Death of a Salesman Key Quotes

Willy "Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such—personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker. There’s one thing about Biff— he’s not lazy"

Willy's reflections suggest complete faith in the notion that in America, anyone who works hard and is personally compelling is destined to succeed and has a right too. By the end of the play, you see this is not true.

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Willy "There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining this country! The competition is maddening!"

Willy insists that his family's lack of success is due to population growth and not his faulty vision of the American Dream.

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Willy "And they know me, I have friends"

Willy's characterization of the American people as kind and virtuous to anyone who is personally attractive demonstrates his utter faith in his twisted version of the American Dream. Willy is a slave to the delusional.

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Willy "Walked into a jungle, and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and he’s rich!"

Willy's insistence that finding success is as easy as wanting it reveals total faith in the idea that he can get rich quick. It's interesting that his brother actually made his fast fortune in Africa rather than America.

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Charley "A salesman is got to dream boy, it comes with the territory"

Charley's characterization of a salesman really applies to all dreamers, to all dreams of finding opportunity and success in America. This speech from Charley seems to help elevate Willy to a truly tragic figure, who represents many failed dreams.

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Willy "Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave home any more"

Willy insists he will make it big some day and have the home life that he wants. Almost more important to him than actual successful business deals is being liked.

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Willy “Like a young god. God Almighty”

Willy clings to memories of the distant past to find hope for the future. What's interesting is that we see and hear of these past events through Willy's distorted lens. There's really no telling if anything was ever as wonderful as he paints it.

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Willy "You wait, kid, before it’s all over we’re gonna get a little place out in the country, and I’ll raise some vegetables, a couple of chickens… Linda "you'll do it yet, dear"

Willy maintains that they will escape their current financial situation and create something new. We wonder, though, if Linda is as delusional as her husband.

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Linda "You’re doing well enough, Willy!"

Linda expresses concern that Willy's massive aspirations are getting the better of him. She seems afraid that if Willy latches on to his brother's big dreams of success, then she may never see her husband again.

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Charley "Willy, when are you going to grow up?"

Willy's hopefulness that the game will turn out well for Biff is based on the belief that Biff has already won the game, performed flawlessly, and is headed for a professional football career. This baseless optimism eventually destroys Willy sons.

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Biff "I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been"

Biff points out that because of excessive dreaming and fantasizing about a better future, he had lost his grounding in reality. When he forces his father to face this reality, it leads to Willy's destruction.

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Happy "Dad is never so happy as when he’s looking forward to something"

Happy's statement reflects a fundamental understanding of his father's need to dream as a means of escape.

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Biff "Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?"

Biff attributes the tension and distress in his family to the irreconcilable gap between Willy's absurd dreams and reality. He longs to be released from Willy's dreams, so that he can create his own that are based on the reality of his situation.

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Biff "He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong" Happy "Don't say that" Biff "He never new who he was"

Dreaming is so central an aspect of Willy's character that Happy nearly fights Biff to defend it. Unlike his brother, Happy still wants to believe in Willy.

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Happy "Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have—to come out number one man"

Hoping to re-elevate his father's memory, Happy asserts that Willy had the right aspirations, and he will take on his father's dreams to prove it.

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Linda “you owe Frank for the carburettor” Willy “I’m not going to pay that man!”

Stepping out of the myths he's created about himself and realizing his true financial situation, Willy immediately expresses a complete change of opinion about his car. This helps to show just how flimsy Willy's idea and assertions can be.

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Willy "I’m very well liked in Hartford. You know, the trouble is, Linda, people don’t seem to take to me"

Willy contradicts himself by saying that he is both well-liked and ignored, suggesting that he frequently deceives himself about his success. However, the truth seems to always be just under the surface. This tortures him and drives him insane.

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Willy "Watch this, Ben!"

Desperate to impress Ben, Willy lies through his teeth and begins He also encourages his boys to live dishonestly, Willy undermines the moral character of his sons.

