Last updated on December 5th, 2021 at 09:49 am
Death of a Salesman Character List
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Willy Loman
Willy Loman is a sixty years old travel salesman in New England. The play’s central character is “Death of a Salesman.” He dreams that his son Biff will be a businessman like Charley, his next-door neighbor, one day. But Biff is a failure man and does nothing for his career.
To see the failure of Biff, Willy becomes depressed and anxious. He fails to differentiate his imagination and the real-time situation in his life. Ultimately, he commits suicide to relieve himself of everything.
Linda Loman
Linda is the loyal wife of Willy, and she plays a significant role in the play. As a proper life partner, she always supports Willy in any situation. She is a realistic and rational character.
In every difficult time, she tries to console Willy to stay calm. When Biff’s attitude is too harsh to Willy, she shouts at Biff for his wrong judgment towards his father.
Biff Loman
Biff is the elder and failure son of Willy. He is a well-built, handsome boy. He was a football star in his high school days. Biff was never attentive in the study. However, he failed in math, which interrupted him to graduate.
Willy has a lot of dreams for Biff. But he neither fulfills his father’s ambition nor succeeds in his life. At the end of the play, he can understand how much Willy cares for him.
Happy Loman
Happy is the younger son of Willy. He has a steady job in New York. But he is not satisfied with his life. He has changed a lot of jobs, but none can give him satisfaction. He always likes to flirt with women surrounding himself. Happy represents the over-ambitious aspect of contemporary society.
Ben
Ben is an adventurous and wealthy older brother of Willy. He has died in Africa a few weeks before the play’s action begins. However, Ben appears in the hallucination of Willy.
He went to Alaska searching for his father, but he arrived in Africa by mistake, where he luckily found diamond mines. And this is how he changed his fortune.
Charley
Charley is a friend and next-door neighbor of Willy. He is a successful businessman. His achievements never come overnight, and he struggles hard that makes him a successful man. He is the father of Bernard, a successful lawyer.
Willy becomes jealous to see the achievements of Charley. When Charley offers a job to Willy, he immediately refuses and is fired.
Bernard
Bernard is a successful lawyer and son of Charley. He works hard that makes him a perfect lawyer. Although Bernard and Biff are of the same age, Bernard is different from Biff, and Bernard is more realistic than Biff, and he always tries to convince Biff to concentrate on studying.
Howard Wagner
Howard Wagner is the son of Frank Wagner, and he inherited the company from his father. He is the current boss of Willy. Willy has been working for the company for more than thirty years when he was a child.
He always tries to find ways of how can earn more money. When he observes Willy’s sales are not adequate, he appoints Willy as a committed team member to a salaried employee.
Bill Oliver
Bill Oliver is the former boss Biff. When Biff plans to start a business of sports goods, he decides to ask him for loans. He waits for Oliver for six hours in the restaurant, but he doesn’t recognize him.
The Woman
She is the woman with whom Willy has an affair. She appears in the flashback of Willy in Boston, and Biff discovers the woman in the hotel hiding in the bedroom.
The woman claims Willy has ruined her life, making Biff angrier to his father and addressing him as a ‘phone little fake.’
Miss Forsythe
The woman whom Biff and Happy meet in the restaurant. She represents as a prostitute in the play, and happy tries to flirt with her to fulfill his sexual desire.
Stanley
Stanley is a waiter in Frank’s restaurant.
Read More: Summary of Death of a Salesman
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