Minor Characters

Charley: "You been jealous of me all your life, you damned fool! Here, pay your insurance."
Death of a Salesman Act 2 pg. 1603


Many of the minor characters play large roles in the plot of the play. The neighbors, Charley and Bernard, serve as a contrast to the life of the Loman's. Though the Loman's regard them as boring and lifeless, they end up being the successful rich ones. Bernard didn't possess the popularity and glory that Biff did when he was in high school, yet in the end, Bernard was the one that was successful and married with children. They are the realistic ones amidst the dreamy delusional lives of the Loman's. For some reason, the neighbors remind me of the Flanders from The Simpson's. The neighbors are like the goody two shoes that are there to support you yet everyone seems to regard them as somewhat dull. Meanwhile the Loman's are like the Simpsons cause they are a little whacky and they have no real set plans. I can definitely see Homer Simpson (aka Willy) asking Ned Flanders (aka Charley) for money too.

Charley/Ned Flanders

Anyway, the minor characters help to highlight the severity of Loman family's situation. The Loman's try so hard to achieve some sort of impact on the sales world and be well-known and this causes them to fail in the end. The neighbors are more laid back and they follow the rules-- thus they are the ones that end successful. I think Arthur Miller is trying to teach a lesson to its audience: Don't waste your time talking about how great you want to be. Go out and do it!

Tragic Flaw

Willy: "I always felt that if a man was impressive, and well liked, that nothing-"
Death of a Salesman Act 2 pg. 1602


2. There can be little doubt that Willy Loman is the victim of a "tragic flaw." Is it Willy's own tragic flaw that causes his downfall? Is it society's? Is it a combination of both?

Willy in this story is just like Amanda from The Glass Menagerie. They both have really similar characteristics--both live in the past, are obsessed with their children's success, and are a little crazy. Willy is a victim of a tragic flaw that drives the action in the story. His flaw, similar to Amanda's, is that he longs for perfection, to be well-liked, and to be the man on top of everything. He has this perfect vision of Biff and himself achieving the American Dream. His tragic flaw causes him to be very hard on Biff. Though he has good intentions for Biff to be successful, they actually end up making Biff less motivated to go out and please his father. Willy's constant nagging just causes Biff to feel pressured to be the best and succeed and he feels like he'll never live up to what his father wants him to be.
Willy's own tragic flaw and society cause his downfall. His own tragic flaw causes it because he is so obsessed with his self-image that he never takes the time to realize that Biff has loved him all along. When he makes this surprising discovery, he commits suicide. Also, Willy's brother Ben influenced Willy to feel that he should work towards success. Ben was the perfect brother with the riches, happiness, big house, and great job in Alaska. Meanwhile Willy led a life of dull sales and did lots of driving around for his job. Willy compared his life to Ben's often times and regretted not leaving to go to Alaska where he could have been rich.

Society causes Willy's downfall as well because society is the one that provides the notion that people should aim to be a part of the American Dream, with a perfect job, family, salary, reputation, etc. Society leads Willy to accept the notion that perfection is something which is possible, which only ends Willy into a deep hole that he cannot dig himself out of in the end.

Biff

Linda: "He put his whole life into you and you've turned your backs on him. Biff, I swear to God! Biff, his life is in your hands!"
Death of a Salesman Act I pg. 1578


4. Which characters change during the course of the play?

One of the dynamic characters in this play was Biff. At the beginning of the play, he has many hopes and dreams that he will one day live up to Willy's expectations for him. He is especially excited by the thought that he could start a business with his brother and finally go somewhere with his life. However, he never actually meets with the man Oliver, who is supposed to help him map out the plan to start a business. Because of this, Biff realizes that his life is not supposed to be centered around business and being a salesman. Everything he did with sales seemed to encounter problems, even when he worked with it in the past. Biff knows that being a salesman is not his destiny and therefore he finally accepts that it is not the way in which he wants to follow in life. His dreams of pleasing his father are diminished and he decides that he will no longer pretend that he will someday be the perfect salesman.

Biff's view toward his father changes many times throughout the play. As a child, Biff idolized his father and he looked up to him very much. As time wore on, Biff admired his father less, especially due to the time in Boston when he saw Willy with another woman. After he saw his dad cheating on his mother, Biff's entire life seemed to change. A man that he had trusted so much had betrayed him and been unfaithful to the family. This caused Biff to neglect to make up the summer course for mathematics and his life was never the same after that incident. Biff and Willy's relationship was not as open and trusting as it had been before; a rift grew between the two of them and Biff preferred to avoid his father. However, between his conversations with Linda and realization that he wouldn't be the perfect son his father pictured him to be, Biff changed his attitude toward his father. Linda tells Biff that his life is in his hands. Literally. When Biff finally reveals to his father that he loves him and he cries in front of him, Willy then almost takes it as a signal that he can die happily. It's pretty ironic that Biff's conversion led to his father's death.