Howard says the Willy needs a good long rest and when he feels better he can come back in and they'd work something out. Howard doesn't want Willy to represent the firm anymore and he's been meaning to tell Willy that for a while.But Willy's efforts go unnoticed and Howard refuses Willy's requests. Willy thinks that once he's listened to Howard's recordings and shown interest that he will have Howard's undivided attention. This is very important from the standpoint that it's reflective of how Willy's own children once felt about him and the potential he saw in them (particularly Biff). Howard tells Willy that his daughter is crazy about him and that his son has great potential.

By indulging Howard, this is an opportunity for Willy to bond with him (gaining Howard's sympathy toward his argument and making Howard more susceptible to Willy's request).

Although Willy desperately needs to ask Howard, Willy patiently engages himself by demonstrating interest as he listens to the recordings of Howard's family.

By placing the importance of the recorder above Willy's need to speak with him, Howard illustrates that he perceives Willy as insignificant.

Willy tells Howard about Dave Singleman because he wants a non-traveling job that still embodies what Willy believes in (Dave drove Willy to become a salesman and not go to Alaska with his brother and father). Willy explains how back than it was more personal and there was respect, and comradeship, and gratitude in salesmanship. He made sales from his house and made his living from home.

Dave Singleman was an 84-year-old salesman.

By contrast, his younger son, Happy, has a more traditional-albeit lackluster-career and is a womanizer. He also constantly fights with his eldest son Biff, who, after dropping out of high school, has been getting by as a drifter and as an occasional thief. While at home, he dissociates from reality, entering in time switches that explain why he turned out the way he did through interactions with his brother Ben and his mistress.

Fun Fact: Arthur Miller provided two alternate versions of a physical insult in the play: If Willy Loman is played by a small man (like Dustin Hoffman) he is called a 'shrimp,' but if the actor is large, Willy Loman is called a 'walrus.”ĭeath of a Salesman is, at first glance, about the last day in the life of salesman Willy Loman, who, at 63, has failed at his career.

Notable Adaptations: 1984 at the Broadhurst Theater, with Dustin Hoffman playing Willy 2012 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, with Philip Seymour Hoffman as Willy Loman.

Main Characters: Willy Loman, Biff Loman, Happy Loman, Linda Loman, Ben Loman.

Themes: The American dream, family relationships.

Premiere Date:, at the Morosco Theatre.

Death of a salesman requiem