and Linda Loman and serves as the dramatic and moral center of Death of a Salesman.

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Charley

Charley is Willy Loman's next-door neighbor and, despite their ongoing friction, his only true friend and quiet financial support in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

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Happy Loman

Happy Loman is Willy and Linda's younger son, working as a mid-level assistant buyer in a Manhattan department store, where he tries to present himself as a successful man-about-town.

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Howard Wagner

Howard Wagner is Willy Loman's boss and the owner of the Wagner Wagner Company, a business he inherited from his father, Frank, whom Willy helped build from scratch.

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Linda Loman

Linda Loman serves as the emotional and moral backbone of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

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The Woman

The Woman is a minor yet significant character in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, appearing only in Willy Loman's fragmented memories instead of the play's current events.

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Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben is Willy Loman's deceased older brother and serves as a powerful symbol of the American Dream's exaggerated promise.

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Willy Loman

Willy Loman is the tragic protagonist of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949).

character

“A man is not a bird, to come and go with the springtime.”

This line is delivered by Linda Loman, Willy's devoted and insightful wife, in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949).

Linda Loman · Act One

“He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.”

This heartbreaking line is delivered by Biff Loman at his father Willy's graveside during the "Requiem" section that concludes Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949).

Biff Loman · Requiem

“Be liked and you will never want.”

This line is spoken by Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949) during one of his recurring memory sequences, where he shares life lessons with his sons, Biff and Happy.

Willy Loman

“The man didn't know who he was.”

This line is spoken by Biff Loman during the Requiem scene at the end of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949).

Biff Loman · Requiem

“Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person.”

This line is delivered by Linda Loman, Willy's devoted wife, in Act One of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949).

Linda Loman · Act One

“Nothing's planted. I don't have a thing in the ground.”

These desperate words are uttered by Willy Loman near the end of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949), as he frantically tries to plant seeds in his backyard garden late at night — a scene that also serves as a conversation with the imagined presence of his deceased brother Ben.

Willy Loman · Act Two (Requiem approaches)

“Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be?”

This anguished question is delivered by Biff Loman during the intense confrontation scene in Act Two of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949).

Biff Loman · Act Two

“I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!”

This powerful statement is delivered by Willy Loman near the climax of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949), during a heartbreaking confrontation in Act Two with his son Biff.

Willy Loman

“He's a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine.”

This line is delivered by Charley during his eulogy for Willy Loman in the graveside scene that concludes Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949).

Charley · Requiem

“I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been.”

This line is delivered by Biff Loman, Willy Loman's elder son, during the intense confrontation scene near the end of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (Act II).

Biff Loman · Act II

Diamonds

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, diamonds symbolize the material wealth that Willy Loman believes will validate his life and ensure his family's future.

Seeds and the Garden

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, seeds and the garden reflect Willy Loman's urgent desire to leave behind something real that proves his life has had meaning.

Stockings

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, silk stockings represent Willy Loman's moral decline, misguided priorities, and the betrayal inherent in the American Dream.

The Flute

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, the flute symbolizes the lost spirit of the frontier and the fading American Dream of honest, self-sufficient labor.

The Rubber Hose

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, the rubber hose is a powerful symbol of Willy Loman's deep-seated despair and the overwhelming psychological pressure he can't bear anymore.

Extended Metaphor

The play uses the life of the salesman as a broader metaphor for the American Dream.

Dramatic Monologue

Willy's long speeches to those who aren't there, especially his talks with the imagined Ben, act as dramatic monologues where his self-revelation outstrips his self-awareness.

Symbolism

Miller fills the play with objects that hold deeper meanings beyond their everyday use.

Irony

Dramatic irony runs deep throughout the play, as the audience is aware of Willy's delusions long before he is.

Motif

The theme of being 'well liked' appears repeatedly, with each mention stripping the phrase of its meaning.

Juxtaposition

Miller places Willy's memories side by side with his current life to highlight the gap between dreams and reality.

