Scene 5 continues in the past where Scene 4 ended. Linda enters the kitchen carrying a basket of laundry. Biff orders Happy and his friends, who are waiting down in the cellar, to help with the chores. Some hang laundry; others sweep out the furnace room. Linda and Willy are left alone and begin discussing his earnings from the trip to New England. Willy exaggerates his sales, telling Linda that he sold $1,200, but when she calculates his commission, Willy is forced to admit that he only sold $200. Linda recites an itemized list of bills that exceeds his $70 commission by approximately $50. Willy becomes agitated and refuses to pay for the carburetor for the Chevy because he considers the car worthless, even though he praised the car at the beginning of the scene.
Willy declares that he will be successful in Hartford because he is "well-liked," but he immediately follows that statement by saying that people do not respond well to him. Willy says that he talks and jokes too much, and that no one takes him seriously because of his appearance. Linda assures him that she finds him attractive and that his children love and respect him. Linda's comments encourage Willy, and he declares his affection for her. In the background, a woman's laughter can be heard, and a faint outline of a woman dressing becomes visible.
