Question

Read the passage below, and then answer the question that follows.
Willy Loman seems like the main character in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Certainly, when
Miller wrote the play, he explicitly imagined Willy as a tragic hero, revised for the modern world. The
sad and doomed arc of Willy’s character is powerful—emotionally, intellectually, and aesthetically.
But what if we shift our perspective? How does the meaning of the play change if we view Biff
Loman as the real protagonist of Death of a Salesman, not his doomed father? For one thing, the
tragic ending of the play becomes much more hopeful (Ousborne 250).
Which of the following choices is an example of patchwriting?
1. To reimagine Biff Loman as the “real” protagonist of the play, as this critic does, may make
for a fun discussion. But it’s unfair and unfaithful to Arthur Miller’s intentions. For Miller, Willy
must be the main character and his struggle must be the play’s focus: he is the classical
tragic hero, rewritten in the context of mid-century American capitalism, consumerism, and
mythology. To shift attention away from him undercuts the power and meaning of Death of
a Salesman.
2. Arthur Miller certainly imagined Willy Loman as the main character in Death of a
Salesman when Miller first introduced his new version of a “tragic hero” in 1949. But if we
see Biff Loman as the true hero of the work, rather than the ill-fated Willy, the family’s story
ends on a more hopeful note (Ousborne 250).
3. Willy Loman appears to be the protagonist of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. No
doubt, when the playwright wrote the play, he overtly conceived Willy as a tragic hero, updated for contemporary times. The tragic arc of Willy’s character affects the audience’s
emotions and thoughts powerfully. However, what if we change our viewpoint? How does
the significance of the play get altered if we view Biff Loman as the true main character of
Death of a Salesman, not his suicidal father? If we do, the sad conclusion of the play becomes more optimistic (Ousborne 250).
4. The critic writes that “if we shift our perspective? How does the meaning of the play
change if we view Biff Loman as the real protagonist of Death of a Salesman, not his

Answer 1

Choice 3.

Explanation: It keeps the original's sentence structure and many exact phrasings (e.g., “protagonist…tragedic hero…updated for contemporary times,” the rhetorical questions, and the final contrast about a more optimistic ending) with only minor wording changes—classic patchwriting.