Willy Loman Quotes

(Music is heard as behind a scrim, to the left of the house; The Woman, dimly seen, is dressing.)
WILLY (with great feeling): You’re the best there is, Linda, you’re a pal, you know that? On the road – on the road I want to grab you sometimes and just kiss the life outa you.
(The laughter is loud now, and he moves into a brightening area at the left, where The Woman has come from behind the scrim and is standing, putting on her hat, looking into a "mirror" and laughing.)

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Willy’s deceitful ways are shown here. While he assures Linda how he misses and longs for her while on the road, The Woman he’s been having an affair with is seen laughing and dressing. Willy’s hallucination of her is an expression of his guilty conscience over his betrayal of Linda.

Cause I get so lonely – especially when business is bad and there’s nobody to talk to. I get the feeling that I’ll never sell anything again, that I won’t make a living for you, or a business, a business for the boys. (He talks through The Woman’s subsiding laughter; The Woman primps at the "mirror".) There’s so much I want to make for…

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. The Woman is part of a memory and hallucination that torments Willy. She appears while he is recalling a conversation with his wife Linda some years before. While he assures Linda that he wants to work hard to provide for his family, the stage directions remind us that he is betraying Linda with The Woman.

THE WOMAN: Me? You didn’t make me, Willy. I picked you.
WILLY (pleased): You picked me?
THE WOMAN: (who is quite proper-looking, Willy’s age): I did. I’ve been sitting at that desk watching all the salesmen go by, day in, day out. But you’ve got such a sense of humor, and we do have such a good time together, don’t we?

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. In this scene we have the first encounter between Willy and The Woman he has an illicit affair with. Miller doesn’t give her a name, not provide much information about her character, but she plays a significant role in Biff’s disillusionment with his father. She massages Willy’s ego, telling him she "picked" him for his likability and sense of humor. She represent Willy’s betrayal of his marriage to Linda.

LINDA: Just mending my stockings. They’re so expensive.
WILLY (angrily, taking them from her): I won’t have you mending stockings in this house! Now throw them out! (Linda puts the stockings in her pocket.)

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Willy returns to reality after hallucinating about the The Woman he has been having an affair with. He has gifted The Woman a pair of brand new and expensive stockings, when he cannot even provide for his own wife Linda and family. He lashes out angrily at Linda when he sees her mending her torn stockings. This is Willy being haunted by his own guilty conscience, because the stocking are a reminder of his betrayal of his wife.

LINDA: He’s too rough with the girls, Willy. All the mothers are afraid of him!
WILLY: I’ll whip him!
BERNARD: He’s driving the car without a license!
(The Woman’s laugh is heard.)
WILLY: Shut up!

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. We catch a glimpse of the bad side to Biff’s character from Linda. After reminding Willy that Biff stole the coach’s football, she reveals that the other mothers fear him because he is "too rough" with their daughters. Bernard adds his two cents worth by saying that Biff is driving without a license. As the laughter of The Woman is heard (in a confused Willy’s mind only), Willy responds to hearing the unpleasant truth about his favorite son by screaming at them all to shut up!

You want him to be a worm like Bernard? He’s got spirit, personality.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Willy says this to Linda about Biff, after Bernard warns that if Biff "doesn’t knuckle down he’s flunk maths." Willy doesn’t want his son to become a book worm and nerd like Bernard. But the irony is that Bernard is the one who succeeds as a lawyer as a result of his hard work. After failing high school maths and not graduating Biff doesn’t amount to very much career-wise. His academic failure is foreshadowed here.

I got an awful scare. Nearly hit a kid in Yonkers. God! Why didn’t I go to Alaska with my brother Ben that time! Ben! That man was a genius, that man was success incarnate! What a mistake! He begged me to go!

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. After being caught up in an unpleasant memory about Biff, Willy suddenly snaps back to the present when Happy asks him what brought him back home. Willy explains that he had difficulties driving, then laments that he didn’t go with his brother Ben to Alaska. Willy idealizes his older brother, who achieved prosperity and was the epitome of success, things which eluded Willy throughout his life.

There was a man started with the clothes on his back and ended up with diamond mines!…The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle and comes out, the age of 21, and he’s rich! The world is an oyster, but you don’t crack it open on a mattress!

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Willy is envious of his brother Ben becoming rich by discovering a diamond mine in Africa at the youthful age of 21. Ben is a symbol of the American Dream for Willy. In this conversation with son Happy, Willy uses the metaphor of the world as an oyster to describe how Ben succeeded in cracking it open to find diamonds not by sitting "on a mattress" but through hard work.

