Death of a Salesman

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Act I, Scenes 1-6

Reading Check

1. What is Willy Loman’s job?

2. Where does young Biff get his new football?

3. What does young Biff promise to do for Willy?

4. How does Willy describe his earnings to Linda?

5. Why does Willy think people don’t like him?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is Willy Loman’s relationship to the past and present?

2. Why is Linda Loman worried about Willy, and what advice does she give him?

3. What is Willy Loman’s relationship with his son Biff?

4. For what does Willy seem to depend on his sons, particularly Biff?

5. Why is Bernard worried about young Biff?

6. What is noticeable about Willy’s lines regarding the Chevy and Hartford?

7. What does the shadow of the woman dressing and thanking Willy for stockings suggest?

Paired Resource

“About Dementia”

• Willy Loman exhibits some symptoms and characteristics of dementia. The CDC gives an overview of the condition.
• In thinking about the theme Contradictions and the Denial of Reality, does the CDC’s description apply to Willy Loman?
• Consider whether you agree or disagree with a dementia diagnosis for this character.

“Bipolar Disorder”

• Another possible diagnosis of Willy Loman’s mental state is bipolar disorder. The NIH gives an overview of the disorder.
• In thinking about the theme Contradictions and the Denial of Reality, does the NIH’s description apply to Willy Loman?
• Consider whether you agree or disagree with a bipolar disorder diagnosis for this character.

Act I, Scenes 7-12

Reading Check

1. What is Willy’s relationship with his own father?

2. What is Willy’s father’s job before he goes to Alaska?

3. What warning do Charley and Bernard offer regarding young Biff?

4. What disturbing news does Linda share with her sons about Willy’s behavior?

5. About what plan of Biff’s does Willy become excited?

6. After Willy goes to bed, what does Biff retrieve from behind the heater?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does the sight of Linda repairing her stockings upset Willy?

2. Despite Willy’s praise, what are Biff’s high school faults?

3. Why is Willy jealous of his brother, Ben?

4. What is Biff’s reaction to Willy’s mental state?

5. What causes Biff to leave home the first time?

6. Why does Linda say “attention must be paid” (I.11) to a person like Willy?

Paired Resource

“The Long-Term Effects of Abandonment”

• In Act I, the audience learns Willy was abandoned by his father. He may also view himself as abandoned by his brother, Ben, who follows his father to Alaska.
• ·        In thinking about the theme A Father’s Abandonment and Betrayal, consider the effects of abandonment on Willy as discussed in this article sponsored by the Foundation for Post-Traumatic Healing and Complex Trauma Research.
• Now, consider how the effects of abandonment might compound Willy’s symptoms of dementia or bipolar disorder.

Act II, Scenes 1-8

Reading Check

1. What detail does Linda mention regarding the house mortgage?

2. What is Howard’s reaction to Willy’s request for a job in New York?

3. Who is Dave Singleman?

4. What offer does Ben make to Willy regarding Alaska?

5. What demand does Biff make of Willy in trying to communicate with him?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the noble “death of a salesman”?

2. What is adult Bernard’s explanation for Biff’s failure?

3. In discussion with Charley, what reference does Willy make to his life insurance?

4. What is Bill Oliver’s reaction to Biff’s visit?

5. How does Biff misremember his role in Oliver’s organization?

Paired Resource

“Both Wild and Vibrant in Their Own Ways, Alaska and New York City Are More Similar Than Anticipated”

• For Willy Loman, New York represents the American Dream, while Alaska represents the unknown. This article by Alli Harvey from the Anchorage Daily News finds commonalities between the two locations.
• In thinking about the theme A Father’s Abandonment and Betrayal, consider that Alaska is where Willy’s father goes after he abandons the family, and it is where Ben stays after searching for, but failing to find, his father.
• Now, think about Alli Harvey’s views of Alaska and New York. Why does New York fail Willy? Why does Alaska seem to reward Ben with the monetary success Willy envies? What does this flip say about the nature of the American Dream?

Act II, Scenes 9-14 and Requiem

Reading Check

1. Why does young Biff go to see Willy in Boston?

2. Why is Linda furious with her adult sons?

3. In the garden, what does Willy confide in Ben?

4. What does Willy do instead of coming to bed as Linda requests?

5. Who attends Willy’s funeral?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In what way does Willy betray young Biff?

2. How does Willy imagine his family will react to the plan he tells Ben?

3. What truth does Biff try to convince Willy of?

4. How does Happy plan to honor his father’s memory?

5. What is Linda’s understanding of Willy’s death?

6. What is Biff’s understanding of Willy’s death?

Paired Resource

“Does Life Insurance Cover Suicide?”

• Willy Loman dies believing his family will receive a payout from his life insurance policy.
• In thinking about the theme The Distorted American Dream, in what way is Willy’s reasoning distorted?
• Now, think about the trajectory of Willy’s life. Does he fail to succeed even in death? Explain.

Recommended Next Reads 

Fences by August Wilson

• Set in 1950s Pittsburgh, Troy Maxson resents his status as a Black man in America, taking his frustrations out on his wife and children.
• Fences shares with Death of a Salesman the theme of The Distorted American Dream.
• Both plays focus on the father of a family in trouble.
• Fences on SuperSummary

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

• George and Lenny are migrant farm workers who dream of one day having enough money to buy their own farm.
• Of Mice and Men shares with Death of a Salesman the theme of The Distorted American Dream.
• Both stories focus on property ownership—the proverbial house with the white picket fence—as a manifestation of the Dream.
• Of Mice and Men on SuperSummary