The illusions are of Willy Loman’s creations. Flashbacks help bring the audience closer into the Loman family over the years. Things start out alright for the Loman family, however, over time the family begins to crumble. Using flashbacks to tell the story helps inform the audience about why the show played out the way it did. The preceding flashbacks show positive father and son moments between the two – but in the real time scenes the audience can tell that there is a strain on their relationship. Leading up to this flashback, the audience does not know what happened between Biff and Willy. This discovery permanently damages the relationship between Biff and Willy.

When Biff goes to visit Willy in Boston while he is on a business trip, Biff learns of the Woman that Willy has been seeing over time. For example, one of the most important flashbacks in Death of A Salesman occurs during Act II. The flashbacks help tell the story and fill in the gaps of the intentions of the characters. The flashbacks in the play serve the purpose of better understanding the characters – as well as giving a glimpse into the head of Willy Loman.

These different devices allows for the play to take on a deeper meaning – with more subtext, pieces to put together, and better character interpretation. The play is structured in a few different ways: flashbacks, illusions, and real time events. Death of A Salesman is an American Tragedy written in two acts by Arthur Miller.

Old vs new death of a salesman script