Death of a Salesman. In this passage, in Act I, Linda, Biff and Happy are discussing Willys detoriating mental state. Biffs anger, Willys pitiful description and Lindas extreme loyalty makes this moment so moving and tragic

This conversation also clearly shows Willy’s crumbling mental state and his loss of touch with reality, affecting the audience with negative emotions. Linda gives an insight into the inner workings of his mind when she describes “the closer (Biff) seems to come, the more shaky he gets”. This emphasises his vulnerability, and his physical shaking imitates his mental insecurities. The fact that he is afraid of his own son portrays him as a love deprived character. The communication problems between him and Biff also show the divide within the family and Willy’s extreme loneliness. Linda says that “one day there will be strange people here”, this statement being extremely ironic as Willy is already regarded as ‘strange’ by most people, including Biff. The fact that Willy’s death is near also adds to the dark irony. Linda also says that Willy ‘likes to have a letter just to know there are possibilities for better things, revealing his dreamy and hopeful thoughts for the future, as all his hopes till now have crumbled. This is extremely tragic for the audience to observe, as despite all of his efforts to achieve his mountainous dreams, Willy always comes up short. This is made even more tragic in the later events of the play: Willy gets fired from the job, abandoned by his sons and ultimately commits suicide, his life cumulating in a waste. Miller uses dramatic irony and foreshadowing in this scene to show Willy’s painful life, making it extremely moving for the audience.

Lastly, Linda’s painful and unwavering devotion to Willy makes this moment moving and heartbreaking. Even though Willy does not show her the same love back, she continues loving him with the same passion. She is seen ‘mending the lining of Willy’s jacket’. The jacket symbolizes Willy’s job and professional career, so Linda is trying to fix up his financial problems. The audience realize how hopeless this is, as Willy’s problems extend much beyond financial, but Linda keeps supporting him even in hopeless situations, showing her true loyalty as a wife. She says that ‘if you don’t have any feeling for him, you can’t have any feeling for me’, conveying that she will remain with him right through to the bitter end, which she does. Linda and Willy are essentially one, and inseparable. She consistently shows support for him throughout the play, she asks him questions about his wife, asks him if she can do anything to help him, and scolds Biff and Happy at the end for abandoning him in the washroom. Willy even calls her his ‘foundation and support’. He is the ‘dearest man in the world’, but what makes her devotion so sad is that Willy never truly realizes how much she loves him, and that he does not have to impress her. The tragic description of her “threat of tears” adds to the hopelessness of her love. She can, ultimately, despite her enormous efforts, do nothing to stop Willy’s demise, which is what makes it sad for the audience.

This passage is one of the most poignant moments in the play, as it reveals Willy’s enormous troubles and the rift in the Loman family. From this point onwards, it is obvious the play will conclude tragically. Ultimately, ‘Death of a Salesman’ is about the troubles of a common man, which makes it so relatable to the audience.