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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what way does Willy contradict himself in this opening scene?
(a) He first says that Biff is not lazy, then calls him "a lazy bum."
(b) He boasts about his sales, then says he's a hopeless salesman.
(c) He first asks Linda for a sandwich, then says he'll just drink some milk.
(d) Willy first describes Biff as "a lazy bum," then a few seconds later says "Biff--he's not lazy."

2. ___________ says "And, by God, I was rich."
(a) Ketchikan
(b) Ben Loman
(c) Bill Oliver
(d) Willy Loman

3. What does Charley kid Willy about?
(a) Biff's obsession with football.
(b) His weight, calling Willy a 'walrus'.
(c) He pretends to have forgotten Biff's big day of football.
(d) His staying in the same house all those years.

4. To what does Bernard attribute Biff's lack of success after the age of seventeen?
(a) Bernard says people do not trust Biff to commit.
(b) Biff has never trained himself for anything.
(c) Biff has never been well-liked.
(d) Bernard simply has no idea.

5. At what time does Happy give Linda some money?
(a) Thanksgiving
(b) Christmas
(c) Memorial Day
(d) Her birthday

Short Answer Questions

1. Where is the big match to be held?

2. What reason does Biff give Linda for Willy throwing him out?

3. What promise does Willy believe Howard made to him during the Christmas party?

4. Making an inference from Linda's words, what do you think is Angelo's occupation?

5. What great regret does Willy mention to Happy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the way the Loman house is presented when the play begins?

2. In what picturesque way does Linda reinforce for Biff that his father needs support and nurturing?

3. What important idea in the play is referenced by Linda's words, 'He could be--anything--in that suit!"?

4. Explain the significance of Ben's words, "I have many enterprises, William, and I have never kept books."

5. What is it that prevents Willy from accepting the offer of a job from Charley?

6. Comment on the "gay and bright" music that is heard at the beginning of Act 2.

7. What is revealed about Willy during his hallucinatory return to the past?

8. In what sense is Willy ironic when he comments that it is obscene for Biff not to have found himself by the age of thirty-four?

9. What is Happy's attitude to the news that his father is contemplating suicide?

10. What is Willy's mood when he leaves for his interview with Howard Wagner?

(see the answer keys)

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