Death of a Salesman Multiple Choice Act 2 – Flashcards
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Where did Biff go early that morning?
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He went to see Mr. Oliver.
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What did Willy want to talk about with Howard?
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He wanted to talk about the New York job.
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What is the result of Willy's conversation with Howard?
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Willy is fired.
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"You can't eat the orange and throw the peel away -- a man isn't a piece of fruit!" Explain why Willy said that.
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He has spent the best years of his life working for the company, and now, in his old age, they are letting him go since there is no use for him.
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Why didn't Willy go with Ben years ago when Ben offered him a job?
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He had inflated his own business worth to Linda, so that when the opportunity came, Linda didn't see the need, since Willy was already on such a great career path.
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Ben says. "What are you building? Lay your hands on it. Where is it?" What is the point of this line?
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Willy hasn't done much worthwhile with his life. He is in debt, he is a failure at business, and his boys appear to be just like him.
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Where does Willy go after his conversation with Howard?
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He goes to see Charley for money to cover his life insurance premium payment.
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Willy wants to find out what went wrong with Biff, why he didn't do anything with his life after the age of 17. Who does he ask?
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He asks Bernard
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What reply does he receive.
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Biff was ready to go to summer school to make up the math class, but when he returned from Boston, he gave up.
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Why can't Willy work for Charley?
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If Willy would work for Charley, he would admit that his whole life had been wrong.
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Biff says, ". . . I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been." What does he mean?
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He realized that he was raised on a false philosophy, and that most of the things that happened were glossed over and made far better than they were. Bill realized that he was a Clerk and a thief.
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What was the result of Biff's meeting with Bill Oliver?
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He got brushed aside. He would never get the money, and he would have no more meetings with Bill Oliver.
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What does Happy want Biff to tell Willy at the restaurant?
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He wants Biff to paint a glossy picture of the meeting with Oliver instead of telling the truth.
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Willy says, ". . . the woods are burning, boys. Can't you understand? There's a big blaze going on all around." What does that mean?
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Willy's world is falling apart. He had lost his job and has no resources. He is getting trapped by the years of lies he has lived.
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What does Willy do while Biff is trying to explain the facts of his meeting with Bill Oliver?
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He daydreams of the time Biff flunked math.
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What did Biff take from Bill Oliver?
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He took a fountain pen.
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Identify Miss Forsythe and Letta.
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They are women who come into the restaurant. Happy is more interested in getting a date with them than in the welfare of his own father.
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Where does Willy go when he begins to daydream in the restaurant?
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He goes to the restroom to compose himself.
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Why can't Biff help Willy?
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They both get frustrated and yell at each other.
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Happy denies that Willy is his father. Why?
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Happy doesn't want the responsibility of caring for Willy.
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What happened in Boston? What do we finally find out is the problem, the secret between Willy and Biff?
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Biff went to talk to his father and walked in on Willy and the woman with whom he was having an affair.
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Why did Biff go to Boston in the first place?
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He went to ask Willy to talk his teacher into changing a grade so he wouldn't have to go to summer school.
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Where does Willy go after he realizes that the boys have left him at the restaurant?
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He buys some carrot seeds for his garden and goes home to plant them.
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Why does Linda knock the flowers to the floor?
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She is furious because the boys left Willy at the restaurant.
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"Willy says, " A man can't go out the way he came in, Ben, a man has got to add up to something." What does he mean.
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He feels like he should have contributed something to the world, and he didn't.
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Why does Willy decide to kill himself?
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He can leave a lot of insurance money to Biff if his death looks like an accident.
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Biff says, "Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?" What is the significance of this line?
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It foreshadows Willy's death.
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What is Willy's response to Biff's whole scene when Biff ends up crying?
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He thinks it is remarkable that Biff actually likes him.
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How does Willy kill himself?
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He speeds away in his car and has a fatal car accident.
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Biff realizes that Willy's philosophy was wrong, and most of Willy's life was made up of illusion. What does he say in the requiem that tells us this?
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"He had all the wrong dreams. All, all wrong."
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Based on the events of the play and our knowledge of the characters, what will probably happen to Biff.
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He will become a productive citizen in the real world.
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What will probably happen to Happy?
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He will become more and more like Willy