Pathetic Fallacy

The play uses lighting and sound design to reflect Willy's inner feelings.

Metaphor

Individual metaphors infuse the dialogue with a powerful punch.

Allusion

The play makes references to the myth of the American frontier and the self-made man, especially through Ben's line: "When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out... and by God I was rich."

Elegy

The Requiem at the end of the play has an elegiac quality, bringing the survivors together to mourn and reflect on a life.

Repetition

Key phrases are repeated until they're almost unbearable.

erratically

In an unpredictable, uncontrolled way — here describing driving that keeps drifting or stopping without reason, signaling that Willy is losing his grip on reality.

adverb · Chapter 1

contemptuous

Showing that you think something or someone is worthless and beneath you; here Willy uses it to describe the humiliating, groveling behavior he hates himself for performing at work.

adjective · Chapter 1

attention must be paid

A demand that a person's suffering not be ignored or dismissed — Linda insists Willy deserves serious, respectful notice from those around him, not indifference.

phrase · Chapter 1

add up to something

To amount to a meaningful, worthwhile life — the idea that a man's efforts and years should produce a legacy or achievement that can be measured and respected.

phrase · Chapter 1

well-liked

Genuinely popular and admired by many people; in the play this is Willy's central belief — that being personally liked is the key to business and life success.

adjective · Chapter 1

idolized

Admired and worshipped someone so intensely that you placed them on a pedestal, seeing no faults in them; Willy treated Biff's talent as proof of guaranteed greatness.

verb · Chapter 1

flashback

A scene that interrupts the present action to show events from the past; in this play the past bleeds into the present as Willy hears and relives earlier moments.

noun · Chapter 1

dozing off

Falling asleep unintentionally, especially at a moment when you need to stay awake — Willy admits he kept falling asleep while driving, which is why he came home early.

phrase · Chapter 1

peel

The outer skin of a fruit, discarded after the fruit is eaten; Willy uses it as a metaphor for being used up and thrown away once you are no longer profitable.

noun · Chapter 2

a dime a dozen

So common and ordinary as to have almost no individual value — Biff uses this idiom to reject Willy's belief that the Lomans are special or destined for greatness.

phrase · Chapter 2

dismissal

The act of being fired from a job; here it refers to Howard Wagner ending Willy's employment after decades of service, without sympathy or gratitude.

noun · Chapter 2

fragile

Easily broken or destroyed; used to describe Willy's optimism, which is thin and unstable, likely to collapse the moment reality pushes back against it.

adjective · Chapter 2

requiem

Originally a Catholic Mass for the dead; here it is the title Miller gives to the final graveside scene, treating it as a formal, mournful farewell to Willy.

noun · Chapter 3

dast

An archaic or dialect form of 'dare' — 'nobody dast blame this man' means nobody should dare to blame him, spoken in the plain, old-fashioned speech of Charley.

verb · Chapter 3

comes with the territory

Is an unavoidable part of a particular job or way of life — Charley means that dreaming is not a flaw but an inescapable condition of being a salesman.

phrase · Chapter 3

mortgage

A long-term loan taken out to buy a house, repaid in monthly installments over many years; Linda's final payment means the house is at last fully owned — but Willy is gone.

noun · Chapter 3

staged

Deliberately arranged to look like an accident; Willy's car crash is 'staged' because he intentionally causes it to appear accidental so his family can collect the insurance money.

adjective · Chapter 2

insurance

A policy that pays a sum of money to a person's family after their death; Willy plans to kill himself so Biff can collect the payout and have the capital to succeed.

noun · Chapter 2

transfer off the road

A request to be moved from a traveling sales job to a desk-based position in the home office — Willy asks for this because he can no longer safely drive long distances.

phrase · Chapter 2

aspiration

A strong, long-held hope or ambition for the future; here it refers to Willy's lifelong desire to be admired, successful, and remembered as a great man.

noun · Chapter 3