INDEPENDENT NOVEL PACKET FOR:

ASSIGNMENTS &

ACTIVITIES

English II –

FALL 2017

Important Note: Some assignments require that you conduct independent research in order to complete the assignments and better understand the setting, characters, and plot (taught to you during earlier grade levels) of the play.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1Calendar of Assignments 2 Scoring Chart 3Vocabulary 4Pre-Reading Research (Oral Report) 5Pre-Reading Discussion Questions 6Act One Questions 7Act One Stage Setting 8Act One Character Sketch Assignments 9Act Two Questions 10Act Two News Article 11Act Two Character Casting Chart 12Requiem Questions 13Requiem - Eulogy 14Viewpoints on Life Narrative Essay 15Information Sheets and Worksheets WA-WI

INTRODUCTION

America has long been known as a land of opportunity. Out of that thinking comes the "American Dream," the idea that anyone can ultimately achieve success, even if he or she began with nothing.

In Arthur Miller'sDeath of a Salesman, we follow Willy Loman as he reviews a life of desperate pursuit of a dream of success. In this classic drama, the playwright suggests to his audience both what is truthful and what is illusory in the American Dream and, hence, in the lives of millions of Americans. Unusual in its presentation of a common man as a tragic figure, the play received the Pulitzer Prize as well as the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award when it was produced and published in 1949. About the writing of the play, Miller says, "I wished to create a form which, in itself as a form, would literally be the process of Willy Loman's way of mind." To accomplish this, Miller uses the sense of time on stage in an unconventional way to illustrate that, for Willy Loman, ". . . the voice of the past is no longer distant but quite as loud as the voice of the present."

Ever since it was first performed in 1949, Death of a Salesman has been recognized as a milestone of the American theater. In the person of Willy Loman, the aging, failing salesman who makes his living riding on a smile and a shoeshine, Arthur Miller redefined the tragic hero as a man whose dreams are at once insupportably vast and dangerously insubstantial. He has given us a figure whose name has become a symbol for a kind of majestic grandiosity—and a play that compresses epic extremes of humor and anguish, promise and loss, between the four walls of an American living room. Although he denies any direct intent to make a political statement about the capitalist way of life in the United States, Miller brings the American Dream onto the stage for evaluation.

Arthur Miller was born in New York City in 1915 and studied at the University of Michigan. His plays include All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman(1949), The Crucible (1953), A View from the Bridge and A Memory of Two Mondays (1955), After the Fall (1963), Incident at Vichy (1964), The Price(1968), The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972) and The American Clock. He has also written two novels, Focus (1945), and The Misfits, which was filmed in 1960, and the text for In Russia (1969), Chinese Encounters (1979), and In the Country (1977), three books of photographs by his wife, Inge Morath. More recent works include a memoir, Timebends (1987), and the plays The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (1991), The Last Yankee (1993),Broken Glass (1993), which won the Olivier Award for Best Play of the London Season, and Mr. Peter's Connections (1998). His latest book is On Politics and the Art of Acting. Miller was granted with the 2001 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He has twice won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and in 1949 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

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Death of a Salesman Independent Reading AssignmentsScoring Chart

Assignment Descriptions Question & Answer

Assignments

WritingAssignments

Charts and Graphic

Assignments

Total Points Earned

Pre-Reading Discussion Questions

/25

Act 1 Review Questions /25

Act 2 Review Questions /25

Requiem Review Questions /25

Character Sketch /30

News Article /35

Eulogy /35

Setting Sketch /25 /25

Character Sketch Graphic Organizer

/25 /25

Direct/Indirect Characterization

/25 /25

Character Casting Chart /25 /25

Total Points for Question/Answer Assignments

/100

Total Points for Writing Assignments

/100

Total Points for Charts and Graphics Assignments

/100

COMBINED SCORE /300

Additional AssignmentsPRE-READING ORAL REPORT: 2-MINUTES 100 pts.VIEWPOINTS ON LIFE: Narrative Essay 100 pts.

