Death of a Salesman Revision Flashcards
AQA Paper 1 Revision
What happened to Arthur Miller’s family as a result of the 1929 stock market crash?
His father’s business failed and they had to move home to Brooklyn.
Why was the Federal Theater Project that Miller worked for closed down?
Because of suspected communist infiltration. Miller was blacklisted in later life for refusing to name some of his friends as Communists.
Define the two central ideas of the American Dream in the play.
- The Frontier American Dream - going off into the wilderness and making something of yourself.
- The Capitalist American Dream - striking it rich with some commercial venture, then buying a nice house and products with your wealth.
What contextual shift in America, might the following quotation refer to:
‘He don’t put a bolt to a nut…he’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine.’
The shift from rural agriculture to an urban industry. And the shift from manufacturing to service and sales.
When was Death of a Salesman written?
1948
What type of play is Death of a Salesman?
Social realist
What has Biff been doing for the last ten years?
Working on farms and ranches.
What does Happy do?
He is an assistant to the assistant buyer at a department store.
What does Willy believe Bernard lacks to be a real success compared to his own sons?
Natural charisma
Where did Ben make his fortune?
In Alaska and Africa.
Where did Willy’s father make his money?
In the frontiers of America.
Why does Willy kill himself?
Because it means his family will get $20,000 dollars in insurance money.
What does Willy’s killing of himself symbolise?
His inability to see himself as anything more than a commodity.
What are the flashbacks intended to show in terms of Happy and Biff?
How their father passed on his view to them, making it difficult for them to succeed.
What realisation does Biff end the play with?
That he, like his father, was not destined for greatness and that he can find happiness through his simpler, perhaps purer, idea of the American Dream - working outdoors.
What lack of realisation does Happy end the play with?
Happy doesn’t realise Willy’s failings - resolving to continue Willy’s dream and make as much money as possible.
Which American Dream does Ben represent?
The most old-fashioned version of the frontier American Dream.
What does Howard, who inherited his wealth, represent?
The new, impersonal America - one focused on money and wealth instead of human connection.
How does Bernard achieve his dream, in perhaps a further criticism of the new American dream of America?
Through hard work and dedication. He takes no short cuts, nor does he push superficial or materialist values.
When does Willy try to plant seeds?
In the middle of the night.
What does Willy’s planting of the seeds in the middle of the night symbolise?
His inability to grow and provide for himself as well as his flawed approach and perceptions.
What does the encroaching tower blocks, that block the sunlight from nourishing Willy’s seeds symbolise?
The encroachment of capitalism on Willy’s house. The commercialism encroaches on his self-determination. It the system he aspires to be part of that is holding him back.
