Death of a Salesman Act One

At the beginning of the play, what happened to Willy after he got a little above Yonkers?

• He ran out of gas.

• He forgot he was driving and ran off the road.

• He ran into a truck.

• He had a heart attack while driving.

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2. What is Linda's reaction to Willy's complaints about himself?

• She agrees and says she never should have married him.

• She urges him to see a therapist.

• She cries and says not to talk like that.

• She makes excuses for him.

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In the first scene with Linda, Willy contradicted himself twice. About what did he contradict himself?

• He called Biff lazy, but later describes him as hardworking. Later he contradicts himself about the windshield of the car.

• He says Ben made in his money in oil, but later says real estate. He says he remembers his boys' birthdays, but later admits that he doesn't.

• First he says he doesn't love Linda. Then he says he never said that. Then he says he had one accident, although he knows he has had three.

• He says he wants to retire, then says he wants to work for ten more years. Then he says Happy is his favorite son, although he later tells Biff he is the favorite.

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What seems to be the problem between Biff and Willy?

• Biff is a draft dodger, and Willy wanted him to have a military career.

• Biff was disrespectful to his mother, and Wily was angry about it.

• Biff wants to move to Alaska, but Willy wants him to go into sales and take over his (Willy's) route.

• Biff is unsettled and hasn't made anything of himself yet, and this distresses Willy.

Why doesn't Happy go west with Biff?

• He is about to be married, and his wife-to-be won't let him go.

• He has just applied to graduate school.

• He wants to show the executives in his company that he can make the grade.

• He is too insecure to try something that risky.

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Why did Biff stop working for Bill Oliver?

• Biff suspected Bill knew he had stolen some basketballs.

• Bill wanted Biff to lie to an insurance adjuster, and Biff refused.

• Biff had been dating Bill's daughter; Bill fired him when Biff dropped her.

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Where did Biff get the football when he was a high school student?

• Biff had received it as a gift from his mother.

• He borrowed it from Happy.

• Biff had stolen it from school.

• He had stolen it from a kid down the street.

How is what Willy's father did for a living different from what Willy does?

• Willy's father was a teacher. He traveled to teach short courses in different areas.

• Willy's father made flutes and sold them. Willy sells someone else's product and doesn't have the pride of craftsmanship that his father did.

• Willy's father was uneducated, and was never able to advance. Willy has a degree in business, although he had chosen not to make good use of it.

• Willy's father was an intellectual and an inventor. He had brilliant ideas but was never able to make a profit with them. Willy never thought much about ideas; instead, he concentrated on making money.

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Willy says, ". . . the woods are burning, boys. Can't you understand? There's a big blaze going on all around." What does that mean?

• Willy is having a flashback to a time in his youth when he set the woods in back of his house on fire.

• Times are changing. He thinks he is on the brink of a wave of good fortune.

• Willy's world is falling apart. He had lost his job and has no resources. He is getting trapped by the years of lies he has lived.

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Why did Willy come home instead of going to New England?

• He got a call from his wife.
• He kept running off the road.
• He was afraid he would run out of money.
• He'd been promised a place in the home office.

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