Death of a Salesman that he ask his boss Howard Wagner to allow him to work in his home city so he will not have to travel. Willy complains to Linda that their son, Biff, has yet to make good on his life. Despite Biff's promising showing as an athlete in high school, he failed in mathematics and was unable to enter a university. Biff and his brother Happy, who is temporarily staying with Willy and Linda after Biff's unexpected return from the West, reminisce about their childhood together. They discuss their father's mental degeneration, which they have witnessed in the form of his
Arthur Miller to his "Collected Plays", his reflections on the theory of tragedy, comments on the McCarthy Era, and pieces arguing for a publicly supported theater. Reviewing this collection in the "Chicago Tribune," Studs Terkel remarked, "in reading [the "Theater Essays"]...you are exhilaratingly aware of a social critic, as well as a playwright, who knows what he's talking about." In 1983, Miller traveled to China to produce and direct "Death of a Salesman" at the People's Art Theatre in Beijing. The play was a success in China and in 1984, "Salesman in Beijing," a book about Miller's experiences in Beijing, was published.