‘DOASM’ general

• what does willy loman represent?

  the ordinary man
• who are willy's sons?

  biff and happy loman
• who is willy's wife?

  Linda Loman
• who gets their moment of anagnorisis in 'doasm'

  biff
• what about biff keeps willy in the past?

  his success in football in high school, juxtaposed by his failure in trying to get a city job like willy
• who is ben?


  willy's successful older brother
• how does ben appear?

  as a figment of willy's imagination- we never see the true representation of him
• who is charley?


  willys only friend and bernard's father
• who is bernard?


  biff's school friend, charley's son

  becomes much more successful than biff or willy even though they overlooked and bullied him in high school
• how much money was willy's life insurance?

  $20,000
• why does willy commit suicide?

  so his family can live out his version of the American dream with his life insurance money- he thinks it would be worth more to them than him
• how does miller dratamatise the blurring of imagination and reality?

  the set and structure of the play
• what made the play so appealing to the audience?

  it was a representation of a life similar to their own that they could relate to
• what is the significance of the wire-recorder machiene?

  -puts linda and howard's wives on a similar level

  -highlights howard's ignorance to willy's situation

  -contrasts howard's son and biff

  -shows how willy's ambition to "keep up with the jones's" is his downfall
• who is howard?

  Willy Loman's boss
• what is the significance of dave singleman?

  -shows that one of the only reasons he wanted to become a salesman is because he thought it would be easy and he would be secure into old age

  -huge contrast to willy, lots of people show up to his funeral unlike willy

  -who willy idolized and wanted to be, led to his downfall as he couldn't put the work in, he also didn't have the right skillset to be a salesman
• what is the significance of the stockings?

  -shows linda as a fixer

  -