Unit 4
Nothing is Certain: Death, Taxes, and Dreams

Week Breakdown

• Monday the 7th

  • Review "Death and Taxes" quote from Benjamin Franklin and how it relates to the American Dream's promises.

  • Take notes on Arthur Miller, his work, his life and his commentary on the US.

  • Write down Lexicon #39: Tragic Hero in your notebook.

  • Start reading, annotating, and discussing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, specifically pages 1-15.

• Tuesday the 8th

  • Take notes on the role of the salesman.

  • Write down Lexicon #40: The rat race in your notebook. 

  • Watch the 1940s film Hired! a Chevrolet training video, taking notes on how salesman conduct business and the importance of mentorship.

  • Start tracking the play's narrative by creating a chart that speaks to the present, the past, and the deep past. 

  • Continue reading, annotating, and discussing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, specifically pages 15-21.

• Wednesday the 9th

  • Take notes on who Adonis was to understand the reference in Death of a Salesman. 

  • Continue reading, annotating, and discussing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, specifically pages 21-37.

• Thursday the 10th

  • Briefly analyze the Charles Cooley quote on identity. What do you think it means?

  • Write down Lexicon #41: Persona in your notebook.

  • Read the side note on Willy's "anemic" comments and what they mean. Take note of how Willy perceives masculinity throughout the play.

  • Preview Notebook entry #9: Tracing the Truth in Act 1, which we will complete Friday the 11th.

  • Continue reading, annotating, and discussing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, specifically pages 35-51. We'll try to finish it today, but if we can't Friday, we'll wrap up Act 1.

  • Be sure to be continually following the time jumps in our tracking the narrative chart!

• Friday the 11th

  • Finish reading, annotating, and discussing Act 1 of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (45-51).

  • Finish filling out Tracking the Narrative chart for Act 1, pages 1-51.

  • Bonus content: References to Death of a Salesman in the hit sitcom Seinfeld.

  • Complete Notebook entry #9: Tracing the Truth in Act 1 in your notebook.

Week Breakdown

• Monday the 28th

  • Watch Act 1 of Death of a Salesman, specifically 0:00 to 1:00:00 for a review of what's happened in the play. 

  • Answer the Notebook response question: Lights, Camera, Loman in your notebook after watching.

• Tuesday the 29th

  • We will have time to respond to Notebook response: Lights, Camera, Loman.

  • Predict what think the focus is of the play thus far.

  • Read, annotate, and discuss pages 52-68 of Death of a Salesman, Act 2. 

  • Fill out Act 2's Tracking the Narrative as we read.