Cover of Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman

by Arthur Miller

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Widely assigned — 3 curriculum lists

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is assigned in US schools at grades 11–12. It appears across 3 curriculum references, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where Death of a Salesman is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 11–12
Age range
Ages 16–18
Pages
144
Reading time
about 2h 40m (est.)
First published
1949
Genre
Drama
ISBN-13
9780140481341

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook

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About this book

An aging traveling salesman, Willy Loman, grapples with failure and delusion as his career and family collapse around him. Miller's Pulitzer-winning play is a staple of 11th and 12th grade American Literature, AP English Literature, and IB DP drama syllabi.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like Death of a Salesman→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Drama title, typically at grades 11–12. Written in the 1940s; pairs with curriculum units on American Dream and failure; cited across 3 curriculum frameworks.

Themes

American Dream · failure · mental health · fatherhood · capitalism

Content notes

suicide · infidelity · mental illness

Common Sense Media recommends age 14+.

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Death of a Salesman?
Death of a Salesman is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 11–12. It appears on 3 school reading lists. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read Death of a Salesman?
It takes about 2h 40m to read Death of a Salesman (144 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 160 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Death of a Salesman?
Death of a Salesman appears on reading lists for AP English Literature & Composition, Common Core State Standards (ELA), IB Diploma Programme — English A: Literature. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Death of a Salesman banned in schools?
Death of a Salesman has documented removals from at least one public-school district in 1 state (TX) per PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. Policies vary by district.
What themes does Death of a Salesman explore?
Central themes in Death of a Salesman include American Dream, failure, mental health, fatherhood, capitalism.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 11–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 3 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
Removal / banning records
Documented as challenged or removed in 1 state per PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans — see the full banned & challenged books list.
Seasonal / contextual tags
No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.

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