Death of a Salesman Lesson Plan

How does Miller use the opening sequences of the play to demonstrate the principal character relationships and conflicts? Who will be Willy's main foil?

The major interpersonal conflict in Death of a Salesman is between Biff Loman and his father. Even before Biff appears on stage, Linda indicates that Biff and Willy are perpetually at odds with one another because of Biff's inability to live up to his father's expectations. Biff has disappeared for long periods at a time, and he always leaves home after a quarrel. Yet both men idealize Biff's childhood, a time when the relationship between the father and son was idyllic. This tells us that the relationship...