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Willy "Business is bad, it’s murderous. But not for me, of course"

Willy continually lies outright in order to try and impress Ben and make himself feel better. We wonder if Ben believes any of this— probably not. Willy isn't all that well-liked is because people see though him.

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Howard "Don’t you have a radio in the car?" Willy "Well, yeah, but who ever thinks of turning it on?"

Willy comes off looking like a fool when he attempts to lie in order to impress Howard and soothe his own insecurities. Ironically, his constant need to lie in order to make himself well-liked is probably a reason that people don't like him.

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Willy "I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in the year of 1928!"

Willy has himself utterly convinced that he is incredible at his job, despite the obvious reality of his poor salesmanship. Howard doesn't seem to buy any of it, though. Willy's transparently deceitful nature may be part of what costs him his job.

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Willy "What-what’s the secret?"

Bernard knows Willy and Biff too well, though. He doesn't really seem to buy any of Willy's deceptions. You see a weaker side of Willy.

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Happy "My brother is—I think he pulled off a big deal today"

Happy deceives himself into thinking that he and Biff already have a major success to celebrate. Much like his father, he chooses to exaggerate and bend the truth to try to impress people.

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HAPPY: Happy "That’s my name. Hap. It’s really Harold, but at West Point they called me Happy"

Happy shamelessly boosts his own self-esteem and deceives the girl the same way he deceives himself. Willy seems to gravitate more toward Biff maybe Happy is too much like looking in a mirror?

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Biff “Well, he kinda—" Willy “He’s a fine man”

Between Willy's ceaseless interjections and Happy's lies on his behalf, Biff begins to fall back into the family's cycle of deception.

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Biff "I can’t talk to him!"

Willy is only able to cope with the reality the Biff lays before him by escaping entirely into his delusions. The increasing harshness of his life is causing him to sink deeper and deeper into his own dream world.

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Biff "We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house!"

Biff desperately struggles to demand truth amid the chronic deception that his family maintains. He takes a stand against all the lies, leading to tragic consequences.

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Willy "He cried! Cried to me"

Willy convinces himself that Biff will still make it big. Willy follows this delusion to his death, killing himself in order to help his son.

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Happy "My own apartment, a car, plenty of women, and still, goddamnit, I’m lonely"

Material things and lots of hook-ups with random girls just don't seem to be the kind of success that Happy truly wants.

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Willy "This is your Uncle Ben, a great man!" Ben "When I was seventeen I walked into jungle and when I was twenty-one I walked out anf by God I was rich!"

Willy clings to Ben's material success as tangible evidence of his family's worth. He longs to measure up to his brother. Ben's success fuels Willy's misguided notion that riches are just around the corner.

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Willy “the funeral will be massive! He’ll see what I am, Ben! He’s in for a shock that boy!”

This all becomes incredibly tragic later on when nobody really shows up at Willy's funeral at all. By Willy's own standards, his life and death have been totally unsuccessful.

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Biff “I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. I’m one-dollar an hour, Willy!”

Biff insists he be left alone to live his life. He's begging his father to allow him to measure his personal success in his own way. Biff no longer wants any part of Willy's delusions.

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Ben "The jungle is dark but full of diamonds, Willy"

Willy is haunted by the fact that his life of work hasn't really amounted to anything tangible.

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Willy "Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him"

It shows that Willy's idea of what helps to make a person successful just might not match up with reality. Biff has nowhere near the reputation that Bernard does.

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Bernard “If he doesn’t buckle down, he’ll flunk math” Willy “You want him to be a worm like Bernard? He’s got spirit, personality…”

Willy's emphasis on reputation blinds him to the reality of Biff's academic problems. By constantly making excuses for his favorite son, Willy inadvertently stands in the way of Biff's success.

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Willy "Personality always wins the day"

Willy, who ironically considers himself an expert on being well-liked, believes that personality is what matters most. Once again it's not like this is totally untrue. A good personality is probably a really valuable thing for a salesman to have.

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Linda "His blue suit. He’s so handsome in that suit. He could be a—anything in that suit!"

