Eventually, Biff finally sees the truth and realizes that he is a "dime a dozen" and "no great leader of men." He tells this to Willy who is outraged. Willy shouts, "I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman and you are Biff Loman!"
At the end of the play, Biff realizes the illusions that Willy lived on. Biff is destined to no greatness, but he no longer has to struggle to understand what he wants to do with his life.
Happy Loman
Hap is the Loman's youngest son. He lives in an apartment in New York, and during the play is staying at his parent's house to visit. Hap is of low moral character; constantly with another woman, trying to find his way in life, even though he is confident he's on the right track.
Hap has always been the "second son" to Biff and tries to be noticed by his parents by showing off. When he was young he always told Willly, "I'm losin' weight pop, you notice?" And, now he is always saying, "I'm going to get married, just you wait and see," in an attempt to redeem himself in his mother's eyes. Hap also tries to be on Willy's good side and keep him happy, even if it means perpetuating the lies and illusions that Willy lives in.
In the end of the play, Hap cannot see reality. Like his father, he is destined to live a fruitless life trying for something that will not happen. "Willy Loman did not die in vain," he says, "…He had a good dream, the only dream a man can have - to come out number one man. He fought it out here, and this where I'm gonna win it for him."
Charlie:
Charlie is the Loman's next door neighbor, and owns his own sales firm. He and Willy do not get along very well, but they are friends nonetheless. Charlie is always the voice of reality in the play, trying to set Willy straight on the facts of Willy's situation, but Willy refuses to listen.
Bernard:
Bernard is Charlie's goody-two-shoes son who was a childhood friends of Biff. Bernard always studied and eventually became a successful lawyer, something that Willy has trouble dealing with.
Uncle Ben:
Ben is Willy's dead brother who appears to Willy during his flashbacks and times of trouble. Ben was a rich man who made it big in the diamond mines of Africa. Willy once was given the chance to become partners with Ben, but refused and instead choose the life that he currently lives.
Motifs are elements of a story (dialogue, symbols, situations, etc.) that keep reappearing throughout. In Death of Salesman, Arthur Miller uses several motifs. They are:
The woods/jungle and diamonds:
Uncle Ben is the character who deals with the motif of the jungle (sometimes referred to by Willy as 'the woods') and diamonds. These motifs are symbols. The jungle is symbolic of life, and diamonds of success. As Willy's life is crashing down around him, he says, "The woods are burning! I can't drive a car!" At the end of the play (and many other places as well) Uncle Ben refers to the jungle: "You must go into the jungle and fetch a diamond out."
The garden:
The idea of planting a garden is a major motif in the play. Willy is always discussing the idea of planting a garden, in Act I on page 17 he says, "The grass don't grow anymore, you can't raise a carrot in the backyard." At the end of the play, one of his last acts in life is his futile attempt at planting seeds in the backyard of his fenced-in house. The garden is symbolic of Willy needing to leave something behind for people to remember him by. Something that people will think about and remember him as a great man. Willy never achieved success in life, and he also never planted his garden. (He does in the end of the play, but it is assumed that will not grow.)
Moon, stars:
Willy is often seen looking and commenting on the stars or the moon. This is seen in the first act after a fight with Biff when Willy says, "Gee, look at the moon moving between the buildings." This motif is also seen elsewhere in the play.
Willy Loman, a father, a failing salesman who has a money problem. He gets paid only on commission, so any day he could come home with nothing. He goes on sales trips, which he miserably fails at and leaves incomplete. His two sons, Biff and Happy are visiting. Biff has never been successful, he has not been very stable in his life, as he is confused. Happy, Willy’s other son, lives in his apartment but is home to visit. Success means a lot to this family. They all want to succeed in life and they want to live the American dream.
Willy has conversations with no one present. He relives scenes that have happened in the past, he goes through past conversations. His sons are embarrassed of their father’s problem. Willy had a past affair with woman that he met up with on his sales trips, he also gave her Linda (his wife’s) stockings as gifts. Willy relives these past conversations and scenes, while he is feeling the guilt from the past. He relives a scene from where Biff was still at school and was told to study. Willy rages around the house and in the present day, Hap finds his father talking to nobody. Willy knows he is not a well-liked man. He tells Linda "The trouble is, Linda, people don't seem to take to me." The point Willy is trying to portray is that the reason why he does not make any sales is that he is not liked. The statement can be true and false in different ways.Willy lies to himself when he tells his sons this advice. Willy boasts:
"Be liked and you will never want… Take me, for instance… 'Willy Loman is here!' That's all it takes, and I go right through." As success is a very big element in the Loman family, possibly due to the lack of achievement, Willy tells his sons that success is possible. Willy had a brother, Ben, who now is dead. Willy sees Ben as someone great, probably even as a God-like figure. Ben had offered Willy to go to Africa to dig for diamonds but at the time, Willy declined the invitation. Ben found his wealth easily, but Willy sees it from a different perspective. Willy sees Ben working hard for his money, Willy only wants his sons to also see that. It could be that of Ben, that Willy is very ashamed of himself and has a low self-esteem. Biff doesn’t have any respect for his father. Linda blamed Biff for Willy’s misfortune. Linda is portrayed as, maintaining the family. She wants to keep peace in the household. Happy as we see him always wants to impress his parents. He lied to Willy about the sporting goods business, but he only did that to impress his father. Biff lies as too. The Loman family is a circle of lies and the wheel will keep spinning, making the family less happy. Towards the end of this play, the readers finally reveal as to why Biff holds no respect for Willy. Years back Biff caught Willy having an affair, at the time Biff loved his father and worshipped him. After this incident, the respect Biff had for Willy was shattered. After 15 years, he had still not forgiven his father for it. When Willy went to dine with his sons, Willy had realised where he stood. He decided that he was going to commit suicide. He asked for some seeds, he got them and started to plant the seeds in his garden after he got home that evening. Whilst talking to uncle Ben about giving all the insurance money to Biff so he can start a business and be successful, Biff interrupts and takes his father inside. Biff said he wanted to leave and have nothing to do with his parents again. An argument fired up, Biff said he would leave the following morning. Willy then drives himself to his death.
The play was blurred. Willy kept slipping in and out of reality, this could confuse the audience. Willy suffered from schizophrenia, an illness one in five people can get. Willy probably had this through clinical depression, after feeling the guilt about the affair and not being a success for his family. He was ashamed of who he was. Willy was lost in time, he could not keep up with the technology and economy. Willy thinks that his sons are successes and they have done a lot in their life. However, in reality they have no success running through their blood.
Willy never did succeed in life. He wanted to plant a garden before he died, because he wanted people to remember what a great man he was. In the end, he plants his seeds, but whether they will grow or not is unanswered.