Death of a Salesman follows the main character, Willy, an elder, unsuccessful salesman, who is slowly losing his sanity. Often through the play, he confuses the past for the present, reminiscing about the good-old-days when his boys were in high school, a bright future ahead of them.
At the start of the play, Willy arrives home from a canceled business trip. His wife, Linda, suggests that Willy ask his boss, Howard Wagner, for work closer to home, giving his instability and recent car crash.
Willy then complains about the career state of their son, Biff, who, despite having a promising future in high school, never attended collage because he flunked math.
Biff and his brother Happy were currently staying at their parent's place. That night, they talked about the
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The next day, Willy talks to his boss on his wife's wish, hoping to get work closer to the city. His boss turns him down, saying that he is getting too old and should no longer represent the company, which lead him to get fired.
Biff's side of the story was no better, waiting hours for an appointment to get turned down, and impulsively stealing a pen at his exit.
Afterward, Biff, Happy, and Willy were to meet at a restaurant in hopes to celebrate their success. Biff tried to explain to his father that he simply didn't get the preposition, but his father would not take the bad news. During this, Willy slips into flashback to the time Biff visited him in Boston to admit to him that he had failed math. Instead of getting the guidance Biff had expected from his father, he had stumbled upon his father having an affair.
This angered Biff, and ultimately changed his life. Due to his anger over his father, he did not attend summer school, so he never graduated high school, and never entered collage.
Willy had linked his son's downfall to his own doing. Biff and Happy leave the restaurant, leaving Willy