Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Who dies, and what happens at the burial at the end of the Death of a Salesman?

At the end of Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, the main character throughout the story, commits suicide in an automobile accident and dies. Willy commits this act to allow his family to cash in on his 20,000 dollar life insurance policy so that his son Biff can get the money he needs to start his own business. Willy hopes that many people will attend the funeral, and Biff will see that Willy was actually someone popular and worth while knowing, and that this will cause Biff to realize that Willy was an important and successful salesman despite the fact that Biff caught his father cheating on his mother during a flashback earlier in the story. Sadly, only close family and friends attend the funeral, and the story ends with the family and their neighbors, Bernard and Charlie, standing at Willy's grave. During this scene, Biff tells the family he plans to leave town, while Happy, Willy's other son, tells everyone he will stay in New York and pursue Willy's dream of making a successful living in sales. The narrative ends with Willy's wife Linda pleading and asking why Willy would do this. Ironically, she confesses to paying off their house in full, a house that is now empty, with the insurance money from Willy's death.


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