DOAS Events of the play
Stage directions setting the scene
Willy arrives home and Linda tells him to get a job in New York
Biff and Happy discuss Willy's mental state and their futures
Past: Willy remembers how his sons admired him as teenagers
Continued Past: Willy and Linda discuss Willy's earnings
Double Exposure Past: His failure reminds him of his affair with the woman
Willy plays cards with Charley and they discuss Willy's money but Ben interjects
Linda justifies Willy's mental state, almost blaming Biff
Linda tells the boys about Willy's suicide attempts
The boys tell Willy their business plan to go to Bill Oliver
Biff discovers the rubber pipe
Willy Loman ,the tragic hero is a traveling salesman, but he explains to Linda, that he has come home early because he keeps forgetting that he is driving.
They have contrasting attitudes of success and of women. Happy is misogynistic and values business success whereas Biff misses his life on the Ranch
The Lomans get ready for Biff's big football game that will get him into university and Biff's chain of thefts begins with the basketballs
The woman interjects Willy's memory of the past as his guilt is brought up and Linda mending the stockings makes Willy furious
Ben interrupts the present, making Willy half in the past and half in the present with Charley as he remembers the opportunity he missed with Ben
She argues attention must be paid to him and that he should still be loved and appreciated despite his small success
Biff is self-reproachful but Linda doesn't want to address the situation and hurt Willy's pride
Willy gives the boys contradictory advice about what to do and to get a big loan
confirms Willy's suicide attempts
Act 2 Begins
The boys have gone to see Bill Oliver
the stage directions sets a hopeful scene in contrast and Willy introduces the motifs of seeds to emphasise this hope
Willy goes to Howard to ask for a job in New York and is fired
Willy is cut down form sixty five dollars a week in worth and eventually his anger at Howard's disinterest loses him his job
Willy has memories of Ben and one of Biff's football games which Charley and Bernard came to
Willy goes to Charley's office where he finds Bernard, now a successful lawyer
Willy expresses his feelings of failure to Bernard and Charley who again tries to offer him a job which Willy is too proud to accept
Ben relays his ideas of success which contradict with the memories of Biff's success
Happy and Biff meet at the restaurant and Biff says he stole Bill Oliver's pen
Biff is a failure and wants to wake Willy up to that fact but Happy says they can't and they meet two women
Willy arrives and tries to look for some good news
Biff tells Willy he is a failure and Happy only cares for the girls
Willy relives when Biff discovered his affair
the boys leave the restaurant with the girls during this memory Willy has
Willy wants to escape Biff's past failure so we are taken back to a similar giving up of hope in the inciting incident
They all arrive home and Linda is furious at the boys for leaving their father
Happy doesn't seem to care but Biff breaks down and believes the only thing he can do now is leave Willy
Willy plants some seeds in the garden and is talking to Ben
he talks about the diamonds that are his life insurance
Biff has an anagnorisis and breaks down in tears in front of Willy
Biff realises who he is and wants Willy to see it but he won't but when he cries Willy realises Biff truly loves him
Willy having a last conversation with Ben and he has made up his mind
Willy's suicide
Requiem
Willy follows Ben into the darkness
he crashes his car on purpose
the character's discuss Willy's life and they all will do different things in response. Biff will follow his true path, Happy will win the business world and Linda will be free