Death of a Salesman Act One

 

Willy Loman, a salesman in his sixties, returns to a home surrounded by high-rise apartment complexes in the late hours of the night. He climbs to his bedroom where his wife, Linda, is sleeping, but she wakes upon his entrance. They converse, and Willy explains that he was unable to drive to New England because he couldn’t keep his mind on driving as the car kept going off the road. She urges him to speak to his boss for a position in New York, but Willy is reluctant since he doesn’t share a close relationship with his current boss, who has taken over for his father. Willy is certain that he would have had a comfortable position in New York if his old boss were still in charge. He asks after his sons, both of whom are staying over for the night, but they are in bed at that moment. Willy had argued with his eldest son, Biff, earlier that morning just as Biff had returned from Texas. Willy is disappointed in Biff, who is still unable to make a decent living for himself despite being in his mid-thirties. He believes that Biff can do anything, given his attractive appearance and the popularity he had garnered for himself in High school.

Linda tells Willy to make a sandwich for himself and he makes his way to the kitchen. Biff, and his younger brother, Happy, are awakened by the sound of their parents' conversation. They sit up in bed and worry about the condition of their father, who can be heard mumbling to himself. Happy confesses that he has heard Willy mumbling to himself, and it appears as if he is conversing with Biff, although he can never quite make out exactly what he is saying. They smoke cigarettes together and talk about their life. Biff is regretful about his position in life, but he resents being tied down to a job, and he would much rather be working outdoors. Yet, he realizes that he can never stay in the countryside during the spring as he begins to feel like he is wasting his life. Happy is more successful than his older brother. He has an apartment, a car, a job, and the attention of several women, yet he is dissatisfied at the prospect of continuing to work for men who are his inferiors. He sleeps with women who are to be married to the executives at his store and wants to settle down with a woman like his mother. They discuss plans to buy a ranch somewhere in the countryside, and Biff thinks about raising the capital through one of his old superiors who had been rather fond of him.

In the kitchen, Willy’s conversation begins to gain in volume and he is transported to the time when his sons were still children. The house had trees all around it then, and the boys would polish their father’s car with gusto whenever he would return home after a long sales trip. They shared a close-knit bond, and Willy would tell them about how wonderfully well-received he was in New England by the buyers. He advised them to be well-liked, unlike their uncle Charley who was merely liked. Biff is very excited about the football game that is going to be held on the weekend, and he promises to score a touchdown for his father. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Bernard, Charley’s son, who insists that Biff study for an upcoming exam or he will fail to graduate. Willy mocks Bernard for appearing anemic, and as Bernard departs, he reminds his children that it is important to appear athletic if they want to be successful. Linda comes to the backyard with a basket of washed clothes, and Willy instructs his children to aid her. Willy and Linda talk about how much he had sold during the sales trip, at first, Willy claims to have sold several hundred units, but the number drastically changes as she begins to calculate his commission. Willy begins to worry about the expenses and the state of his job, he suddenly feels like his buyers make fun of him, and he worries that he makes too many jokes. Linda reassures him warmly, but he begins to reminisce about a woman in Boston with whom he is having an affair. Willy stops thinking of the woman and apologizes to his wife, but she doesn’t know why he is apologizing.

In the present, Happy comes down to the kitchen where his father is still having a conversation with his past wife and children. Willy makes an effort and return to the present and tells Happy about his brother, Ben, who had walked into a jungle at the age of seventeen and come out of it at twenty-one with a treasure. Willy regrets not accompanying Ben to Alaska when his brother has offered to take him. Charley comes into the house, having heard the noise from the Loman kitchen in his own house. Charley and Willy begin to play cards, while Happy returns to bed. Willy is downright rude to Charley, who offers him a job, but Willy sees this as an insult. Willy loses himself in a reminisce about Ben, who had recently passed away, and recalls the time he had visited the house when the boys had still been young. Willy was hungry for Ben’s approval, but Ben was just passing by on his way to Alaska. Willy grew up without his father or his elder brother, who had left when he had been a little older than an infant. Willy introduces him to his boys, and Ben plays fights with them, while Linda looks on in horror. Charley storms out of the house in the present unable to keep up with Willy’s fragmented conversation between the past and present. Willy remembers Charley coming to warn him about Biff as a young man when he had taken to stealing, and Linda adds her worry about how rough Biff was with the girls he was dating. Willy worries about how he is raising his boys and asks Ben to stay and talk to him for a bit. Ben doesn’t have any time, but he believes that children should be brought up roughly.

Linda comes down from bed after hearing the loud conversations that Willy is having with himself. Willy goes out for a walk, and his sons come down to the kitchen to talk to their mother. She is worried about Willy and believes that all of his troubles are because of exhaustion. They are having trouble making ends meet since the company he worked for over three decades has now taken away his salary and he is forced to borrow money from Charley. The boys were unaware of this, and feel guilty about how ignorant they have been of their parents’ condition. Biff promises to take up a job again and stay at home, while Happy promises to find a way to retire his father. Linda reveals that beyond money, Willy was saddened by his current relationship with Biff and that his exhaustion always seemed to get worse when he was around. She reveals that Willy’s recent car accidents are now being suspected as suicide attempts. They are all horrified and worried that he is going crazy, and talk about Happy talks about how he’s heard that the buyers laugh at their father now. Willy re-enters and they begin arguing, but Biff and Happy begin talking about starting a business that makes Willy enthusiastic. He begins to give them advice about how to approach the investor, and Linda tries to chime in but Willy cuts her off every time she begins to say something. Biff yells at Willy for being rude to his mother, and Willy goes off to bed in an angry mood. Happy and Linda convince Biff to pleasantly wish Willy good night.