BEN: I was going to find Father in Alaska…At that age I had a very faulty view of geography, William. I discovered after a few days that I was heading due south, so instead of Alaska, I ended up in Africa.
LINDA: Africa!
WILLY: The Gold Coast!
BEN: Principally diamond mines.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Willy’s brother Ben is already dead as the play begins and only appears as memory flashbacks or hallucinations, or maybe a mixture of both. In this exchange we learn how Willy’s father abandoned them to go to Alaska. The adventurer Ben went to find him but took a wrong turn and ended up in Africa, where he discovered diamond mines. The story sounds so wild and far-fetched that one wonders if there ever was a Ben, or what parts of his character is Willy just inventing.

WILLY: No! Boys! Boys! (Young Biff and Happy appear.) Listen to this. This is your Uncle Ben, a great man! Tell my boys, Ben!
BEN: Why boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. (He laughs.) And by God I was rich.
WILLY (to the boys): You see what I been talking about? The greatest things can happen!

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Willy’s flashbacks and retreats into the past are a frequent occurrence throughout the play. His deceased brother Ben appears in many of them, in the form of a memory or hallucination. Here Willy is eager for his wealthy brother Ben to tell his boys how he walked into the jungles of Africa a teenager and came out rich at 21. Willy both admires and is envious of his brother’s material success. The legendary Ben, who sounds almost too good to be real, reflects Willy’s idea of the American Dream.

WILLY: You shoulda seen the lumber they brought home last week. At least a dozen six-by-tens worth all kinds a money.
CHARLEY: Listen, if that watchman…
WILLY: I gave them hell, understand. But I got a couple of fearless characters there.
CHARLEY: Willy, the jails are full of fearless characters.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. The kind of moral values Willy has instilled in his sons leaves a lot to be desired. Here Willy’s neighbor Charley has criticized him for sending his boys to a nearby construction site to get sand to rebuild the front porch and they return with stolen timber. Willy proudly boasts about his children’s fearlessness, actually praising and encouraging their stealing. But Charley retorts that the jails are full of fearless characters, foreshadowing that Biff will wind up going to jail for stealing a suit.

Can’t you stay a few days? You’re just what I need, Ben, because I – I have a fine position here, but I – well, Dad left when I was such a baby and I never had a chance to talk to him and I still feel – kind of temporary about myself.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. As Willy speaks to his imaginary older brother Ben, we learn that their father abandoned them when Willy was a baby. While Ben may only be in Willy’s imagination, the feelings of being "temporary" and abandoned are real for Willy, who asks his brother to stay for a few days.

BEN: William, when I walked into the jungle, I was seventeen. When I walked out I was twenty-one. And, by God, I was rich! (He goes off into darkness around the right corner of the house.)
WILLY: …was rich! That’s just the spirit I want to imbue them with! To walk into a jungle! I was right! I was right! I was right!

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. In this imagined conversation with his dead brother, Willy sees Ben’s financial success as the American Dream becoming a reality, hoping his two boys will be inspired by it. Willy wants young Biff and Happy to be like Ben, and not to be afraid to go into life’s metaphorical jungle and create their own success.

WILLY: Whatever happened to that diamond watch fob? Remember? When Ben came from Africa that time? Didn’t he give me a watch fob with a diamond in it?
LINDA: You pawned it, dear. Twelve, thirteen years ago. For Biff’s radio correspondence course.
WILLY: Gee, that was a beautiful thing. I’ll take a walk.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. After having a flashback about his brother Ben, Willy asks Linda what happened to the diamond studded watch fob Ben gave him. We learn that he pawned the family heirloom to pay for one of Biff’s courses that led him nowhere – his son failed to graduate from high school after failing math.

Even your grandfather was better than a carpenter…Go back to the West! Be a carpenter, a cowboy, enjoy yourself!

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. When Biff states that they don’t belong in the city and they should have been on some open plain mixing cement or carpenters, Willy reacts with arrogant pride. Looking down his nose on manual labor, he boasts that Biff’s grandfather was better than a carpenter. Sarcastically he urges his son to go back West and be a carpenter or cowboy. The theme of nature vs city is illustrated here. Willy’s words are also ironic. His own love of nature and working with his hands is shown throughout the play, suggesting that perhaps Willy should have chosen that life instead of being a salesman in New York city.

WILLY: They laugh at me, heh? Go to Filene’s, go to the Hub, go to Slattery’s, Boston. Call out the name Willy Loman and see what happens! Big shot!
BIFF: All right, Pop.
WILLY: Big!
BIFF: All right!

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. In an argument with his son Biff, Willy goes off on another flight of fancy. Blinding himself to reality, he puffs himself up with pride in the belief that he is a very successful salesman. This of course is not true. Willy is a mediocre salesman who has fallen on hard times and is lying to himself.

