The protagonist is a salesman. He believes that he can succeed with a pleasant personality. His employer exploits and squeezes him and finally ditches him when he becomes old and is no longer able to meet targets.
The hero becomes a role-model for his sons. They too fail. The hero finally commits suicide by crashing his car, aiming that at least his sons will benefit by the insurance money.
The story evokes sympathy for the hero.
The following list shows that out of the 23 nouns ending in 'ness' in the play, 18 are 'business'. The word 'business' is the Central theme of the play.
The word 'ruddiness' draws our special attention. Ruddiness means redness. Faces can become red when people become angry or emotionally upset.
CHOICE BOX
1--Business
2--Business
3--business
4--business
5--business
6--business
7--business
8--business
9--business
10--business
11--business
12--business
13--business
14--business
15--business
16--business
17--business
18--business
19--darkness
20--darkness
21--greatness
22--ruddiness
23--shallowness
SENTENCE BOX
1-- Shipping clerk, salesman, ____of one kind or another.
2-- Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the ____ world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him.
3-- Because the man who makes an appearance in the ____world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead.
4-- My God, if ____don’t pick up I don’t know what I’m gonna do!
5-- From the ____is heard the laughter of a woman.
6-- The laughter is loud now, and he moves into a brightening area at the left, where The Woman has come from behind the scrim and is standing, putting on her hat, looking into a »mirror« and Cause I get so lonely — especially when ____is bad and there’s nobody to talk to.
7-- I get the feeling that I’ll never sell anything again, that I won’t make a living for you, or a business, a ____for the boys.
8-- I’ll take some of your Portland ____is bad, it’s murderous.
9-- He goes off into ____around the right corner of the house.
10-- She says he came to that little bridge, and then deliberately smashed into the railing, and it was only the ____ of the water that saved him.
11-- The trouble with you in ____was you never tried to please people.
12-- I’ll tell you something that I hate so say, Biff, but in the ____world some of them think you’re crazy.
13-- Screw the ____world!
14-- And who in the ____world thinks I’m crazy?
15-- A ____suit, and talk as little as possible, and don’t crack any jokes.
16-- Tell him you were in the ____in the West.
17-- He starts Because you got a ____in you, Biff, remember that.
18-- HOWARD ‘Cause you gotta admit, ____is business.
19-- ____is definitely business, but just listen for a minute.
20-- Just a short ____trip.
21-- When he walks into a ____office his name will sound out like a bell and all the doors will open to him!
22-- I think we’re going into ____together.
23-- Used to be so full of light, and comradeship, the sleigh-riding in winter, and the ____on his cheeks.
ANSWERS
1==business ;
2==business ;
3==business ;
4==business ;
5==darkness ;
6==business ;
7==business ;
8==Business ;
9==darkness ;
10==shallowness ;
11==business ;
12==business ;
13==business ;
14==business ;
15==business ;
16==business ;
17==greatness ;
18==business ;
19==Business ;
20==business ;
21==business ;
22==business ;
23==ruddiness -- MEANS REDNESS, here: redness of face.
