Death of a Salesman
(Arthur Miller)

Willy Loman is a salesman who believes that he is very good at his job, though he is not. He has trouble driving the long distances for his job, so at the urging of Linda, his wife, he decides to ask his boss, Howard, to give him a job at the more local New York office. Linda and Willy have two grown sons named Biff and Happy, both of whom are home visiting their parents. Willy thinks that Biff is a failure because he has the potential to be greatly successful though he is not realizing that potential himself; Willy thinks Biff refuses to succeed just to spite him.

Willy regularly hallucinates, has vivid flashbacks, and speaks to people who are not there; Linda reveals to her sons that Willy has attempted suicide numerous times. Biff decides he will try to stay in town to help his parents who are suffering financially and is going to ask his old boss, Bill Oliver, for a loan to start his own business, which makes Willy very happy. The next day things do not go as planned; Willy gets fired from his job as a salesman and Bill Oliver not only refuses to give Biff a loan but does not even remember who he is.

Biff and Happy wait for Willy at a restaurant that night and when Willy joins them and finds out about Biff’s misfortune that day he goes into one of his hallucinations. Biff and Happy leave their father at the table and go off to meet some girls; when they return home that evening Linda is upset that they left Willy alone at the restaurant. Biff seems to be the only one who realizes what a lie his family has been living, and he tells them what he thinks.

Willy realizes that while Biff may be a failure he loves his father, and the only way for Willy to help his family is for them to cash in his life insurance policy, and so he takes his own life. At the funeral, Linda is distraught that no one came to pay their respects, still believing that her husband was a well-liked man and good salesman. Biff realizes he wants to work to be a better man, but Happy, unfortunately, wants to be just like his father.