3Vocabulary

Vocabulary that appears in the play with which you may be unfamiliar:

Adonises: (an allusion to Adonis, a Greek god) extremely handsome young men

anemic: pale, bloodless, unhealthy

audacity: fearlessness, boldness, daring

avidly: enthusiastically

bashful: shy, easily embarrassed

crestfallen: disappointed

enthralled: captivated

evasively: in an intentionally ambiguous or vague manner

feasible: possible, realistic

grub verb: to dig around, to beg

ignoramus: an ignorant or stupid person

imbue: to permeate, to inspire

incarnate: the physical embodiment of

incipient: in an initial phase, beginning to happen

jovial: cheerful, joyful

laconic: using or involving the use of a minimum of words :  concise  to the point of seeming rude or mysterious

A Note about VOCABULARY: The words noted above are words that appear in the play with which you may not be familiar. Any words that appear in the packet, however, are words with which you should be familiar at this grade level; consequently, it is expected that you will look in the dictionary for definitions of words that are unknown to you.

4DUE DATE FOR ORAL DELIVERY: 10/25/17

Pre-Reading Research (RESEARCH ARTICLES CAN BE FOUND ON pp. WE-WI at the end of this packet)

ACTIVITYDeath of a Salesman was written by Arthur Miller in 1949 and is set both in Yonkers, New York and in New England during the same time period. Explore the setting in detail using the following topics:

Political climate:Suggested research areaso In what major conflicts was the U.S. involved? o Who was president and how did he approach these conflicts?

News EventsSuggested research areaso Which events appeared in the national news at this time?

Family infrastructure Suggested research areaso What roles did men and women have in the home or in society? o Were these roles the way they had always been or were they

changing? Economy

Suggested research areaso Consider comparing costs of familiar items [milk, gas, food, rent,

etc.] to help put the economy in perspective.o Was the U.S. economy healthy or not?

Style and FashionSuggested research areas

o What were some types of clothing, hairstyles, etc. that were prevalent during the time period?

After reviewing the attached information about the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, present your findings to the class in the form of a 2-minute oral report. The oral report can be relaxed and informal but creative.

PLEASE CHECK THE CALENDAR FOR THE DATE THAT ORAL REPORTS WILL BE CONDUCTED.

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Pre-Reading Discussion Questions: DUE DATE MONDAY, 10/23/17

In preparation for reading Death of a Salesman, respond to the following questions with thoughtful and well-developed answers.

WRITE YOUR ANSWERS ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF LOOSE-LEAFED PAPER with a proper heading. NUMBER your answers appropriately; you are not required to write the questions, but your answer must include references to ALL PARTS of the questions. (The inclusion of multi-part questions, such as below, is to guide you in your analysis of each question. Do not include separate responses for multipart questions.)

1. How is he American Dream characteristic of American ideals and philosophy? What are the differences between the materialistic and the idealistic values associated with the American Dream?

2. What was happening economically and socially in the United States in 1949? Was it fairly easy or difficult to get a job? What was America’s standing in the world?

3. What is your definition of a salesman? How is a salesman different from someone in another occupation? What attitudes do you think a salesman should have to be successful? What attitudes would hinder him?

4. What effect do the expectations of parents have on the behavior of their children? In what way s might parental expectations be beneficial? In what ways might they be detrimental?

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Responses to all questions will be assessed for skills in advanced complex analysis , advanced complex synthesis , and advanced writing skills . Responses must be in well-

developed (7+ sentences) paragraph format.

ACT ONE - (DUE DATE MONDAY, 10/30/17)

Act 1 Questions: Responses may be handwritten or typed. Your responses must be developed using complete, complex sentences. Do not write the question, but be sure to number your responses and incorporate the questions into your answers.

PLEASE NOTE: The inclusion of multi-part questions, such as below, is to guide you in your analysis of each question. Do not include separate responses for multipart questions.

1. Why is Willy home? Why is Linda alarmed that he’s home?

2. Why is Willy annoyed at Biff? How does he describe Biff? What does this tell us

about Willy?

3. How does Linda treat Willy? How do the boys feel about him?

4. How does Willy act toward the boys when they are young? How do they act toward him? How does Willy feel about Charley and Bernard?

5. What does Willy’s reaction to Biff ’s theft of the football tell us about Willy? He says the boys look like “Adonises”. What other clues show that Willy believes in appearances?

6. Willy tells Linda that he’s very well liked, and then says that people don’t seem to take to him. What do these inconsistencies tell us about Willy?

7. How does Linda take Willy’s stories? What does this reveal about her? Why does Willy make a fuss about Linda’s mending stockings? How is this important to the play?

