What assigned role does Biff play in the Loman family? What roles are played by Happy? Linda? Willy? Is Biff exaggerating when he claims,

        Willy himself has certain ideas as to what his roles should be within the family and brings up his children and treats Linda as he sees fit. This is not necessarily the best way for the people involved. Willy has adopted the traditional role at the head of the 1950's household as the male breadwinner. He believes it should be up to him to support his children and wife financially. He manages to bring up Biff and Happy with few financial problems however he is never comfortable and sums up the situation well in the first part of Act II, "Once in my life I would like to own something outright before its broken! I'm always in a race with the junkyard!". As the play unfolds we find out that Willy's financial situation has become worse and worse over the last few years. He now has to borrow money from Charley every week to pay the rent and insurance. He is a very proud man as well and believes that he has to set the right example to his sons. This is why he refuses to take an office job when Charley offers him a stable job. He fails to recognise his dire situation. He finds himself drifting more and more into the past as the play progresses as he again tries to avoid the cold truth. His efforts to educate his boys and to set an example are also not the conventional approach that you night expect. He seems to think Biff and Happy are somehow different from the average man and will be able to succeed because of this ability they have. This was an idea thought by the philosopher, Frederick Nietiche, who believed in a race of "ubermensch" or "supermen" these special people were somehow above the rest of society and should not be made to conform to the restraints of society's norms and codes of conduct as their potential would be subdued. We see an example of this when Biff steals the football from his coach, Willy refuses to punish him but instead he rewards his initiative. This would not be seen as a good example to show to your children. Another example of this "education" that Willy gives his boys can be seen when Biff has decided to go and see Bill Oliver about a job. Willy spurts useless bits of advice and contradicts himself throughout his speech. He also makes Biff believe that he used to sell for Bill Oliver's company, however the truth was that he was a shipping clerk. Willy again shows us of his failure to accept the truth. Willy doesn't just have ideas about his own roles within the Loman family but those which the other members should take on as well. Willy is the catalyst for the problems in the household.

        Linda's roles within the family are varied and to a extent she has the hardest time of all the characters. She is a wife to Willy and always gives him support and encouragement even if she does not believe in what he is doing. This is shown when Willy is about to go and see Howard about an office job in New York. She builds him up and makes him feel as positive as she can. She is however restricted from certain things by Willy. When ever she tries to involve herself in the boys lives she is shouted out. Willy often tells her to shut up and he shows her no respect. This is because they have two boys and Willy wants them to succeed the only way he knows how and that's in business, something that Linda has no experience in and so he considers her input as misguiding and contradictory of his. She shows little anger though throughout the play and it is only toward the end of Act I that she breaks down and tells the boys that "...attention must be finally paid..." as she fears for Willy as his situation worsens both mentally and financially. Linda is possibly the only person in the house who does realise what trouble they are in.

        Happy, although he is brother of Biff, has a distinctly different role in the Loman family. He has never had the attention that was showered on Biff and so finds himself perhaps without and idea who he really is. He has supported Biff throughout his life and we see how close they are when they talk at night and the fact that Happy suggests a joint business venture, although this might just be for the benefit of Willy to give him something to be optimistic about. This underlines how he supports his father, however unlike Linda he tends to feed Willy's fantasies and dreams as we see in the restaurant at the end of the play. He struggles for attention throughout the play and while Linda and Willy are discussing Biff's future he often jumps in saying, "I've lost wait" or "I'm gonna get married". This usually inspires little response and Happy is left feeling unwanted, perhaps this explains why he finds it so easy to live in the past and to create events that never really happened.

        The statement that Biff makes at the end of the play, " We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house" can be proved and explained through the roles that each person plays. Willy drifts from reality to his memory with increasing frequency as the play goes on and he uses it to escape the situation he is in. A situation which can be traced back to his tragic demise at his work. It is the realisation that the cherished American Dream that he lived for did not work and with this discovery, which he failed to confront, he feel into a spiral of denial and mental instability.