Death of a Salesman
by Arthur Miller
Table of Contents
Act 2: Scene 1 to 5
Act II: Scene 1
The next morning, the boys have left the house and Willy and Linda are having breakfast. Biff has gone to borrow money from Oliver with the hopes of starting a sporting goods line with Happy. Willy is excited about the prospect of Biff opening up his own business, which is a reminder of the excitement he showed in the past when he would talk about opening his own business. He feels like Biff may have a chance to be successful, and it is clear to the audience that Willy will consider himself successful if Biff is a success. Willy begins to make plans for what he would do with the money if Biff is successful. This leads Willy to feel better about his own prospects, and he begins to think that Howard might actually give him the job in New York.
Willy’s happiness is short-lived because Linda brings reality into his reverie. She wants him to ask Howard for an advance because his commission will not be enough to pay for the bills that are due. Willy is stressed about their finances, but Linda tries to point out the positives to him. She reminds him that they only have one more payment until the mortgage is paid off. Mentioning the house distracts Willy from his anger, and he begins musing about the changes he has made to the house since they bought it. He is excited about meeting the boys at a restaurant for dinner that night. Linda is heartened about Willy’s apparent good mood, and when Biff calls her, she is eager to tell him that she noticed that Willy removed the rubber tubing from the pipe. However, Biff has to tell her that he is actually the one who removed the rubber tubing. Linda pleads with Biff to save Willy’s life, indicating that she is aware that he is still in danger of committing suicide, even if she simultaneously wants to deny that Willy is not “fine.”
Act II: Scene 2
Willy heads into work, determined to ask Howard for a transfer to New York. However, Howard is preoccupied with a recording device he got and keeps showing Willy the recorder. Finally,...
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