8. Why does Charley visit? How does he feel about Willy? How and why do they insult each other?

9. Who is Ben? Why does Ben appear? What does Willy think about the future? About the past?

10.What does Linda think is the trouble with Willy’s life? Why is she angry at her sons? Why does she put the rubber hose back after she had taken it? What does this tell about her?

11.Why is Willy interested when Biff mentions Bill Oliver? Why do they argue? How does Happy try to capture attention?

(Reminder; Be sure to put your name on your work!!)

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ACT ONE – SETTING – DRAW A STAGE SETTING(DUE DATE MONDAY, 10/30/17)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Setting

Stage hands are required to closely follow a drawing or model of the stage when setting up for a play. Every detail, even the smallest item, is important. In the stage directions that open Act One, Arthur Miller clearly delineates the setting of the initial scene. Using Miller’s description, draw a model of the stage. Carefully read Miller’s stage setting, and pay close attention to detail. Be sure to include the following details in your drawing:

Small home surrounded by towering cityscape Rooms: kitchen, an “unseen” living room, master bedroom, boys’

bedroom Door on left side of house Silver trophy Kitchen table and three chairs, refrigerator

Follow Miller’s description to add additional details, not listed above, and to properly position all rooms and items on the stage.

The example on the following page should give you an idea of how a stage setting should be sketched.

SEE THE SAMPLE IN WORKSHEETS: pg. WA

NOTICE THAT ALL OF THE SMALLEST DETAILS ARE INCLUDED IN THE STAGE SETTING; CONSEQUENTLY, EVERY DETAILED THAT MILLER MENTIONS IN THE SETTING MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE DIAGRAM.

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ACT ONE(DUE DATE Monday, 11/6/17)

Character Sketch Graphic Organizer, Direct/Indirect Characterization Chart, 1-page Character Sketch & Monologue

After reading the first act of Death of a Salesman, you probably have a good sense of the personalities of the members of the Loman family. Follow the directions below to present a 2-minute oral character sketch (monologue) in which you will “become” the character. At the time of your oral sketch, you must also submit:

Direct/Indirect Characterization Chart, Character Sketch Graphic Organizer (p. WB-WC), 1-page Character Sketch.

Imagine that you are one of the characters from the play. You may choose one member from the Loman family: Willy, Linda, Biff, or Happy.

Character Sketch Graphic Organizer: Go back through the first act and list all the details on your “Character Sketch Graphic Organizer” that you can find about your character. (p. WB)

Complete the Direct/Indirect Characterization Chart. (p. WC)

1-page Character Sketch: On looseleaf paper, write (typed is acceptable) a 1-page sketch from the perspective of your character that begins with the statement, “I am ___________________”. Include the character’s perspective of himself/herself; for example, Willy struggles with his worth as a salesman; Linda strives to be in your oral sketch. the perfect wife and mother; Biff worries about his future and about his father sees him. These perspectives should be included in your monologue. As the character himself/herself, your monologue should convey the feelings, frustrations, dreams, etc. of the character.

After analyzing your character through these 3 activities, you should have reached a better understanding of your character’s personality, traits, emotions, and motivations to create your monologue. The monologue should be prepared in advance but YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO USE NOTES OR INDEX CARDS FOR YOUR MONOLOGUE. You can create a fictional scenario in which your character reacts to a set of circumstances, you can ask a classmate to represent another character to whom you are speaking directly (but only you can speak – remember, a monologue is one speaker. Use your imagination.

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Responses to all questions will be assessed for skills in advanced complex analysis , advanced complex synthesis , and advanced writing skills . Responses must be in well- developed (7+ sentences) paragraph format.

ACT TWO(DUE DATE MONDAY, 11/13/17)

Act 2 Questions: Responses may be handwritten or typed. Your responses must be developed using complete, complex sentences. Do not write the question, but be sure to number your responses and incorporate the questions into your answers.

1. Why is Willy’s mood upbeat at the start of Act Two? What does he expect to

happen?

2. Why does Howard tell Willy to drop off his samples and forbid him to go to Boston? Why is this such a blow to Willy?

3. What is Willy’s philosophy? How does Biff as a football hero embody his father’s dreams? Why does Charley say Willy hasn’t grown up?

4. What is Willy’s impression of Bernard when he sees him in his father’s office? Why does Willy exaggerate Biff ’s importance? Why does Bernard ask what happened after the game at Ebbets Field?

