Act 1 Introduction
Act 1 introduces the main characters and establishes the central conflicts of Death of a Salesman. We meet Willy Loman, an exhausted and disillusioned salesman, along with his wife Linda and sons Biff and Happy.
The act opens with Willy returning home unexpectedly from a sales trip, too tired to continue driving. His worried wife Linda tries to comfort him as he begins talking to himself, revealing his fragile mental state. We then meet their adult sons Biff and Happy, who are visiting and staying in their childhood bedroom.
Highlight: The play uses frequent "timeshifts" between past and present to show Willy's deteriorating grip on reality.
Through conversations and flashbacks, we learn about the family's struggles and unfulfilled dreams:
- Willy believes wholeheartedly in the American Dream but has never achieved the easy success and wealth he imagined
- Biff, once a high school football star, has become a drifter unable to hold down a job
- Happy has a steady job but feels unfulfilled and overlooked
Quote: "I'm tired to the death. I couldn't make it. I just couldn't make it, Linda."
The act introduces several important symbols and themes:
- Willy's old Chevy represents his nostalgia for better days
- His successful brother Ben embodies the American Dream that Willy can never reach
- The crowded neighborhood and "boxed in" house symbolize the constraints on the Loman family
Vocabulary: Kleptomaniac - A person with a compulsive urge to steal
As the act progresses, we see Willy's mental state deteriorating as he slips between past and present. His sons hatch a plan to go into business together, which briefly lifts Willy's spirits. However, the act ends with Willy alone, talking to his imaginary brother Ben, highlighting his increasing detachment from reality.
