Death of a Salesman is one of Arthur Miller's most intriguing plays. I read this play in the latter stages of College Composition II with Prof. Jenny Sullivan. Our relationship for much of that semester wasn't great, but it improved after she read my analysis of this play. It also helps that this play was studied for the final exam and it involved analyzing characters which I consider to be one of my strengths. Most of Arthur Miller's plays including The Crucible (1953), All My Sons & No Villain are about tragic heros. To me, a tragic hero is someone who has done his/her best and died because of unfortunate circumstances. The issue in Death of a Salesman, then, is who is a tragic hero?

Willy is a 63-year-old retired salesperson. He is the main character or protagonist in the play. He lives with his wife, Linda and sons Biff (34) & Happy (32) outside Boston, Massachussetts. Willy constantly has dreams & imaginary conversations/visits with his dead brother, Ben who seems to continuously occupy Willy's thoughts/dreams. In the play, Willy seems as if he has schizophrenia. Willy puts a lot of pressure on Biff while inundating him with strange thoughts which are often contradictory. For example, there is constant bickering about which style of work is more honorable/desirable: working with the brain ("And if something falls on the floor, don't pick it up. They have office boys for that") and working with the hands ("A man who can't handle tools is not a man. You're disgusting"). Ultimately, I CHALLENGE THE ASSUMPTION THAT WILLY IS A TRAGIC HERO BECAUSE HE COMMITS SUICIDE (by driving his car into a brick wall!) SIMPLY BECAUSE HIS SON, BIFF DOESN'T FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS and after hearing his dead brother Ben's voice say "The jungle is dark, but full of diamonds, Willy!", Willy drives his car into a brick wall and kills himself which is ludicrous.

Linda, Willy's wife is included as a main character simply because she is part of the Loman family. However, she really doesn't do much except support Willy's actions in vain. Here's what Arthur Miller said about Linda: "She more than loves him (Willy). She admires him".

Biff (34) is the one who is most at odds with his dad. In other words, Biff is the antagonist in Death of a Salesman. He is the person who Willy tries to indoctrinate, first with ideas that he should work with his brain ("If something falls on the floor, don't pick it up because they've got office boys to do that"), then makes comments about Biff's social life in his dreams ("You got a date? Wonderful".). By the end of the play, however, Biff is very angry: "Will you let me go for God's sake?"

Happy is often left out and as a result, he keeps going after women and telling his mom that "I'm gonna get married". In fact, he keeps dating his boss's secretaries, most of whom are engaged and ruins them in the process.

The most important lesson to learn from this play/story/drama is that EVERYONE IS UNIQUE. We can't force anyone to be exactly like us.