5. Why won’t Willy work for Charley? Why is Willy able to ask Charley for money? How is Charley’s view of what a salesman needs different from Willy’s view?

6. In the restaurant, how does Happy reflect Willy’s values? Why does Miller have the girls come in? Why do Biff and Happy Leave Willy at the restaurant?

7. How does Biff ’s realization that his life is a lie underline the theme of the play? Why does Biff take Bill Oliver’s fountain pen? Why can’t he tell his father what happened with Bill Oliver?

8. Why did Biff go to Boston? What does he discover when he sees the Woman? Why is it that Biff never went to summer school? Why can’t he believe in his father?

9. Why does Linda tell the boys, “Get out of here, both of you, and don’t come

back!”?

10.Why doesn’t Willy want to see Linda? Why does he think Biff is spiting him? Why does Biff show him the rubber hose? Why does Biff confront Willy and Happy?

10 ACT TWO – WRITE A NEWS ARTICLE

(DUE DATE WEDNESDAY, 11/15/17)

ACT TWOIn Act Two, Biff reveals that he stole an ink pen from Bill Oliver. A bit later he shocks everyone with the revelation that he has been fired from every job he’s ever had because he has stolen things and has served jail time for theft.

Pretend that Bill Oliver discovers the theft of his pen and accurately casts the blame on Biff, creating a very public reaction. Imagine that you are a reporter for the Yonkers City Newspaper, and you have been assigned the story on Biff Loman and his larcenous ways. The following are tips that journalists use when writing a news article:

֍ A news article provides key information about a recent event. It should answer the questions of “Who?”, “What?”, “When?”, “Where?”, “Why?”, and “How?”

֍ Most news articles are told in the inverted pyramid form. An inverted pyramid story begins with the most important information in the first paragraph and ends with the least important information in the last paragraph.

֍ The first paragraph should begin with a strong “lead” or a sentence that intrigues the reader and gives them a reason to keep reading.

֍ Paragraphs in a news article should be concise. Imagine them in print. A person reading a newspaper does not want to read huge blocks of tense text; rather, he/she would want to have the text broken up into smaller segments to provide some visual relief.

With these tips in mind, write an account of Biff Loman’s past and present. Try to be as fair and impartial as you can. Articles should be approximately one typed page in length.

(TIP: Read several of the news articles from the newspapers in the classroom to get an idea of how news articles are written.)

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ACT TWO(DUE DATE FRIDAY, 11/17/17)

CHARACTER CASTING CHART – p. WD

You are Hollywood producer and plan to produce a film version of Arthur Miller’s stage drama Death of a Salesman. Since Death of a Salesman is your personal favorite, you are concerned about how true it is to Miller’s original version; therefore, you plan to oversee casting yourself.

Using the CHARACTER CASTING CHART in the Worksheets section, your job is to analyze the characters and identify specific physical and psychological traits IN DETAIL for the main characters in the novel; then, chose a modern actor for each character. In addition to physical and psychological characteristics, also think about how the actors you choose might interact with each other in various scenes.

Your Character Casting Chart must reflect your attention to detail. Brief or general descriptions will not earn any credit.

12Responses to all questions will be assessed for skills in advanced complex analysis , advanced complex synthesis , and advanced writing skills . Responses must be in well- developed (7+ sentences) paragraph format.

REQUIEM(DUE DATE FRIDAY, 11/27/17)

Requiem Questions: Responses may be handwritten or typed. Your responses must be developed using complete, complex sentences. Do not write the question, but be sure to number your responses and incorporate the questions into your answers.

1. What is a requiem? What is the purpose of the final act? To what extent is it successful?

2. Charley says, “No man only needs a little salary.” To what is he referring? What else does a man need?

3. Explain the irony of Linda’s last speech.

4. Why does Miller let the audience know, by the title, that Willy’s death is coming? Why doesn’t he make it a surprise?

5. Is Willy’s death in a car more or less appropriate than a suicide using the rubber hose on the water heater? What harm does Willy’s death cause?

6. Why does Miller coincide the last payment on the house with Willy’s death? What is he trying to suggest? Is this an example of irony? Explain.

7. What is Willy’s dream? Why doesn’t he find it? Did he have a chance to fulfill it? Explain. Does Willy stand in his own way to success? Explain.

8. Who is the main character – Willy or Biff? Who is to blame for Willy’s destruction? Explain.

9. What is the significance of Charley’s words at Willy’s gravesite? Compare and contrast Willy’s dream with Charley’s. Is Charley an example of Willy’s definition of success? Explain.

