... to him. Next, Willy instills this same belief within his sons. "Listen to this. This is your Uncle Ben, a great man! Tell my boys, Ben!" (Miller 1898). When Willy says this to Ben he is showing that he wants his boys to have the same thought on life as himself. Though, like their ... family is through his death. It may become evident to the reader that for Willy, his ultimate dream was to follow in the footsteps of Uncle Ben and become a successful salesman. Unfortunately for Willy, most of his dreams are illusions, yet he is unable to come face to face with this fact ... play; and the ...

• Word Count: 2042
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... . As mentioned before, Happy and Biff represent two sides of Willy's personality. Another significant character is Ben, Willy's dead brother, who he often talks to in his illusions. Ben is Willy's hero in that Ben is his ideal of economic and personal success; Willy always regrets not taking up Ben's offer to come with him to Alaska and become rich. On the other hand ... represents false standards of conduct. His character leads Willy away from realistic ideals (Mann 317). Another significant scene in the play is the garden scene where Willy is "talking" with Ben. Here, they are contempl...

• Word Count: 2186
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... always wanted him to be. On the other side of Willy's argument is his brother Ben. Ben is described as someone who is true to his self, not corrupted by materialism. Instead Ben is successful in his own way. Willy describes Ben by saying that all he has to do is go into any city, pick up ... the phone and he's making his living. Miller uses Ben's reference to the "jungle" as the setting to show how Ben's ruthless success carries uneasy connotations of a place where only the fittest will survive and in which weaker members like Willy will ... understand the significance of this situation...

• Word Count: 1734
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... get Willy to see his son and himself and face the truth, but by this time, it is too late. One of Willy's last words to Ben is "that boy is going to be magnificent!" He hadn't heard a word Biff just said! He always harps on the glorious past as a popular, ... down his life to secure his dream that makes Willy a tragic yet heroic figure and one to whom, in Linda's words, ``attention must be finally paid''. Ben's final mantra ""The jungle is dark, but full of diamonds" "turns Willy's suicide into a metaphorical moral struggle, a final skewed ambition to ... realise his full commercial and...

• Word Count: 1421
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... his sons will become wealthy and that he will be a successful salesman. Willy in his dreams of his father and his brother Ben, admires the way people become pioneers. We have to remember that Ben is only seen in Willy's mind, everything that Ben does or says is seen through the eyes of Willy. Willy wants to become successful easily like his brother ... Ben did. Willy dreams of owning his own business, "Someday I'll have my own business, and I'll never have to leave home anymore." Ben strayed into Africa on his way to Alaska, "I walked into the jungle when I was seventeen- I walked out w...

• Word Count: 1542
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... his sons will become wealthy and that he will be a successful salesman. Willy in his dreams of his father and his brother Ben, admires the way people become pioneers. We have to remember that Ben is only seen in Willy's mind, everything that Ben does or says is seen through the eyes of Willy. Willy wants to become successful easily like his brother ... Ben did. Willy dreams of owning his own business, "Someday I'll have my own business, and I'll never have to leave home anymore." Ben strayed into Africa on his way to Alaska, "I walked into the jungle when I was seventeen- I walked out w...

• Word Count: 1574
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... down, a sure sign that he is no longer mentally stable. This impression of the leading character is strengthened by the first appearance of his dead brother, Ben. In this scene, as he sits playing cards with Charley, Willy is unable to distinguish between real and imaginary. He converses with both men in the ... his long dead brother and his very real friend. The way in which Willy interprets what Ben is saying now begins to give the audience some idea of his delusions; it is obvious to most that Ben never answers his brothers questions but Willy hears only what fits in with his preconc...

• Word Count: 1911
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... kitchen playing cards with his only friend in the world and former neighbor Charley. It is at this time that Willy receives a flashback of his brother Ben before he went off and suddenly became rich in Africa. Willy believes that he is sitting in his kitchen with the whole family his brother ... Ben, Biff and Happy, along with Linda. He gets Ben to tell the story of his successful trek and business trip to Alaska but instead of going up he was heading due south and ... dreaming of. He thinks that by telling his kids that his brother struck it rich in Africa by hardly doing a thing, just...

• Word Count: 1289
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the conflict between Willy and Biff in their own "secondary" roles by providing insight with their often brief and rare dialogue. For example: Ben exemplifies Willy's desires in his afterlife through Willy's complete admiration of his success and confidence. "Ben! That man was a genius, that man was success incarnate!" Charley, a minor character who helped Willy through his struggles addressed Willy's obsession with ... just as the name Oedipus is suggestive that he will always drag his past behind him. The family curse aspect can be seen in Ben and Happy. Willy wants to become everythi...

• Word Count: 1550
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... Willie Loman's emotional and mental state deterioration at a startling rate. As is explained in the background detail of Willie, Willie's father leaves Willie and his brother Ben, at a young age, leaving Willie no money to take care of him self, also Willie being of such a young age has no memories of his ... father. This is the cause for Willie's deep seated fears and feelings of desertion. These fears exacerbate when Ben, Willie's only relative becomes wealthy through a business in Africa. Willie never quite recovers from the pains caused by these earlier experiences, thus his feelings...

• Word Count: 1662
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... uses many symbols to represent ideas and concepts throughout the play. In the play small things are used as symbols such as diamonds. Willie always refers back to his brother Ben and how he became rich by discovering diamonds. Diamonds represent wealth and validation of one's labor throughout their lives. If Willy would have went with ... Ben when he asked him to he would have had something to show for his hard work and something to leave to his son's, which is really the reason Willy kills himself. Ben's fortune discovering diamonds symbolizes Willy's failure as a salesman. At the end ...

