¡Death of a Salesman Discussion Area #1!

What are Willy Loman's obsessions? What effects-positive and negative-do they have on his life? What else do you know about Willy's personality? How does Miller characterize him? How do you know?

Or

Pick one character from the first act of the play other than Willy. What role does this character seem to play? Is he/she a foil? If so, what is that character meant to emphasize about Willy? If not a foil, what purpose might that character be serving?