DOAS 1.4 Flashcards
(15 cards)
Summary
. End of Act 1: whole family interacting
. Uncertainty between Willy + sons vs love between Linda + the boys
. Idealism of Loman family: concoct plan to make fortune through selling sporting goods
Willy’s characteristic traits
. Forgetful: forgets if he ate cheese + pawned watch
. Restless idealism: “Gotta break your neck to see a star in this yard.” Constraint of city, craves freedom
. Moral blindness: Ben was “a man worth talking to” despite teaching him nothing
. “William you’re being first rate with your boys” lazy, doesn’t want responsibility
Biff’s response to father’s weakness
. Happy gently promises to help father
. Biff is angry as though Willy’s behaviour is a reflection upon himself
. “What the hell is the matter with him?” judgemental, impatient
. Doesn’t know how to handle situation: “Shouldn’t we do anything?”
Linda’s relationship with the boys
. Annoyed by boys failing to “come round more often”
. To Biff, “Why are you so hateful to each other?”
. Subtly rouses sympathy: “if you don’t have any feeling for him, then you can’t have any feeling for me” “Either he’s your father and you pay him that respect, or else you’re not to come here” to the point
. Biff knows about the Woman - Linda insists Willy respects her, “What the hell do you know about it?”
Linda’s assessment of Willy
. Realistic: “he’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid… A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man
. Sums up Willy + play - his tragedy is common but no less important
. “The man is exhausted” bc of working for fam
Willy’s Job
. Ref in title: Willy’s demotion hurts him so much he can’t even tell his wife
. Forced to work commission after 36yrs, lost salary
. Far from the image he projects of a successful salesman, Linda says he “drives seven hundred miles, and when he gets there no one knows him anymore.”
. Borrows money from Charley
. Linda calls Happy a “philandering bum” and accuses Biff of deserting them
Biff’s mystery
. Calls him “fake”
. Picks up on Linda’s mention of a “woman” - turns out to be a witness of Willy’s car ‘accidents’
. Biff asks “Since when did you get so clean?”
. Clear implication that Willy did some bad things that Biff witnessed
Willy’s suicide attempts
. Does it in the car representing freedom - irony
. Tried to drive off bridge + gas himself
. Linda can’t confront him, begs boys to stay + help
. They call him “jerk” and “damned fool” but are worried
Biff and business
. Biff promises to stay in the city he hates + “apply” himself to business
. Consumed by “a fever of self-reproach”
. Reveals his inherent unsuitability for business, admitting that he likes to whistle in the elevator and take off for the afternoon
Tension between Willy and Biff
. Willy arrives, revealing he heard some of the convo
. Misinterprets: “Who in the business world thinks I’m crazy?”
. Confused further when Biff says he’ll talk to an ex-employer to get money for a business, “He always said he’d stake me”
. Willy thinks they’ve already talked, when corrected he rages, “Then what’re you talkin’ about?”
Happy’s idealistic plan
. Diffuses situation: combos Biff’s physicality + Willy’s sales experience + his business acumen
. Sell sporting goods: “a one million dollar idea” - Willy
. Willy dismisses Linda cruelly and Biff intervenes: “I don’t like you yelling at her” - the plan is doomed
Willy’s response to the plan
. Willy tells Biff to “talk as little as possible” “quiet… and serious”, then “Start off with a couple of your good stories to lighten things up… personality always wins the day”
. Unsurprising that his business has floundered
. He’s sure Biff will succeed: “Wait’ll Oliver gets a look at him!”
After the plan
. They argue, Linda still sees the good in Willy: “how sweet he was as soon as you talked hopefully”
. Willy leaves; Happy marvels at Linda’s patience while Biff mulls over Willy’s state: “Off salary… working on commission!” determined to see Bill Oliver
. Happy is excited to see old Biff + work with him
End of Act One
. Willy is content but problems prevail, short-lived joy
. “Greatest thing in the world for [Biff] was to bum around” contradictions again
. Fussy when his sons wish him goodnight, Biff “unable to bear him”
. Happy tries to create pleasant atmosphere, “I’m gonna get married, mom.”
. Biff in “a golden pool of light” vs Willy in glow of light from gas heater - suicide attempts
Willy at the end of act one
. Reminisces Biff “like a young god… and the sun, the sun all around him… and the cheers when he came out - Loman! Loman! Loman!”
. Biff is a star who’ll “never really fade away” poignant
. Won’t tell Linda why Biff doesn’t like him, says he’ll try to get his job back as Biff picks up the gas tube
. Biff removes it as Willy “Gee look at the moon”
. Chastised Biff for using Gee before: “a boy’s word”
. Switched places: Biff takes care of vulnerable Willy