• Word Count: 1434
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... his hard work, Bernard has become a successful lawyer. Willy is jealous of his success, and resents his sons with stronger passion because of their failure of achieving the American Dream. Ben, Willy's brother also plays a small role in emphasizing the American Dream. He is a reoccurring figure in Willy's daydreams. He portrays what Willy is striving to become, he is rich and ... successful. Willy continually regrets not accompanying Ben to Alaska, because Ben had made a fortune. This play is about the tragedy of disillusionment and the tragedy that the American Dream can cause. Willy L...

• Word Count: 1475
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... . After Willy's daydream ends, Charley comes in to play cards with him. While they are playing cards Charley offers Willy a job, but Willy refuses. As they are talking, Willy's brother, Ben, appears to him in an illusion. Willy tries to talk to both of them at once and Charley can't understand. Willy and Charley get into an argument and Charley leaves ... . Willy then turns his attention to Ben and asks him how he became so successful. Ben tells Willy that he went into the jungle when he was seventeen and when he came out at twenty-one he was rich. After Biff overhears ... ...

• Word Count: 2162
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... walk into the kitchen where Linda is waiting. She is furious that the boys left their father alone in the restaurant. Meanwhile in the garden, Willy talks to his brother Ben about killing himself for the twenty thousand dollar life insurance policy for his family. He even speaks of his funeral and that people from all-over will come to pay ... Willy spoke of his grand funeral, the director used front lighting to bring out the sincerity of what he believed would happen at the end of his life. Willy's brother Ben as usual was lighted from the back creating a kind of silhouette of his body...

• Word Count: 1731
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the American Dream either. His views on capitalism are extremely apparent, but his depicture and evolution of Biff's character encourage people to follow their dreams to be successful. Willy's brother Ben followed his heart and found adventure, happiness and success, "diamonds" to be specific, which is very figurative of wealth. Willy always regretted not taking that chance, and the flashbacks to ... Ben's conversations reflect how close he came to taking that opportunity to go to Alaska . The stoop of their house was symbolic of Willy's successes, as well as the other household ... ...

• Word Count: 1287
• Approx Pages: 5

... 't as sharp as he used to be. Willy has a slight inferiority complex, and this is shown through the continuous flashbacks he has of his dead brother Ben who struck it rich in the jungle. Ben causes Willy to feel like more of a failure because he is struggling to make ends meet and provide for his family. Another example of Willy's inferiority is ... ...

• Word Count: 1278
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the American Dream either. His views on capitalism are extremely apparent, but his depicture and evolution of Biff's character encourage people to follow their dreams to be successful. Willy's brother Ben followed his heart and found adventure, happiness and success, "diamonds" to be specific, which is very figurative of wealth. Willy always regretted not taking that chance, and the flashbacks to ... Ben's conversations reflect how close he came to taking that opportunity to go to Alaska . The stoop of their house was symbolic of Willy's successes, as well as the other household ... ...

• Word Count: 1287
• Approx Pages: 5

... he is fine and doesn't need the money, but Charlie knows he does and gives it to him unwillingly. One of Willy's recurring flashbacks is that of his dead brother, Ben. He had been a very successful man by investing / discovering diamond mines in Africa and Willy is mesmerized by tales of "striking it rich ... ". Ben offered Willy a chance to come with him. However, Willy refused due to the fact that he felt he could be as successful. Therefore he stayed in the states to start a ... ...

• Word Count: 1550
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... his life. Past actions have changed the present drastically. Willy recalls that in the past there was a future as he asks his older Brother Ben, "How do we get back to all the great times?" Willy regards Ben as a man that knew what he wanted, went out and got it. This only adds to Willy's illusion to get ahead in the business ... ...

• Word Count: 1576
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... his insanity. He has lost his job, his dignity, and now his mental health. Willy paces around is his back yard, planting carrot seeds, and talking to his dead brother Ben, who he imagines is with him. Willy discusses his plan to kill himself, and have his life insurance provide the family with twenty-thousand dollars. Willy is enthusiastic with joy ... he talks about the turnouts of his plan. Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty thousand dollars in his pocket? It's very smart you realize that, don't you sweetheart? Even Ben sees it. I gotta go, baby, By! By! When the mail comes...

• Word Count: 2242
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... mind is what counts "s" (Act 1, Line 14). He is constantly thinking about the past and how his life could have been if he went off to Alaska with his brother Ben or if his son Biff would settle down and stop switching jobs. Willy is caught in a world that does not exist, somewhere between his thoughts and his past. If Willy ... ...

• Word Count: 1714
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... . He has gotten fired from his job, he realizes his sons are not going to go anywhere in life, there is not hope of him becoming successful like his brother Ben, and he has the guilt and regret of cheating on his wife. He is tired of trying to fight his way up the status ladder always being stepped on and ... ...

• Word Count: 1556
• Approx Pages: 6

... be wealthy, well liked, and respected. Willy decides the only way he can 'preserve his dignity' and gain his 'societal niche' is by committing suicide; "It's twenty thousand dollars... guaranteed... Ben, the funeral will be massive!-. A powerful feeling is felt in the audience when they see Willys only option is suicide. The society which he worked so hard to be a part ... ...

• Word Count: 1965
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... by saying the coach would probably be proud of Biff for taking the initiative to practice. Later, Willy actually sends his sons out to steal lumber, in order to impress Ben. Willy's lack of morality on the issue of honesty greatly affects Biff and his ability to hold a job. Like Willy, Happy also lies to himself about his work and about ... ...

• Word Count: 1309
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School