Death of a Salesman Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. What kind of work has Willy Loman pursued for most of his career?
Carpentry and home repair
Insurance management
Traveling sales
Restaurant ownership
2. Why does the sight of Linda mending stockings strongly disturb Willy?
It links his financial failures with guilt over giving stockings to the Woman.
It reminds him that Biff stole sporting equipment at school.
It proves that Linda knows the details of his plan involving the rubber hose.
It recalls the stockings his father sold while traveling through the West.
3. Who are Willy and Linda Loman’s two sons?
Bernard and Howard
Biff and Happy
Dave and Stanley
Ben and Charley
4. Ben repeatedly associates success with entering the jungle and emerging with what?
Gold
Timber
Diamonds
Oil
5. During his visit to Bill Oliver’s office, Biff steals a fountain pen. What realization does this episode help bring into focus?
He has exaggerated his former importance and keeps repeating destructive behavior.
Oliver secretly intends to finance the sporting-goods business.
Willy was correct that personal charm guarantees business success.
Happy has already arranged the meeting and hidden it from him.
6. At the end of the play, how do Biff and Happy differ in their responses to Willy’s dream of success?
Biff plans to become a salesman, while Happy decides to run a farm.
Biff and Happy both reject Willy’s values and leave business behind.
Biff tries to break from Willy’s dream, while Happy resolves to continue pursuing it.
Biff and Happy both vow to prove Willy’s business philosophy correct.
7. Which interpretation best explains the significance of the title Death of a Salesman?
It identifies Willy as a nationally famous businessman whose death affects the entire industry.
It emphasizes both Willy’s individual tragedy and a system that can discard workers when they are no longer useful.
It indicates that the play is mainly a mystery about who caused a salesman’s death.
It suggests that Willy dies while successfully completing his most important sale.
8. Willy plants something late at night after realizing that his yard receives little light. What does he plant?
Grass sod
A young elm tree
Rose cuttings
Vegetable seeds
9. Who wrote Death of a Salesman?
Edward Albee
Tennessee Williams
Eugene O’Neill
Arthur Miller
10. Charley repeatedly lends Willy money and offers him a job. What contrast does this create?
Charley’s athletic ambition contrasts with Willy’s academic values.
Charley’s dishonesty contrasts with Willy’s strict commitment to truth.
Charley’s dislike of family life contrasts with Willy’s peaceful home.
Charley’s practical support contrasts with Willy’s pride and fantasies about success.
11. In the Requiem, Linda notes that the final payment on the house has been made. What irony does this detail create?
The family must immediately sell the house to repay Charley.
Willy had secretly paid for a different house in Boston.
The insurance company takes ownership before the funeral.
The home is finally owned outright when Willy is no longer there to share it.
12. Within Willy’s memories and fantasies, what does his brother Ben chiefly represent?
The security of a patient, salaried career
The alluring idea that boldness can produce sudden wealth and greatness
A commitment to education and professional credentials
The peaceful domestic life Willy has consistently chosen
13. In which New York City borough is the Loman family home located?
Queens
Manhattan
Brooklyn
The Bronx
14. Which household object most directly connects Willy’s affair with Linda’s efforts to mend and economize?
The refrigerator
Stockings
The kitchen table
The flute
15. The flute music heard in the play is most closely linked to which part of Willy’s family history?
Willy’s father, who made and sold flutes while traveling
Biff’s high-school victory celebrations
Linda’s childhood interest in music
Happy’s plan to enter the entertainment business
16. Biff discovers an object in the basement that suggests Willy has considered taking his own life. What is it?
A rubber hose
A loaded revolver
An empty medicine bottle
A forged farewell letter