Linda's fixation on Biff's physical appearance as the source of his success denies the importance of other qualities and virtues instaed of his personalitly.

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Charley "Why must everybody like you?"

Charley is a pretty realistic guy. He tries to make Willy see that being well-liked isn't as important to success as Willy thinks it is. Of course, Willy refuses to see the truth of this.

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Willy "He died the death of a salesman, in his in his green velvet slippers"

Willy idolizes Dave Singleman's death because being widely known and widely mourned is evidence of a successful life. A grand, well-attended funeral is the greatest achievement a person can have. He is more concerned about people's opinion than his.

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Willy "I’m fat. I’m very—foolish to look at"

Willy assumes business problems are to do with his appearance. He doesn’t think that his problem may be people see right through his flimsy, image-obsessed personality. The play may be pointing out that people of real substance get real respect.

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Willy "Huh! Why did she have to wax the floors herself?"

Willy's disgust at Linda waxing the floors herself suggests his false pride about their economic status. They clearly cannot afford to hire someone to wax their floor, yet he constantly wants to pretend that this isn't so.

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WILLY: “I got a job, I told you that. [After a slight pause] What the hell are you offering me a job for?” Charley “Don’t get offended”

Willy has always tried to act like he is cooler than Charley. In reality, though, he's always been really jealous of his neighbor. When Charley offers Willy a job, it hurts Willy's pride.

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Howard " This is no time for false pride, Willy. You go to your sons and tell them that you’re tired. You’ve got two great boys, haven’t you?"

Howard recognizes Willy's pride as means of hiding from reality. Though Howard does wash his hands of Willy in this scene, in a way he's trying to help the old salesman. If Willy would only recognize the reality of his situation, he'd be ok.

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Charley "Without pay? What kind of a job is without pay? [He rises] Now look kid, enough is enough. I’m no genius but I know when I’m being insulted"

Despite the complete absurdity of refusing Charley's job offer (considering his financial circumstances), Willy's pride prevents him from accepting. Willy is determined to pretend like he doesn't need Charley's help even while he's asking for it.

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Charley "You been jealous of me all your life, you damned fool. Here, pay your insurance"

Willy's sense of pride irrationally prevents him from accepting a job working for Charley—but allows him to accept loans he will undoubtedly be unable to repay. Charley is an incredibly generous guy, considering how badly Willy treats him.

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Biff "And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That’s whose fault it is!"

Biff recognizes that false pride is a barrier to success. The failures of his life have made it impossible for him to ignore the fact that he's just not as cool as his father always tried to make him believe he was.

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Willy " I remember you walking away down some open road"

Willy's abandonment by his father and brother at a young age leaves him with many unanswered questions. This secret fear corrodes his character, making him desperate. Ironically leading Biff to abandon him and Willy to abandon his family-suicide.

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Willy "No, Ben! Please tell about Dad. All I remember is a man with a big beard, and I was in Mamma’s lap, sitting around a fire, and some kind of high music"

Willy's desperation for memories shows his feelings of abandonment. He is clinging to the past to avoid the present. The "high music" is the flute his father played. Miller threads flute music to highlight how his father's abandonment haunts Willy.

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Willy [longingly] “You’re just what I need, Ben, because 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's desire for affirmation and guidance indicates his neediness and the lack of grounding in his life. The fact that he's been abandoned by both his father and his older brother (a father-figure) makes it hard for Willy to be a good father.

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Linda “He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. He’s not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. You called him crazy”

Linda understands Willy's fear of abandonment; this is reflected in her insistence that Biff be attentive to his father. She recognizes that Willy's fears make him a flawed person. She begs her son to look past and see the good in his father.

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Linda "I’m—I’m ashamed to. How can I mention it to him? Every day I go down and take away that little rubber pipe. But when he comes home, I put it back where it was"

She thinks that if Willy feels finally and totally abandoned by his boys then it might totally push him over the edge to suicide. Ironically, it is Willy's realization that Biff truly loves him that pushes the salesman to finally take his own life.

