Willy comes home in the middle of the night after turning back from his sales trip. What does that opening plot turn establish?

Linda urges Willy to ask Howard for work in New York instead of more traveling. What immediate purpose does that suggestion serve?

Upstairs, Biff and Happy talk about ranch work, jobs, and their father's condition. What plan grows out of their conversation?

In the high-school memory, Bernard keeps warning Biff to study for math. What later problem does this scene prepare the audience to notice?

During the card game, Charley offers Willy a job. How does Willy answer that offer?

Linda tells the sons that Willy borrows from Charley and pretends the money is his pay. What does this reveal?

After Linda tells Biff and Happy about the rubber hose, what choice does Biff make that night?

Willy first calls Biff lazy, then quickly insists that Biff is not lazy. What does that contradiction reveal about Willy?

Biff says he feels happy doing outdoor work but ashamed when he comes home. Why does home make him feel that way?

Happy brags about his apartment, job, and women, yet he admits he feels lonely and dissatisfied. What motive does this expose?

When Willy becomes upset by Linda mending stockings, Linda stops. What does her choice show?

In the football memory, Willy praises Biff for taking a school football. What kind of parenting choice is Willy making?

Linda defends Willy to Biff and Happy while admitting he is not perfect. Why does she defend him so fiercely?

Linda says, “Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person.” What is she demanding from her sons?

Linda says, “A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man.” What idea does that line express?

Willy complains, “Bricks and windows, windows and bricks.” What does that repeated image make the house feel like?

Willy teaches young Biff, “Be liked and you will never want.” What value is he teaching?

Willy says Bernard is “liked, but he's not well liked.” What does that distinction do in the scene?

The staging lets memory figures move through walls that present-day characters treat as solid. What effect does this convention create?

Flute music is heard before Willy enters and is associated with his father. What dramatic function does it serve in Act 1?

When Willy speaks with teen Biff while the present house remains visible, which dramatic technique is mainly at work?

During the card game, Willy answers Charley and also speaks to Ben. What does this staging show?

The Woman's laughter is heard while Willy talks with Linda, just before he scolds her for mending stockings. What is the effect of that sound cue?

Stockings appear with Linda and in Willy's memory of The Woman. What motif develops through that repeated object?

Ben's jungle-and-diamonds story fascinates Willy. What version of the American Dream does it hold out?