Status Updates From Death of a Salesman

Willy purposely crashes the car, ending his own life after Biff admits to still loving him. Linda (who has stayed by his side and supported him full heartedly) has a moment with his grave to sadly say they finally paid off the mortgage after 25 years

Willy is fired from the company he had worked for after 40 years (he was close with the old boss, but the son runs it now and he fired him). He is worried about how he’ll make any of the insurance payments and doesn’t wish to tell Linda of any of it. Charley offers him a job but Willy refuses, insisting he has a job even though he was fired

Happy is following in his father’s footsteps of sales. He talks about how he wishes to get married and settle down, but he can’t. Biff had a scholarship to college, and would’ve been able to make it if not for losing hope in his own future after seeing his father, the man he admired, cheating on his mother. Now he thinks the only way he can feel happy is as a farmhand, but it doesn’t make enough money.

A lot of the book is Willy having a psychotic break. He imagines Ben, his brother who offered him a chance to go to Alaska with him to hit oil and make a lot of money. But he denied since he’d believed being a salesman would be more stable. He thinks of Charley, who he’s jealous of since he made it big. He talks about his father who made it just by selling flutes.

And he lived there about two months and sold it, and now he's building another one. He can't enjoy it once it's finished. And I know that's just what I would do. I don't know what the hell I'm workin' for. Sometimes I sit in my apartment—all alone. And I think of the rent I'm paying. And it's crazy. But then, it's what I always wanted.
My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I'm lonely.

BIFF: Why? You're making money, aren't you?
HAPPY, moving about with energy, expressiveness: All I can do now is wait for the merchandise manager to die. And suppose I get to be merchandise manager? He's a good friend of mine, and he just built a terrific estate on Long Island.

LINDA, trying to bring him out of it: Willy, dear, I got a new kind of American-type cheese today. It's whipped.
WILLY: Why do you get American when I like Swiss?
LINDA: I just thought you'd like a change
WILLY: I don't want a change! I want Swiss cheese. Why am I always being contradicted?

(Do I know that logically the cheese is likely a metaphor for consumerism… yes. But I find this so funny)

library hold lifted haven’t finished a book for the month of april illiteracy rates climbing