10. What has Biff learned from his father’s life and death? How do you think Willy’s death will affect Biff’s future? Will he strive for success or merely strive to survive?

13REQUIEM

(VERBAL DELIVERIES WILL BEGIN ON WEDNESDAY, 11/29/17)

EULOGY

In the requiem, the Loman family alternately shows grief, anger, and confusion over Willy’s chosen mode of death. Linda, in particular, cannot understand why no one attends the funeral and why no one seems affected by her husband’s suicide. Biff and Charley, perhaps, come closest to understanding who Willy was and why he made the choice he made, while Happy is in furious denial.

Write a eulogy that you will DELIVER VERBALLY. Your eulogy must be in the character of either Biff or Charley. What would they say at Willy’s funeral.

Eulogies should offer some insight into who was Willy as an individual and why he, ultimately, chose to take his own life. Your eulogy should be approximately 3 minutes in length.

14ENTIRE PLAY

Viewpoints on LifeAs the play progresses, the characters make a variety of statements that reflect both their own view and society’s views of life. Some of these viewpoints have not changed significantly in the decades that have since passed, and some were not the views of a society at all but rather were the products of delusional thinking.

1. First, select one of the statements from the list BELOW and think about its meaning.

What ideas come to mind when you read the statement? What societal view is being expressed, or is this just one of Loman’s

delusions? How is this view similar to or different from our view today of a

similar topic? Do you agree or disagree with the viewpoint? Explain

2. Next, using the questions above as a guide, write notes on your reaction to the statement. Then prepare a rough draft of an 800-word (2 ½ pages, approx.) persuasive narrative essay in which you reflect, react, and comment upon the viewpoint. The narrative should be in your “voice” and convey your own viewpoints.

3. Proofread and edit your rough draft and TYPE your final draft.

Viewpoints on Life - Statements that Reflect Societal Beliefs “To suffer fifty weeks of the year for the sake of a two-week vacation, when all you really

desire to be outdoors, with your shirt off. And always have to get ahead of the next fella. And still-that’s how you build a future.”

“That’s why I thank the Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want.”

“Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You’ll never get out of the jingle that way.”

“. . . because it’s not what you do, Ben. It’s who you know and the smile on your face! It’s contacts, Ben, contacts!”

“No man only needs a little salary.”

“It’s the only dream you can have – to come out the number one man.”

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INFORMATION SHEETS

& WORKSHEETS

WA

Act One – Character Sketch Graphic Organizer

NAME ________________________________________

Likes Character’s Name:

Dislikes

Age:

Gender:

Job:

Physical Appearance: Personality:

Strengths: Weaknesses:

Opinion of others: Interaction

With Others

Good relationships with: Poor

relationships with:

Revealing actions, thoughts, etc.

WB

DIRECT/INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION CHARTCharacters from Death of a Salesman

What do we know from direct characterization?

What do we know from indirect characterization?

Pg. #

Par. #

WILLY WILLY

BIFF BIFF

LINDA LINDA

HAPPY HAPPY

WC

CHARACER CASTING CHARTWILLY LOMAN Personality

Traits:

Height: Weight: Hair Color: Age: Attractiveness:

Possible Actors to Cast:

LINDA LOMAN Personality Traits:

Height: Weight: Hair Color: Age: Attractiveness:

Possible Actors to Cast:

BIFF LOMAN Personality Traits:

Height: Weight: Hair Color: Age: Attractiveness:

Possible Actors to Cast:

HAPPYY LOMAN Personality Traits:

Height: Weight: Hair Color: Age: Attractiveness:

Possible Actors to Cast:

WD

Categories: Business and Industry, CT At Work: Hartford Area, Hartford, Work

Hartford’s Fuller Brush Company Goes Door-to-Door Across US

1920s photo of the Fuller Brush plant in Hartford - Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library and Connecticut History OnlineFounded in 1906 by Alfred C. Fuller, the Fuller Brush Company was one of Connecticut’s most notable corporations. Fuller developed both its original products and its iconic door-to-door sales force. In his first year, with an investment of $375, Fuller moved his one-man shop from his sister’s basement to Hartford. There, he set up shop as the Capitol Brush Company in a Park Street building that he rented for $8 a month. He renamed his enterprise the Fuller Brush Company in 1913.

