... be ignored. Of importance is Happy's feeling of guilt because he hates his older brother, Biff. It is questionable whether Charley, Bernard, Howard, or Ben are acceptable character or stereotypes. If the lay belongs, as Gassner says it does, in the tradition of American realism, then those characters may stand ... worm like Bernard because Biff has spirit and personality. Happy comes downstairs and Willy is saying he wishes he went to Alaska with his brother Ben. He says Ben at age seventeen, walked-into the jungle and when I was twenty-one I walked out...and by God I was rich. Happy te...

• Word Count: 11015
• Approx Pages: 44
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... liked. In contrast to Willy's idea of success; making contacts, being well known, and well liked, Ben took on ventures and made money; something tangible and easily measured. During his conversations with Willy, Ben always refers to "going into the jungle when he was seventeen", and at the age of twenty-one, ... the discovery of his father's infidelity. And though the event is never formally discussed in Ben and Willy's dialogue, Willy makes it clear and Ben understands what Willy is going to do to redeem his self. Ben is always talking about diamonds; something tangible that one can la...

• Word Count: 667
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... 's footsteps by demonstrating success in the business world, since he feels that being a salesman is prestigious. Willy's father establishes success during his lifetime, as Ben states, "With one gadget he made more in a week than a man like you could make in a lifetime" (Miller 49). Miller also intertwines symbols ... is a symbol of the ruthless success Willy has never reached" (Kennedy as qtd. in Koon 37). During the play, one becomes aware of Ben when Willy reminisces about the past. Willy recalls sequences of the past to counteract his present "depression," in the workplace and at home...

• Word Count: 3030
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography

... either have no control, or lose control throughout the works. That lack of control causes their downfall. What shows Willy's lack of control best is his constant hallucinations with Ben that also coincide with his suicide attempt(s). His hallucinations with Ben revolve around Ben promising much better success in exotic places like Alaska and Africa. Willy is jealous and buys into everything that ... "Ben" says, because he desperately wants to be successful in the same way Ben is. His lack of control comes from the dream's basis in Ben's past. Ben says, "Opportunity is tremendous in Alas...

• Word Count: 1593
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... for success affects his family, his friends, and most importantly himself. Many factors can contribute to an individual's success. Ben, Willy's deceased older brother has a major impact on Willy's drive for success. Ben is a shadowy figure who functions more as a symbol or illusion than he does as a character. What we ... fair with a stranger. He seems to have no time for personal relations, nor does he seem to indulge in the emotions. For Willy, Ben represents the ideal success story. Ben stated " when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out And ...

• Word Count: 1216
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... genius,that man was success incarnate!" ( Miller 2125). Willy's feelings are revealed because he based his brothers success solely upon the fact that his Ben had made a lot of money. This, however, is only a minor example of the extent of his obsession with money. Willy is so focused ... to share the same menial existence as Willy. Their upbringing is put into perspective by Willy during his flashback of Ben's visit as Willy tells Ben that "That's just the way I'm bringing them up, Ben -- rugged, well liked, all around"(Miller 2129). From this the reader can see that Biff and Happy ... of...

• Word Count: 2869
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography

... 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

... "Death of a Salesman" is filled with symbolism from the opening scene. Many symbols illustrate the themes of success and failure. They include the apartment buildings, the rubber hose, Willy's brother Ben, the tape recorder, and the seeds for the garden. These symbols represent Willy's attempts to be successful and his impending failure. When Willy and Linda purchased their home in Brooklyn ... and forgiveness. Instead, the failure of the seeds is just another sign pointing to the ultimate demise of Willy and his dreams. The apartment buildings, the rubber hose, Willy's brother Ben, the...

• Word Count: 1115
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... embraced his desire, and turned his back on the original, pioneering spirit of the American Dream, "Why didn't I go to Alaska with my brother Ben that time! That man was a genius, that man was success incarnate!" Willy realises that if he had have gone to explore the world with his ... brother, he too may have achieved the success, which Ben reaped. Miller seems to be questioning the materialistic version of the Dream, implying that it may bring danger, but also disappointment. Willy's materialistic infatuation ... questions Swiss cheese, which Linda says she has bought him for. Whilst h...

