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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Linda ask Willy to forgive?

2. What distance does Willy measure between the rows?

3. Why is Linda so furious with her sons?

4. What privilege does the Woman promise Willy?

5. Did his funeral meet Willy's expectations?

Short Essay Questions

1. Account for Willy's anger towards Biff.

2. How is the fact of Willy's severe disintegration communicated to the audience?

3. What is one function of the figure of Ben in his last manifestation inside Willy's head?

4. Is Death of a Salesman an uncompromising indictment of "The American Dream"?

5. Did Willy Loman die in vain?

6. What is Willy's reaction to Biff's attempt to tell the day's events truthfully?

7. According to Biff, what is at the core of Willy's (and his own) problems?

8. What is the effect of Willy's words, "The gist of it is that I haven't got a story left in my head."?

9. How does Biff feel about lying to his father about the Bill Oliver interview?

10. Is Charley's summation of Willy and his life as a salesman an accurate one?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Comment on the staging of the "internal scenes" in Death of a Salesman. How effective do you think these are? How important are they in the creation of drama? Are they necessary to understanding the characters? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

"Willy Loman's tragedy is that he is the outsider who yearns to be an insider." Account for Willy's ultimate lack of success as a salesman.

Essay Topic 3

"As a salesman, Willy Loman was like a low-ranking priest in the religion of commerce, with all its fake values and promises." Discuss with close reference to Death of a Salesman.

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