Death of a Salesman (1985 film) a canceled business trip. Worried over Willy's state of mind and recent car crash, his wife Linda suggests that he asks 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, who is visiting, has yet to make good on his life. Despite Biff's promise as an athlete in high school, he flunked senior year math and never went to college. Willy is prone to frequent flashbacks in which he sees events and figures from his past, such as his long-deceased older
Death of a Salesman his standards. The models of business success provided in the play all argue against Willy's "personality theory." One is Charley, Willy's neighbor and apparently only friend. Charley has no time for Willy's theories of business, but he provides for his family and is in a position to offer Willy a do-nothing job to keep him bringing home a salary. (Bloom 51) "Death of a Salesman" first opened on February 10, 1949, to great success. Drama critic John Gassner wrote that “the ecstatic reception accorded "Death of Salesman" has been reverberating for some time wherever there is an ear for theatre,