From One-Man Shop to National Corporation

In its first year, the fledgling company offered 32 different types of brushes, mops, and brooms. By 1908, it also had a new employee. Fuller’s wife Evelyn became one of the first Fuller Brush representatives—and she outsold him her first day on the job and nearly every day thereafter for two years. In 1909 the business became a national corporation after an ad for sales distributors in the Syracuse Post-Standard yielded 260 dealers. These door-to-door salespeople received no base salary, walked an average of six miles per day, and sold to only one of every five homes. According to archival documents from the Fuller Brush Company, seven out of ten recruits failed in the first three months.

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The Fuller Brush plant in East Hartford, 1960 – Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library and Connecticut History Online

The “Fuller Brush Man” Becomes an Icon

During the next 20 years, company sales grew from $87,000 in 1916 to $15 million in 1923; the number of distributors increased to more than 1,000. World War I created a demand for specialized brushes that Fuller supplied to the military, and, on the home front, the Fuller “Handy Brush” was developed as a door-opening gift. By the mid-1920s, the Fuller Brush Company had an established national identity. Fuller products were sold to President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his home in Hyde Park and to John D. Rockefeller at Pocantico Hills. In 1922 The

Saturday Evening Post coined the phrase “Fuller Brush Man,” and in following years, this iconic character of American life appeared in such comic strips as Blondie, Mutt and Jeff, and Mickey

Mouse. Even the Walt Disney film The Three Little Pigs included a scene in which the wolf poses as a Fuller Brush Man.

Fuller’s oldest son, Howard, joined the company in 1942 and became its president in 1943. He modernized its manufacturing operations, expanded the product line to include household cleaners, vitamins, and cosmetics. He also introduced a female sales force known as the Fullerettes. By 1956 the company had 7,000 full-time distributors who visited 90% of American homes and a company catalog that reached approximately 5 million people. In 1959, the company, which had expanded and consolidated a few times within the city of Hartford, moved

to a new factory in East Hartford. In 1960 sales reached $109 million, and in 1968 the company was sold to Consolidated Foods Corporation, later called The Sara Lee Corporation. In 1972 Sara Lee constructed a 600,000-square-foot facility near Great Bend, Kansas, and the Fuller Brush Company left Connecticut. The Kansas plant remains its manufacturing, distribution, and operating center.- See more at: http://connecticuthistory.org/hartfords-fuller-brush-company-goes-door-to-door-across-us/#sthash.y87LGC0b.dpuf

WF

Copyright 2015 Los Angeles Times; A 90-year-old foot in the doorFor 71 years, this Fuller Brush Man has driven the roads of central Washington in a sedan full of brooms, mops and stain removers. And he's cleaned up with a lot of hard work and a polished routine.March 18, 2009|Kim MurphyBURIEN, WASH. — He knows you know how to get the grunge off your stove top. Everybody does. But do you know the best way?

Probably, he says, you use one of those soapy steel wool pads. Sure, they work. But have you noticed how they get all rusty after you've used them a time or two? Then they start shedding yucky steel fibers under your fingernails.What if he told you there was a pad that didn't make a mess at all? Cleans your stove right up with just a little bit of this degreaser. And it lasts a whole year. How many would you like? Now what about this nifty clamp for it, so you don't have to get those pretty hands wet?

For 71 years, Art Pearson has been plying the byways of central Washington in a sedan stuffed with brooms, stain removers, scented moth blocks and brushes for every wall, floor and nook known to man.

He may be the oldest working Fuller Brush Man -- a neatly pressed throwback to a time when the suburbs were sprouting three-bedroom dream homes like dandelions. When kitchens were clean. When a woman's work was never done. When there was no cleaning dilemma for which an appropriate brush could not be found.

"People talk about a recession? People still have to maintain their house. Everybody needs something to clean with," said Pearson, who will turn 91 in April. "And if you tell 'em it's made in the USA, that's what people want to hear. People like the product. Anybody could sell it if they wanted to go out and work."

To see Pearson on the doorstep in his dark gray suit, crisp white shirt and red-and-blue tie is to wake up on a summer morning with "I Love Lucy" on TV, the whistle of the Helms bakery truck outside and three months without school stretched ahead

like Aladdin's carpet. So what if Mom is muttering on her hands and knees behind the toilet with a rag in her fist?"I'll just step in a minute with your free gift," Pearson says, dangling a pastry brush and rubber spatula in a hint of treasures to come.

