Student Question
For Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, identify a room, word, color, texture, furniture, symbol, picture, written text, and quotation that connect to him.
Quick answer:
Willy Loman’s room in Death of a Salesman would be the kitchen. A word corresponding to a vision could be defeated, a relevant texture and color could be smooth gray, and a piece furniture could be the kitchen table. An appropriate symbol would be his sample cases, a relevant picture would be a photograph of his former Chevrolet car, and Dale Carnegie’s book is an appropriate text. Linda’s speech at the end provides a quotation relevant to his character overall.
In Death of a Salesman, much of the action takes place in the kitchen, where Willy and Linda often sit and talk; either the kitchen or their shared bedroom could be considered Willy’s room. As their house is modest, so are the furnishings. In the kitchen, described in the stage directions, the table is the central item of furniture, but they also discuss the refrigerator.
The kitchen at center seems actual enough, for there is a kitchen table with three chairs, and a refrigerator. But no other fixtures are seen.
Through the course of the play, the audience realizes how worn out Willy has become. An appropriate word for his overall condition would be “defeated” or “vanquished.” Given this condition and his age, the corresponding texture and color would be smooth gray. Willy’s sample cases are the primary symbol of his identity as a salesman; in act 1, he...
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enters carrying “two large sample cases."
His life on the road is dependent on his car, so a photograph of his former Chevrolet, “the greatest car ever built,” which he regrets selling, would be a suitable picture. Willy has firm ideas about the kind of personality a successful person must have. A closely related text is Dale Carnegie’s 1936 self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People. Willy embraces this kind of philosophy, stating that
the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates a personal interest, is the man who gets ahead.
A quotation that weaves together elements of his character is Linda’s declaration about paying attention.
After Willy’s death, when his sons still do not seem to understand him, Linda summarizes why he matters.
I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid.
Provide a word, color, texture, furniture, symbol, image, text, and quote that represent Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman.
Your answers to this creative prompt will depend on how you see Biff Loman’s character. If you see him as a disappointment or failure because he didn’t become a football star, then your single world might be underachiever or disappointment. Your color might be blue: it’s sad that Biff was denied a scholarship because he couldn’t figure out how to pass math.
However, if you’re inclined to see the good in Biff, your answers might change. You might look for quotes in which Biff promises to clean up his act, like when he tells his mom, “I’ll apply myself.” For this kinder characterization of Biff, you might use a piece of furniture that’s being reupholstered. You might think of a picture that shows someone trying to make amends. You could think of a color that indicates both remorse and promise of a brighter future.
As you think about Biff’s character, you might try to account for his contentious relationship with his dad. It’d be interesting to think about how a piece of furniture or color could represent Biff and Willy’s fraught bond. Of course, there’s lots of texts that communicate problematic thoughts about fathers, including Sylvia Plath’s poem “Daddy” and Langston Hughes’ autobiography The Big Sea.