Willy is also shown to teach Biff bad things, and tells him that he does not need to study, as he will not fail maths as he has scholarships to universities. This shows that will often gets things wrong as we know this doesn’t happen.
We are then shown another part of Willy’s attitude towards being successful. He says, “The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead.” This again shows that he believes that qualifications do not matter, only appearance matters in the business world and how you present yourself. Also this shows that Willy compares the business world to a game in which you have to “get ahead” in. this shows that he believes that it is luck which makes you rich.
Willy then goes on to exaggerate the amount that he has sold. He initially says he has sold “thousands and thousands” but it is eventually got out of him that he only sold “two hundred gross”. This shows that he values his pride and does not what anyone to think badly of him. He then goes on to blame it on the fact that “three of the stores were half-closed”. This again is to regain his pride.
His materialistic look on life is then shown when Linda says, when trying to comfort Willy; they got the refrigerator, which had “the biggest ads of any of them!”
He then goes on to contradict himself again. Previously he has said that the Chevrolet “is the greatest car ever built”, but now he says “they ought to prohibit the manufacture of that car!” this again shows how Willy is finding it hard to distinguish between what is true and what is not.
He then says about what is wrong with him and how people don’t like him. This is exactly what Willy has been telling his sons is important to be successful. This shows that Willy’s idea of how to become successful has not worked and shows again that this is a bad idea to be teaching to his sons.
He also shows us how aggressive he is when he tells us of how he “cracked him right across the face.” This shows that he cannot control his temper, so indicates that he his loosing control of his mind further.
We are then told about Willy’s affair. This shows that he has been unfaithful to Linda. We are also shown that Willy may possibly be using her to get money, as she is involved in the business world. If this is true then he is trying to apply is idea of using his looks to be successful.
Willy is then shown to be guilty, so obviously regrets his affair when he tells Linda off for mending her stockings.
He is also shown to be giving his sons bad advice again. He tells Bernard to give Biff the answers. This is a bad thing to teach his sons but it also shows he has no real control over what his sons do, or does not what to. He is also shown to be very protective over Biff as when Bernard tries to say bad things about him, he tells him to “shut up”.
Willy has a false idea of what he has done as he says “I never in my life told him anything but decent things”. Will believes this to be true, but as we have been shown this is very far from the truth and has played some part in the way he lives his life now.
Willy tells of how he almost “hit a kid in Yonkers”. This again shows his loss of control of his mind.
We are told about his brother and how much he admires him. He describes him as “success incarnate”. This means success made into a person. He admires him so much as this is what he wants to be.
Willy then says, “the woods are burning”. This could mean that all of his dreams are going up in smoke and he is loosing sight of them. This could also be a metaphor for his life closing or crashing down around him.
Willy’s attitude towards Charley shows us that he does not like to be less successful then others and does not like to be proved wrong.
We have previously been told by Willy of the opportunity he missed when he could have gone with his brother. He is then offered a job from Charley and refuses it. This again is a missed opportunity. He refuses the job, as he does not want to lose his pride. This shows he is unaware fully to what extent he is losing his mind.
When Willy begins to talk to Ben while Charley is still there it shows us how much Willy is confused inside his head about distinguishing between past and present.
Willy is then shown to not take defeat well. When he looses at cards to Charley he insults him and accuses him of cheating. This loose could symbolise the way in which he is loosing control of his mind and how he cannot stop it.
Willy almost worships Ben like his sons used to worship him. he wants his sons to see what sort of successful background he has come from, so calls his sons to meet Ben.
Willy is shown to admire his father as well. This shows that he admires the people that he knows nothing real about. This shows that he has made up his ideas of how to be a success, and has not got them from other people.
He wants to impress Ben all of the time that he is there, so shows his respect for him. He even tells his sons to steel from the building site to impress him. Even though Charley advises Willy not to teach them to do this Willy does not follow his advice.
Willy is shown to be full of fear about whether or not he is teaching Biff the right things or not. This is emphasizes by him saying “I sill feel-kind of temporary about myself.” This indicates that he has a lack of confidence.
After the flashback he asks about the “diamond watch fob”. We are told he pawned it to help Biff with his education. This shows that Willy has put a lot into Biff, but is not seeing the benefits.
We learn from the conversation between Linda, Biff and Happy that Willy’s salary has been taken away. This shows that he is not earning a lot as he only earns money if he sells and that he is not worth keeping in the company. We are also told that he is borrowing money from Charley every week and pretending that it is his. This again shows that he values his pride and does not want to let his family down.
We then learn that he is attempting suicide. This could be because Willy sees this as the only way out of his unsuccessful life.
