Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Flashcards
(15 cards)
Mortgage
Willy: “Work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there’s nobody to live in it.”
Freedom through death
Linda: “We’re free… We’re free…”
Willy’s outlook on success
Willy: “Be liked and you will never want.”
Biff realizes his life is a lie
Biff: “I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been.”
Willy’s view of Bernard
Willy: “You want him to be a worm like Bernard?”
Ben and the road not taken
Ben: “The jungle is dark but full of diamonds.”
Willy’s relationship with his dad
Willy: “Dad left when I was such a baby and I never had a chance to talk to him and I still feel—kind of temporary about myself.”
Willy does not have a green thumb
Willy: “Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground.”
Does Willy have character?
Linda: “And you tell me he has no character? The man who never worked a day but for your benefit?”
Willy’s perspective of young Biff
Willy: “Like a young god. Hercules”
Willy’s refrigerator is broken again
Willy: “I’m always in a race with the junkyard!”
Willy wants Biff to know he’s successful
Willy: “That boy will be thunderstruck, Ben, because he never realized—I am known!”
Willy’s unique
Willy: “I am not a dime a dozen!”
Willy is not perfect
Linda: “He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being.”
Man the fruit
Willy: “You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away—a man is not a piece of fruit! “