LINDA: Isn’t that wonderful?
WILLY: Don’t interrupt. What’s wonderful about it? There’s fifty men in the City of New York who’d stake him.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Willy shows great disrespect to his wife when the family are discussing Biff and Happy going into business together. When Linda tries to say something, he doesn’t allow her have a voice and shoots her down. Moments later when Linda against tries to enter the conversation, Willy tells his wife to "Stop interrupting."

BIFF (starting left for the stairs.): Oh, Jesus, I’m going to sleep!
WILLY (calling after him): Don’t curse in this house!
BIFF (turning): Since when did you get so clean?

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Biff has lost complete respect for his father, as evidenced by this exchange between son and father. Willy admonishes Biff for cursing and Biff responds by suggesting that his father is far from lily white. He is referring to Willy’s betrayal of Linda by his affair with The Woman.

HAPPY (grabbing Biff, shouts): Wait a minute! I got an idea. I got a feasible idea. Come here, Biff, let’s talk this over now, let’s talk some sense here. When I was down in Florida last time, I thought of a great idea to sell sporting goods. It just came back to me. You and I, Biff – we have a line, the Loman Line. We train a couple of weeks, and put on a couple of exhibitions, see?
WILLY: That’s an idea!
HAPPY: Wait! We form two basketball teams, see? Two water-polo teams. We play each other. It’s a million dollars’ worth of publicity. Two brothers, see? The Loman Brothers.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Happy and Biff come up with their grandiose version of the American Dream. Lost in a fantasy about their fast track to a glorious future, they see themselves suddenly transported to having their own basketball and water-polo teams and making a fortune selling sporting goods. They are of course deceiving themselves, and are actively encouraged by their eager and equally deluded father.

It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it – because personality always wins the day.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. As Willy imparts advice to Biff for his meeting with Bill Oliver, he misinterprets the American Dream, that one can rise from rags to riches. He sticks to his belief that making that dream a success hinges on presentation and appearance rather than substance. This fits in with the self-deceiving Willy’s creed that being well liked can lead anyone to success.

LINDA (entering her bedroom and addressing Willy, who is in the bathroom. She is straightening the bed for him): Can you do anything about the shower? It drips.
WILLY (from the bathroom): All of a sudden everything falls to pieces. Goddam plumbing, oughta be sued, those people. I hardly finished putting it in and the thing…(His words rumble off.)

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. The American Dream of Willy Loman is falling apart, as evidenced by Linda’s complaint that their shower is no longer working. The shower has seen better days and no longer function properly, just like like Willy himself.

LINDA: I’m just wondering if Oliver will remember him. You think he might?
WILLY (coming out of the bathroom in his pajamas): Remember him? What’s the matter with you, you crazy? If he’d’ve stayed with Oliver he’d be on top by now! Wait’ll Oliver gets a look at him. You don’t know the average caliber any more. The average young man today – (he is getting into bed) – is got a caliber of zero. Greatest thing in the world for him was to bum around.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. A delusional Willy is in denial about Biff. He deceives himself into believing that his son was more than just a humble shipping clerk when he worked for Oliver. To Willy Biff is superior to the regular young man and will impress his former employer Oliver enough for him to invest in Biff’s business idea. Linda indulges Willy’s delusions.

WILLY (unable to resist): And if anything falls off the desk while you’re talking to him – like a package or something – don’t you pick it up. They have office boys for that.
LINDA: I’ll make a big breakfast…
WILLY: Will you let me finish? (To Biff.) Tell him you were in the business in the West. Not farm work.

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Willy teaches his sons that they are superior to everybody else, something he believes will make them successful but in fact makes them unsuccessful. He urges Biff in his meeting with Oliver not to behave like his servant by picking up anything that falls off his desk. Showing his failure as a father, he suggests that Biff lie about being a farm worker and instead say that he has been in business in the West. He also disrespects his wife Linda by rudely interrupting her when she tries to speak,

Like a young god. Hercules – something like that. And the sun, the sun all around him. Remember how he waved to me? Right up from the field, with the representatives of three colleges standing by? And the buyers I brought, and the cheers when he came out – Loman, Loman, Loman! God Almighty, he’ll be great yet. A star like that, magnificent, can never really fade away!

– Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Act 1. A manic Willy switches from depression to elation when son Biff tells him plan to ask former boss Bill Oliver for a loan to buy a ranch. Using similes to compare his son to a "young god" and "Hercules," Willy deceives himself that Biff is invulnerable to failure. Recalling Biff’s high school football hero days, he thinks that his son is too great to fail.
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