Death of a Salesman, quotations

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  • Created by: mcieciera
  • Created on: 02-01-21 16:14
“I will never get behind the wheel the rest of my life!”
Willy is convinced he will be able to secure an advance and a job in New York. Once again, Willy is quick to delude himself. There is also a dark irony in the quote above as Act Two, and Willy’s life, will end with him behind the wheel again.
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“HOWARD: You didn’t crack up again, did you?”
Howard’s line confirms that Willy’s psychological troubles have affected his work and are known about in the company. Howard’s hard-headedness reveals the ruthless “business is business” mind-set of modern capitalism where “everybody’s gotta pull his own
2 of 10
“... and that’s the wonder, the wonder of this country, that a man can end with diamonds here on the basis of being liked!”
The metaphor “diamonds” is a deliberate reference to the source of Ben’s wealth. Willy is trying to tell Ben that he can equal his brother’s success.
3 of 10
“Charley, you’re the only friend I got. Isn’t that a remarkable thing?”
Willy has a rare moment of self-discovery at the end of this ‘scene’, admitting how hollow his boasts of popularity have been.
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“I even believed myself that I’d been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one look and - I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been. We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk.”
Like Willy in the previous scene, Biff has undergone a moment of self-realisation, now able to see the “lie” and “dream” he has blindly accepted.
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“I’m not in my room!... I’m not there, stop it!”
When Biff tries to explain what happened with Bill Oliver, Willy gets angry and starts hearing voices in his head:
6 of 10
“You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!”
Willy relives the moment Biff discovers he is having an affair. These short exclamations see Biff almost spitting out these lines in disgust. That Biff sees Willy as a “fake” and “phony” immediately connects this scene to the one moments earlier, where Bi
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“Oh, Ben, that’s the whole beauty of it! I see it like a diamond, shining in the dark, hard and rough, that I can pick up and touch in my hand.”
Willy’s words are full of dark symbolism. The “diamond” is the $20,000 from his life insurance policy, the prospect of which entrances Willy with its “beauty”. It is so close that Willy can almost reach out and “touch” it, but in order to do this, Willy h
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“WILLY: [He is choking with his love, and now cries out his promise] That boy - that boy is going to be magnificent!"
The climax of the play - the confrontation between Biff and Willy. Willy’s realisation that Biff loves him leads to a moment of discovery and understanding. But almost immediately, Willy falls back on his old dreams for Biff, where his son is like Hercule
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“He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.”
Biff, who has achieved some level of self-recognition, sums up Willy’s tragic flaw - his blindness to who he really was. Biff’s short, emphatic sentences, and his use of monosyllables and repetition help to give these lines their power.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Howard’s line confirms that Willy’s psychological troubles have affected his work and are known about in the company. Howard’s hard-headedness reveals the ruthless “business is business” mind-set of modern capitalism where “everybody’s gotta pull his own

Back

“HOWARD: You didn’t crack up again, did you?”

Card 3

Front

The metaphor “diamonds” is a deliberate reference to the source of Ben’s wealth. Willy is trying to tell Ben that he can equal his brother’s success.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Willy has a rare moment of self-discovery at the end of this ‘scene’, admitting how hollow his boasts of popularity have been.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Like Willy in the previous scene, Biff has undergone a moment of self-realisation, now able to see the “lie” and “dream” he has blindly accepted.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

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