Willy points out to his sons that although Bernard is smart, he is not 'well liked,' which will hurt him in the long run. Willy confides in Biff and Happy that he is going to open his own business one day, bigger than that owned by his neighbor, Charley.Ĭharley's son, Bernard, enters looking for Biff, who must study for math class in order to avoid failing. They interact affectionately with their father, who has just returned from a business trip. The young Biff, a high school football star, and the young Happy appear. He praises his sons, now younger, who are washing his car. Linda scolds Willy for being so critical, and Willy goes to the kitchen for a snack.Īs Willy talks to himself in the kitchen, Biff and his younger brother, Happy, who is also visiting, reminisce about their adolescence and discuss their father's babbling, which often includes criticism of Biff's failure to live up to Willy's expectations.Īs Biff and Happy, dissatisfied with their lives, fantasize about buying a ranch out West, Willy becomes immersed in a daydream. Willy complains that Biff, his older son who has come back home to visit, has yet to make something of himself. Willy says that he will talk to Howard the next day. His wife, Linda, tries to persuade him to ask his boss, Howard Wagner, to let him work in New York so that he won't have to travel. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play.Īs a flute melody plays, Willy Loman returns to his home in Brooklyn one night, exhausted from a failed sales trip. Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller.

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