Act 3 of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”In the final act of Death of a Salesman, while standing at the graveside of his father, Biff tells his brother, Happy, that Biff knows who he is. But does he? Does Happy? By claiming that, finally, Biff knows who he is, Biff sets himself apart from his dead father, Willy Loman, declaring that Willy “never knew who he was.â€If you were to argue whether or not one of Willy’s sons has come to a better understanding of himself through Willy’s death, what line from the play would you use to illustrate and support your argument? Why?Reflecting back on Willy’s actions and dialogue in the play, do you agree or disagree with Biff? Why? What two (2) quotes from Willy Loman’s dialogue in the previous two (2) acts supports your position?How does Willy’s dilemma in the play relate to his sons?How does Willy’s dilemma in the play, and Willy’s relationship with his sons, particularly with Biff, relate to a larger theme in the play?What two (2) quotes from Biff or Happy illustrate a similarity or difference between father and son?Why is the idea of self-knowledge so important to the play’s conclusion? How might the struggle of the play’s characters with self-knowledge relate to you, to an audience?******* In an essay of no fewer than 500 words, supported by no fewer than two (2) quotes each from two (2) different characters, totaling no fewer than four (4) quotes from character dialogue, analyze how the character of Willy Loman and/or that of his sons illustrates a larger theme of the play, explaining how or why that theme remains relevant to audiences today.
