Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- What does each major character in Death of a Salesman seem to want? How do their interests align or conflict? How does what each character wants differ from what each has or gets?
- Consider Willy’s assertion that being well-liked is tantamount to success. Does this philosophy hold true? What is the relationship between friendships, popularity, and success in Death of a Salesman?
- Is Willy a failure?
- Is Biff right in saying of Willy that "the man didn’t know who he was?"
- How are Happy and Biff each impacted by Willy’s daunting expectations for them? How might Happy’s behavior toward women and Biff’s thievery be understood in this context?
- How does Death of a Salesman critique today’s capitalist society? The American Dream?
- How does the play’s title, Death of a Salesman, contrast the ideal and the real in the play?