Death of a Salesman (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Arthur Miller
- First Published: 1949
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Tragedy
- Time of Work: Mid-twentieth century
- Setting: New York and Boston
- Genres: Social realism, Drama, Tragedy
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Parents and children, Suicide, Twentieth century, New York City, 1940’s, Yards or backyards, American Dream, Fathers, Death or dying, Sales personnel, Selling
- Locales: Boston, MA, Brooklyn, NY
Characters Discussed
Willy Loman, a sixty-three-year-old traveling salesman who has begun to dwell on the past and not to know where he is. In the last two days of his life, his past rolls before him. He is a father who loves his sons and wants them to have worldly success, although he does not know how to help them achieve it. His last gesture for his son Biff is to commit suicide so that the son can have the insurance money.
Biff Loman, Willy’s thirty-four- year-old son, who is still trying to find himself. A high-school athlete, he gets nowhere after graduation....
[The entire page is 629 words long]
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See Also:
- - For teachers, the Death of a Salesman Lesson Plan.
- - Death of a Salesman summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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