• Word Count: 3225
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School

... Biff and Bernard's success and believes Biff will be better off, because Bernard is only liked and not well liked. The role of Ben Loman, Willy's brother, is significant to the play. Unlike Willy, Ben has achieved the American Dream. Ben said, "when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich."" Willy regrets ... the decision of not following Ben to Alaska. Willy's hallucinations of Ben show the reader he is unable to accept reality, and he still believes the ... offer is still available. Since Ben is a model of success of the...

• Word Count: 1921
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... their success in the market. Willy's life has been dominated by two images of success: that of Dave Singleman which has direction, and that of Ben which returns at crucial moments to highlight Willy's sense of insecurity. We are offered a glimpse into Willy's family history of social change in America, ... you can fight for a fortune up there- (1917). But Willy had already chosen the salesman ideal of success in a consumer society. Willy looked upon Ben's competitive side with a nave faith in the power of personal attractiveness as the new way to wealth in this highly consumer driven so...

• Word Count: 881
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• 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 friend, Charley, comes over to play cards. While they are playing cards, Willy thinks that his brother, Ben, is in the room with them. As he is talking to Charley, he is also talking to Ben. Charley asks Willy several times what he is talking about during the conversation. For example, Willy hears ... that she died. When this happens, Charley asks whom Willy is referring too; however, Willy is so caught up in listening to the imagery Ben that he asks "heh;" and that is when Charley asked who died (1419). So it is quite clear from this verbal exchange that Charley is not ... aware o...

• Word Count: 1178
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the characters Biff and Bernard, so the audience could see that Biff didn't stand anywhere in life. Arthur Miller uses many symbols throughout the play. Willy's brother Ben is a symbol. Ben is Willy's dead brother who shows up to Willy during his flashbacks, in times of trouble. Ben was a rich man who got rich in the diamond mines of Africa. In the play ... Ben is dressed in all white representing wealth and success. The jungle, where Ben found the diamonds is a symbol of competition in the business world, and the diamonds are a symbol of success ... found in the furnace. The hose, whi...

• Word Count: 1156
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... can never admit this. Charley's success confuses Willy because he wants to make his children well liked, but he knows that Charley has succeeded without it. There is also Ben, Willy's foil. Ben has lucked onto amazing success on another continent and wishes for Willy's success, just as Willy does. He is an example of the very small population who are successful ... without much work. Every time that Willy thinks of the American Dream, he thinks of the achievements of Ben's lifetime. Ben is a ruthless businessman, who is rich and adventurous and not confined by any psychological restrain...

• Word Count: 1133
• Approx Pages: 5
• 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

... family, especially Willy, trying to accomplish the American dream, but with no success. Willy Loman is married to Linda, and his two sons are Biff and Happy. Other characters as Ben, Charley, Bernard, and the women in the hotel play a major role in Willy's downfall through the story. Willy has always wanted to be successful and well-liked among people, but ... not. Another influence in Willy's downfall through the play is the presence of his brother Ben in his dreams. Ben tells Willy that he became rich when he went to Africa and found a mine of diamonds. One might think Ben is not real...

• Word Count: 792
• Approx Pages: 3
• 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

... to achieve success causing him to retreat into the depths of his own subconscious, leading to the resurrection his dead brother, Ben. Ben was the epitome of success and of lost opportunity for Willy Loman. Willy is enthralled with the fact that Ben's success was achieved while on a quest for their father in Alaska until he mistakenly ended up in the jungles of ... Africa at the age of seventeen and walked out twenty-one years old, rich. Unfortunately, Willy attributed Ben's success to being rugged and well liked consequently raising Biff and Happy the same way. Ben's success also raised...

• Word Count: 939
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... 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

... believes his life is now has been terrible. This is the reason he living in the past. He wishes he could have been as great as Uncle Ben, who made his fortunes in the African diamond mines. Willy was having an affair with another woman in Boston and Biff found out about it after his ... future in front of him; instead, of the present which was worthless and had nothing good going on for himself. The fact was that everybody was succeeding, including Ben, Charlie, and Bernard, except his family Another major thing that kept Willy living in an illusion was the fact that he didn't like chan...

• Word Count: 800
• Approx Pages: 3
• 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