Death of a Salesman

The next morning, Willy is in high spirits. Biff has already left to meet Bill Oliver, and Happy has gone to work. Confident that Biff will be successful, Willy dreams of getting a house in the country and building guesthouses for the boys and their families. Convinced that things are looking better, he is certain that Howard will give him a job in New York. Linda asks Willy to request an advance so they can pay the bills; their mortgage will be paid off the next month. Biff calls Linda, who says that Willy removed the rubber pipe. Biff explains that he got rid of it himself.

At the office, Willy attempts to ask Howard for a New York position. Uninterested, Howard shows off his tape recorder and demonstrates how it works with recordings of his children and wife. When Willy finally shares his desire to stop traveling, Howard tells Willy that there are no openings. Willy continues begging, asking for less money, but to no avail. Willy then starts to reminisce about his days working for Howard’s father and explains why he became a salesman. He shares the story of Dave Singleman, a well-respected and successful salesman who died the noble “death of a salesman” (61) with hundreds of salesman and buyers at his funeral.