Act One: Key Events 1-3 Quotes
English Lit: AQA A Level Death of a Salesman, topic 11.2.1
Act One: Key Events 1-3
Here are three quotations showing key events in Act One:
Quotation 1
- Miller immediately presents Willy as a character in a state of crisis.
- “I’m tired to the death… I couldn’t make it. I just couldn’t make it, Linda.”
- Miller immediately foreshadows Willy’s fate. Willy’s references to “making it” can also be read symbolically as referring to Willy’s crushing sense of failure – he has been unable to “make it” as a salesman.
Quotation 2
- Linda tries to comfort and reassure her husband.
- “LINDA: [very carefully, delicately]: Where were you all day?” - Linda realises her husband is close to psychological collapse (“Your mind is overactive”) and prone to losing his temper. As a result, she must treat him sensitively, almost maternally, avoiding direct confrontation.
Quotation 3
- Willy becomes “worried and angered” when discussing the difficult relationship he has with his son.
- __“Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such - personal attractiveness, gets lost.”__The quote reveals much about Willy.
- We see Willy's unquestioning belief in America as a land where everything is possible and see how he conflates popularity and charisma (“personal attractiveness”) with success.
- __“Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such - personal attractiveness, gets lost.”__The quote reveals much about Willy.
Test yourself on Act One: Key Events 1-3 Quotes
What does Linda say to Willy in Act One?
What stage directions are used to show how Linda speaks to Willy?