Arthur Miller, in his play, Death of a Salesman, portrays how different people view the American dream. At the beginning of the play, Willy and Linda discuss Willy’s day and the fact that he struggled while driving to the city. Linda suggests that maybe the steering was bad on the car, but Willy insisted, “I was driving along, and I was fine…and then all the sudden I’m going off the road.” This conversation between Linda and Willy foreshadows that something bad will happen while Willy is driving to work.
We are also introduced to Linda and Willy’s children, Happy and Biff. Through this reading, we learn that Biff and Happy came home for visit, but have intentions of moving out west to farm. Through discussions between Happy and Biff, it is clear that Happy has established himself as an individual, but Biff is still just settling for a job and not a career.
Meanwhile, Willy goes to the kitchen to get a snack before bed. While in the kitchen, Willy is constantly talking to himself. The talking begins as mumbling, but soon it appears that Willy is having a full on conversation as if someone else were present in the room. Although not present in the room, Willy seems to be warning Biff as he says, “Just wanna be careful with those girls…you want to watch your schooling first.” Through these lines, it is revealed that maybe something happened to Biff and there is a reason why he is now at home. Did his father warn him to focus on school, and he didn’t listen, thus making a failure of himself? Also, the fact that Willy is speaking to himself symbolizes some sort of mental disorder, possibly related to trauma from past events.
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