death of a sales men

Death of a Salesman Act One Summary
Let’s pretend you’re watching this play. You see a nice little two-bedroom house, probably only one bathroom, but that’s OK.
We hear some nice flute-like music and feel like we’re entering Fantasia.
Yet, instead of dancing hippos, Willy Loman, an old, worn-out salesman, enters. He’s talking to himself, and this just can’t be good.
Willy’s back from a tripand carrying some bags. It’s late at night, and he definitely should be in bed.
Inside, Linda, Willy’s wife, is surprised to see him – he is supposed to be gone for several days on a business trip.
Her husband explains that he kept forgetting he was driving (scary). Since his mind was totally not on the road (and frequently his car wasn’t either), he headed home.
Linda, ignoring the fact thatWilly has been talking with imaginary people and driving off roads, recommends that he ask his boss to transfer him to a local office job.
Willy insists that he’s vital as a traveling salesman, but eventually agrees. He’s sure that his boss, Howard, loves him enough to give him the local NY gig.
Willy and Linda chat about their grown sons, Biff and Happy, who happen to be sleeping upstairs.
Biffhas just come home from the West, where he was working as a farmhand.
Willy is mad at Biff. The father and son duo had yet another fight that morning, primarily because Willy can’t handle the fact that his 34-year-old son isn’t able to hold down a real job, you know, the kind with suits and fluorescent lights.
He concludes that Biff must be lazy.
Willy then declares his son is hard-working hotstuff (notice how he changed his mind about the lazy part?). He can’t understand why, in the greatest country ever (a.k.a. America), his son can’t get his life together. Clearly (to Willy), Biff is wasting his life in order to spite his old man.
Willy reminisces, in a rather sad and I-want-to-live-through-you-vicariously kind of way, about what a hotshot Biff was in high school.
Willy and Lindaget to bickering about cheese and population growth (we weren’t aware of any correlation between the two, either).
Biff and Happy are now awake (upstairs) listening to their dad’s odd mutterings. They’re worried about his sanity. We are, too.
The brothers have a heart-to-heart conversation complete with reminiscing about their past. Biff, the sensitive one, tells Happy (the happy one?) thathe’s upset about his fight with their dad.
Happy thinks Willy is anxious about Biff’s aimlessness; he wants the low-down on what Biff is doing with his life.
Biff tells his brother that he’s unhappy, hates the competitive world of business, and thinks farm work is better. (He likes acting strong and being shirtless, which he just can’t do in an office.)
AND YET – he can’t keep even a farming job.This guy is having a serious internal battle.
Happy’s name turns out not to fit him at all. He’s lonely despite having a decent job and endless women at his disposal.
Biff and Happy fantasize about moving to the West together and being real men with a ranch and cattle and sweating in the sun while working with their hands.
Biff seems ready to head for a ranch, but Happy won’t let go of hispursuit of wealth.
Like so many other brothers, these two start chatting about ladies. Both want to settle down with someone, but Happy is a player and can’t stick to one woman. He’s super-competitive and chases his friends’ girls just for fun.
Since the ranch idea is not working out, Biff says he’ll talk to this guy he used to work for named Bill Oliver. Biff was a salesman in Oliver’s sporting goodsbusiness way back when and thinks he made a good impression. He’s hoping Oliver will give him a loan so that he and Happy can start a business together.
Happy thinks this is the best idea ever. With big dreams in mind, the brothers go back to sleep.
Cut to downstairs, where Willy is still chatting with imaginary people.
In his head, Willy relives the high school days of his sons.
Said...