Act II of Death of a Salesman

E592651

Act II of Death of a Salesman is the pivotal middle section of Arthur Miller’s classic play in which Willy Loman’s illusions increasingly collide with reality, driving the drama toward its tragic climax.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Act II of Death of a Salesman canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf act of a play
centralTheme conflict between illusion and reality
failure of the American Dream
family conflict
personal responsibility
dramaticFunction builds toward the tragic climax
pivotal middle section of the play
featuresCharacter Bernard
Biff Loman
Charley
Happy Loman
Howard Wagner
Letta
Linda Loman
Miss Forsythe
Stanley
The Woman
Willy Loman
follows Act I of Death of a Salesman
linked to: Death of a Salesman
leadsTo Willy Loman's suicide in the Requiem
narrativeTechnique expressionistic shifts between past and present
use of flashbacks
partOf Death of a Salesman
plotEvent Biff and Happy abandon Willy in the restaurant
Biff and Willy have a climactic confrontation at home
Biff attempts to meet Bill Oliver
Biff breaks down and cries in front of Willy
Biff realizes he has been living a lie about his past success with Bill Oliver
Biff steals Bill Oliver's fountain pen
Biff tries to tell Willy the truth about his failures
Flashback reveals Biff discovering Willy's affair in Boston
Howard Wagner fires Willy Loman
Linda confronts Biff and Happy for deserting Willy
Willy and his sons plan a celebratory dinner at Frank's Chop House
Willy asks Howard Wagner for a non-traveling job
linked to: Willy

Willy decides on suicide to provide life insurance money
Willy interprets Biff's tears as proof of love
Willy learns Bernard is successful
Willy retreats into denial during the restaurant scene
linked to: Willy

Willy visits Charley for money
precedes Requiem of Death of a Salesman
linked to: Death of a Salesman
settingPlace Charley's office
Frank's Chop House
Howard Wagner's office
New York City
Willy Loman's house
settingTime one day
tone increasingly tense and tragic
workBy Arthur Miller

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Charley appearsInAct Act II of Death of a Salesman
Howard Wagner appearsInAct Act II of Death of a Salesman