Biff then says that Willy does not fit into the business world. Willy however does not agree with this and says that if you call out his name it will show how successful he is. This again shows that his does not want to loose the respect of his family. He feels very threatened by Biff’s opinion of him and how he does not ft in. this could be because he knows that this is true, but does not want to admit it. Because of this he tries to impress him by telling him about the ceiling he has put up. Biff then tells him about how he is going to go and see Bill Oliver. Willy’s mood changes dramatically after this and becomes a lot happier. Willy gets very involved in the idea and tries to give his advice although it is not always good advice.
He then tells Biff to start “with a couple of good stories to lighten things up”. This is the way in which he acts and the way in which he told Linda he shouldn’t act. This indicates that he is incapable of giving good advice.
At the end of act one Biff takes the piping from the cellar, which shows us that even though everyone has become more positive, suicide is still on Willy’s mind.
Linda Loman
Linda is introduced to us as a loving character and we are told she “admires” Willy.
Linda is shown to accept all the Willy says and tries to make excuses for him. For example when Willy tells her that he was driving off the shoulder she says that it may have been the steering.
Linda seems to act like a mother would to their son. She tells him to “take an aspirin”. This shows her care for him and shows that she wants the best for him.
She seems worried for his welfare all throughout the first act. She tries to do the best for him which is shown when she tries to buy him some new cheese. she thinks about what he may want all of the time.
Linda can see through all of the lies that Willy tells her. She can tell that he does not make a lot of money, but accepts it and is proud of him and chat he has done.
Her love for Willy is shown when she tries and comforts him when he is having doubts about himself. She says that he is “the handsomest man in the world”. This could also be a bad thing as she is encouraging his views about how to be successful, which she knows is right.
After Willy’s flashback about the woman Linda is shown to be fixing some stockings. This shows that she is very economical and knows that they cannot afford new things.
In Willy’s flashback with Ben, Linda is shown to try and stop the fight between Biff and Ben. This is probably because this is not the sort of attitude she wants to teach her sons to have. She also wants to teach her family to be happy with what they have and not need more.
Linda is shown to care very much about Willy when she says to Biff “if you don’t have any feeling for him, then you can’t have feeling for me.” she condemns Biffs love for her as she wants him to love Willy too.
Linda believes that Willy deserves respect from Happy and Biff like they had when they were at high school. She again makes excuses for him when she says he is “exhausted”
She is shown to see through all of her family when she calls Happy a “philandering bum”. However we are shown that she does not know about the affair as she has such respect for him.
During the explanation of the “Florida” idea Linda gets very excited. This shows that she has the same dreams as Willy but is more realistic in the way she looks at them. Although the idea is not very good, it still gives her hope that the future is getting better.
Biff
Biff is shown to be not very successful, but he has many dreams. Both him and Happy seem to be concerned about what is wrong with Willy, but Biff is shown to know less about him.
We are told that Biff was more confident when he was in high school. We are shown that he is less confident now because of Willy. He says this is because Willy mocks him all the time.
It is then indicated that Biff knows something about why Willy is upset, but he does not go any further with this, showing he is either trying to protect his father and his pride, or he is too embarrassed to say.
Biff is shown to be distressed about his job, as he does not know what he wants. Biff is shown to not like the materialistic view of life. We are told that Biff really wants to be outside. Willy’s attitude about success plays a large part in him feeling unhappy about his job. His and Willy’s attitudes towards the sort of job they should do are complete opposites. His worries echo those of his father.
Biff is shown to be immature and self-destructive. He destroys every job opportunity he is given, which is shown when he tells Happy about how he stole basketballs.
In Willy’s first flashback we are shown how different Biff was and how differently he treated his father. He is shown to almost worship Willy and he always seeks for his approval. Biff is the captain of the football team, which indicates that he is very popular and people worship him. This is shown when he tells his friends to sweep the furnace room.
Biff is shown to Willy’s favourite son, which is still true now, even though he has not done what he wants him to do.
Biff is shown to care about Linda when he says “your hair got so grey.” This could also indicate that he wants things to go back to how they were when her hair wasn’t grey, at high school.
We are shown that Biff obviously knows something that the other charcters do no know. This is making him say that he is bad and does not deserve the respect that they are all giving him.
Biff then idolises Charley as a good father. this is contradicting Willy’s view on him when they were younger.
We are then told that Biff does not fit in in the business world. He enjoys working outdoors. He has worked in business before, but it has never worked out. This is why it is such a shock when he says he will work in business just to keep his father happy.
Biff tries to please his dad even though he does not believe in what he is doing. This is probably because he loves and respects his mother and is doing it for her. Biff is contradicting himself and is doing something that does not suit him just to please his mother. This shows how much respect he has for her and how much he loves her.
During the explanation of the “Florida” idea Biff is happy that he can please his father and Linda, and as the idea involves being outside he is happy. This idea is obviously not going to work, so shows his immaturity and how much he doesn’t fit in the business world.
