Death of a Salesman
Write a 6-7 page paper on one of the following questions. Remember: use the prompts to help you formulate a more focused topic! You don’t necessarily need to answer every aspect of the prompt.

1. In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller depicts two markedly different models of selfhood: first, the model of the self-made man; and second, the model by which one strives to be, as Willy puts it, “well liked.” Put forth a thesis as to where or when each of these models begins and ends. In other words, does one of them displace the other historically speaking? Or do they exist side by side?
2. Miller juxtaposes the father-son relationships of Willy and Happy and Willy and Biff, on the one hand, and of Charlie and Bernard on the other. Compare and contrast these relationships: What do the differences (or similarities) between them reveal?
3. Death of a Salesman emphasizes the role of the past in the present. If we are to think of the play as a commentary on history and the historical, what is its message? What role does Miller suggest the past plays?
4. Design your own topic. Be careful with this option: You must write on Death of a Salesman and you must come up with a focused, nuanced topic. It behooves you to run your topic by me before you start writing.