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Biff “You fake! You phony little fake!” [Overcome, he turns quickly and weeping fully goes out with his suitcase. Willy is left on the floor on his knees.]Willy “I gave you an order! Biff, come back here or I’ll beat you! Come back here!”

Actions shows Willys at Biffs mercy. Discovering his father's affair, Biff walks out on Willy abandoning at the doorway and by emotionally separating himself. Ironically, it may be Willy's fear of being abandoned that led him to have the affair.

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Linda "You’re a pair of animals! Not one, not another living soul would have had the cruelty to walk out on that man in a restaurant!"

Linda's extreme anger at Biff and Happy for leaving Willy at dinner reflects her knowledge that Willy's well-being depends on their attentiveness to him.

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Willy "May you rot in hell if you leave this house!"

Willy's insistence that Biff stay although they are furious with one another reveals his fear of abandonment. Despite all his posturing, Willy is terrified of the idea of being totally abandoned by his sons.

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Linda "Why didn’t anyone come?"

Linda feels that Willy has been abandoned by his friends after his death; she doesn't realize that Willy didn't really have friends to begin with. It seems that she bought into Willy's tales of popularity.

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Willy "Where the hell is that seed? [indignantly] You can’t see nothing out here! They boxed in the whole goddamn neighborhood!"

Willy's frustration at feeling trapped in his own home only shortly before his suicide reflects his profound desire for freedom and escape.

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Linda "Forgive me, dear. I can’t. Help me, Willy, I can’t cry. Why did you do it? I search and search and I search and I can’t understand it. We’re free and clear. [Sobbing more fully, released] We’re free. We’re free… We’re free"

Linda's refrain of "we're free" after her comments about mortgage payments implies the linkage of freedom with economic security in Death of a Salesman. The play seems to be making a larger comment on the American system of capitalism.

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Willy "I won’t have you mending stockings in this house! Now throw them out!"

Willy lashes out at Linda about her mending stockings because it reminds him of his affair and betrayal of her. We wonder if Linda ever suspected Willy's betrayal.

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Linda “Why a fake? In what way? What do you mean?” Biff “Just don’t lay it all at my feet. It’s between me and him—that’s all I have to say.”

Biff feels betrayed by his father's affair, but refuses to tell Linda. Does he do this out of loyalty to his father, or is he just trying to protect Linda from the truth? Is he, in a way, betraying his mother by not telling her the truth.

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Linda "Biff, I swear to God! Biff, his life is in your hands!"

Linda feels that her sons have betrayed their father by turning their backs on him. Here, she insinuates that that betrayal is a big part of what has driven Willy to contemplate suicide.

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Willy “That snotnose. I named him Howard” Charley “You named him Howard, but you can’t sell that. The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell. The funny thing is that you’re a salesman, and you don’t know that”

Charley questions Willy's insistence that Howard's actions were a betrayal. He tries to get Willy to understand the harsh realities of capitalism.

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Willy " [strikes Biff and falters away from the table]: You rotten little louse! Are you spiting me?"

Willy perceives Biff's business failure as a personal betrayal, an attempt to punish him for his earlier love affair. Willy's guilt over his affair leads him to make lots irrational and damaging decisions.

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Biff "You—you gave her Mama’s stockings! [His tears break through and he rises to go]"

Unable to fully lash out at his father, Biff focuses his anger on the stockings. The stockings are used as a symbol of betrayal throughout the play.

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Willy "Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground"

Willy realizes metaphorically, that he has no tangible proof of his life’s work. Willy used gardening as success indicates that he subconsciously acknowledges that his chosen profession. Though his figurative root are in sales, Willy never blossomed.

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Linda " Because he’s only a little boat looking for a harbor.”

She is trying t show the boys how lost Willy is, ad the Habour could represet America.

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The Women "I chose you"

This is the belonging ad egotistical comment Willy needs.

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The Women "You do make me laugh Willy"

Willy acts different with the women he becomes a child again.

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Death of a Salesman Key Quotes

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