At the end of act one Biff goes down to the heater and takes away the rubber tubing. This could show his disgust towards what he is doing or that he does not want it to happen.
Happy
Happy is shown to be quite successful, vibrant and he has his way with women. Happy is shown to be very concerned about Willy, but Happy seems to know more than Biff about what is happening to him. This is probably because he still respects Willy, unlike Biff.
When Biff talks about Willy badly Happy defends him, which shows that he still has respect for him, unlike Biff.
Happy then tells us that he is not content with his life, like Biff. It is shown that he is as successful as he can be and there is no way of improving. This also shows that even though he is successful he is not content.
Happy shows, like Biff, his desire to work outdoors, but he changes his mind quickly. This could be because he wants to please his father, and not being a salesman would not please him.
Happy is shown to be like Biff was in high school. He uses women and has no respect for them. He uses them to boost his self-esteem when he feels bad about himself. He describes it as if it is a sport, which emphasizes his disrespect for women. However Happy is shown to respect Linda.
Happy treats women as a part of business and a mark of success.
When Happy says, “you’re well like Biff” he sounds very much like Willy. This shows that he shares the views of his father about how to become successful. It also shows what respect he has for him.
In Willy’s first flashback we are shown that Willy prefers Biff to Happy. Despite this Happy seeks Willy’s approval in every way. He tells him “I’m losing weight, you notice, Pop?” This is Happy’s way of trying to get Willy’s attention, although it does not work.
Happy is now shown to be exactly what Willy wanted for Biff when he was younger, but he is still not loved as much as Biff by his father. This probably puts some of the doubt in his mind.
Happy still shows the respect that he did when he was at high school. This respect is shown through his defence of him.
Happy comes up with the “Florida” idea at the end of Act one. He does this to try and please everybody, as he has been trying to do his whole life. This idea will obviously not work so shows his immaturity.
Bernard
Bernard is Charley's only son. He is intelligent.
Willy always mocks Bernard and believes that Bernard will never be a true success in the business world due to his appearance.
Bernard is an exemplary student and wants Biff to succeed. He tries to help Biff pass his exams, and advise him about what is right and wrong but does not succeed.
Bernard has always loved Willy’s sons and used to admire them and consider Biff as his hero.
Later on in Act one Willy refers to Bernard as a mark of success. He says “Bernard does not whistle in the escalator”. This shows that Bernard is now more successful than Biff and proves Willy’s beliefs about being well liked to be untrue.
Charley
Charley is shown to very successful. This is shown when he offers Willy a job. This shows that he is in the position to give jobs, so is therefore successful. Charley also sees through Willy. Willy had been lying about why he was home but Charley sees through this. This shows that he knows Willy well. Despite Willy’s rudeness to him, he is very kind and tolerant of him. This is shown when he still talks to him, even though Willy insults him.
Charley once again is shown, however in his flashback, to care for the welfare of Willy’s sons. He says that he must not tell them to steel from the site as they will go to jail, but Willy does not listen.
Ben
Ben is introduced to us through one of Willy’s flashbacks. Ben seems very patronising towards Willy as if he looks down on him. we learn that Ben went to Alaska to find his father and then onto Africa, where he made his fortune.
We are told that Ben has “never kept books”. This could been seen as clever, but it could also be seen as being boastful, and probably untrue.
He never mentioned what happened in Alaska. All we are told is that “when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty one I walked out. And by God I was rich.” This is the only story we are told of how Ben became rich. It shows that there is no formula of how to become successful, and in Ben’s case it was mainly down to luck. However a little later he tells Biff “never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You’ll never get out of the jungle that way.” This indicates that Ben got rich through cheating, and that is the only way in which he believes it is possible.
He is then shown to be dismissive towards Willy’s career when he says “what do you do?” this indicates that he does not think highly of what Willy does as a career, but does not say it.
The whole idea of Ben’s success is a little ironic because he gained the American dream, but he only did this by leaving America.
Ben is also shown to encourage the bad behaviour in Willy’s sons. He does not distinguish between the fearless characters in jail and the fearless characters in the stock exchange. This shows that he has no idea of what is right and what is wrong, which indicates that he does not act morally in business.
Charlotte
Charlotte is the woman that Happy went out with, with Biff. She is having an affair with Happy as she is going to get married in five weeks. She is used to show Happy’s disrespect for women and his belief that it is the way to get successful. He wants to get rid of her, which shows that all he wanted from her was to be reassured that he is better that her husband-to-be.
The Woman
The Woman was a secretary for a store that Willy sold to, and she would put him through to see the buyers. The Woman is younger than Linda so represents a younger side to Willy. Though she only plays a small part in the play, her presence affects many characters. For example the way in which Biff acts towards Willy is very affected by the Woman.