Death Of A Salesman Flashcards
Linda Loman
Willis wife who is there to protect his emotions and dreams. She refuses to see through his lies. She’s very loyal to willy. Unlike willy she cares about Biffs poor math performance, his growing aggression, and his stealing issue. She’s very clueless and wonders why willy killed himself.
Biff Loman
Received awful parenting from willy his whole life and flunked math and couldn’t graduate because willy let him not care. Biff was going to take a summer class but he found willy cheating on Linda and dropped out and spiraled down and down. Biff ended up working on a farm and couldn’t hold a job because he was stealing from his bosses. It wasn’t until he was 34 that he realized how bad willy had messed his life.
Happy Loman
Very similar to willy, he has unrealistic self confidence and has dreams about getting rich quickly. Has also suffered to willies expectations but not as much as biff. He took sense of competition to the realm of sex. Much like the real world, it fails to satisfy him. Sticks to his materialistic goals for ever unlike biff.
Charley
A nice honest guy who functions as a voice of reason for willy. Charley is constantly put down by willy because willy is jealous. Willy compares himself to charley. Willy refuses Charley’s offers of help and jobs etc which shows his pride and tendency for self destruction.
Willy Loman
When willy fails at reaching his goals of being a successful salesman he try’s living through his son biff and his life spirals down. Willys desire to escape is driven by his loss of connection to time and reality and by his wife giving him an alternate universe and an ego boost. Willy is still very delusional when he kills himself and s sad that biff is not turning out how he thought. He said that he wanted to die a salesman and he did because being a salesman is about having a dream and selling yourself. He is also a tragic hero.
Bernard
Nerd in highschool always looking out for biff and helping him with school. Ends up being a lawyer and is in the Supreme Court.
Ben
Willis older brother who is dead and only appears in his mind. Willy try’s to be like Ben who got rich quick by finding diamonds in the African jungle and was an adventurer in the world of business. Willy Wishes he would’ve went to Alaska with Ben. Ben uses cheating go get what he wants (the diamonds) and when Ben fights biff, Ben wins by cheating. He thinks that cheating the only option to everything.