His routine is polished -- and rarely misses."When I first started, they told us, 'Don't go around in an old dirty shirt,' "

Pearson says. "You dress up and look neat if you're selling high-quality merchandise," he says.

"We were taught, you come up to the door, you put your suitcase on the right-hand side, knock on the door, then step back two feet. And then say, "May I step in and give you your free gift?' You lay the velvet tray out and you demonstrate the merchandise."

Alfred C. Fuller, the Nova Scotia farm boy who started off in 1906 designing brushes on his workbench and selling them around town, created one of America's most formidable door-to-door sales empires. By the 1950s and 1960s, the Fuller Brush Co. had become an American institution, with overall annual sales reaching nearly $100 million.

WGIt traded on the idea that anyone could make money with a good product and a

lot of hard work, and on a society that still could afford stay-at-home mothers who kept up with the neighbors by the gleam of the linoleum on their kitchen floors."My life is proof of the tremendous power available to everyone to vault above his own deficiencies," Fuller wrote in his autobiography, "A Foot in the Door."

Fuller's particular niche was to make a better brush, and a brush for almost anything. A catalog from the 1960s featured a water-streaming shower brush, brushes for complexions, manicures, shaving, jars, bottles, lint, percolators, teeth, dentures and paint, along with various mops and brooms.

"Every woman wants to stay as young and attractive as she can. She wants a clean, fresh, radiant complexion . . . soft, lustrous hair. And she is equally interested in the appearance of her home," says the catalog's introduction. "Your Fuller Brush Man will gladly demonstrate how each Fuller item in this book can help make your life less work and more fun."

Over the years, legions of Fuller salesmen went house to house, ready at the slightest sign of encouragement to let loose a load of popcorn on the floor in order to demonstrate the abilities of the motorless carpet sweeper or to scrub the soot off the wall behind the radiator (without scratching the wallpaper!)

"See, here's the thing I learned," Pearson says. "When I call on you, I don't say: 'I'm the Fuller Brush Man.' You'll say, 'I don't need any brushes.' I come to the door and I say, 'I'm the Fuller Man.' That way I get in, I tell people what's on sale, what's good.

"Then I've just got a habit of checking out a house when I come in, see what they might need. My eyes flip around the room. I might suggest a wall brush to clean the

ceiling, and I often go for the pre-laundry stain cleaner. I always go into that. I learned, sell three things at a time. Never sell just one."

WH

Working at Fuller Brush Co. in 1950sOne mans struggled with his conscience while working at Fuller Brush Co. in 1955.Share on printPrintShare on emailEmailMore Sharing ServicesShare

One of my first jobs as an adult was with the Fuller Brush Co. in 1955. I was 21, not yet married and still living with my parents in Brooklyn, New York.My boss, Sam, was an unbelievable salesman. I’m sure he could sell a hairbrush to a bald man, and he taught me all the tricks.

Although the name was Fuller Brush, the company also sold household chemicals and cosmetics. We went door-to-door hawking our wares. Women were at home much more at that time than today. And our big moneymaker line was cosmetics, not brushes.

Once a week, the truck would deliver supplies to our house, crowding our garage with piles of boxes. (Dad wasn’t too happy about that.) I would then carry the cases in the back of my car as I went from house to house. One of the tricks Sam taught was to sit there (I was almost always invited into the living room), put a high-priced item in front of the lady, and then proceed to talk about several other products, ignoring the one in front of the customer. The lady would not ignore it, however. It kept catching her eye, and eventually she would buy it.

Sam taught me to sell in bulk. Not a brush, but a dozen. Not a tile floor cleaner, but a case. And the big seller, cosmetics, also went in bulk. After complimenting the lady on her beauty and remarking on how this particular brand of lipstick would enhance it, I would sell her not a tube of lipstick but a dozen or even more.

This behavior eventually began to trouble the conscience my parents had instilled in me over time. The bubble finally burst with bubble bath.

You see, I had convinced a lady that Fuller’s bubble bath solution was so wonderful that, even though she didn’t have a bathtub, she should go over to her friends’ house next door and use their tub. She bought a case of bubble bath—and I decided to resign. My conscience couldn’t take it anymore. Making a living this way was just not to my liking, so I went on to other things.Don Bergen • Lake Havasu City, Arizona

WI