The placement of Scene 3 makes it particularly effective. Willy attempts to deal with what has happened with Howard and escape from it at the same time by reverting back to Ben. Ben has always been successful, so he is the natural choice for advice. Willy wants Ben to analyze the current situation and tell him what to do. Instead, Ben offers Willy a job in Alaska—the same offer he made when he actually visited in the past—but Willy can no longer separate the past from the present; they are blending together.
The fact that Willy turns down the offer is very poignant in light of what happened in Scene 2. In the past, Willy refused Ben’s offer because he was determined to be a successful salesman, just like Dave Singleman. Now that he has been fired, he is overwhelmed by his feelings: regret, for not accepting Ben’s offer and moving to Alaska; shame, for losing his job; and despair, for having devoted his life to a company that could discard him so easily.
