Ben Flashcards

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1
Q

Who is Ben?

A

Ben is Willy’s older brother who died recently. He is a substituted father figure and guides Willy to his death

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2
Q

Ben can be seen as a symptom…

A

…Of Willy’s condition

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3
Q

What does Ben represent in the play?

A

The pioneering spirit of the early American dream

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4
Q

How does Ben leaving for the jungle represent the American dream?

A

He sets off into the unknown in search of financial reward

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5
Q

What quotation from Willy shows that he sees diamond mining in the jungle as easy money, and ambitious, embodying the American dream?

A

“Walks into the jungle, at the age of twenty one, and when he comes out he is rich!”

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6
Q

What did Miller keep in mind about diamond mining at the time of writing?

A

Diamond mining was founded on exploitation of workers in Africa

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7
Q

What does Ben imply when sparring with Biff?

A

That he employs unscrupulous business tactics:
“Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You’ll never make it out of the jungle that way”

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8
Q

How does Ben push Willy to suicide when Willy consults him on the idea to get the insurance money?

A

He says that Biff will be “outstanding, with twenty thousand behind him”

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9
Q

What does Ben compare the jungle to?

A

Death, and the step into darkness of the American dream. The “boat” takes willy into the jungle, the darkness, and death, to achieve the financial reward

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