Willy Loman might be considered your standard American "everyman." Willy has big dreams of success and desires to build a better life for his family. You could easily relate to Willy's motivation—and unfortunately, its also possible to relate to his lack of success. Have you struggled to find success in a job? Have you turned to an affair? These are examples of situations you might be able to relate to.

If you relate to Willy's ideals, but not his situations, perhaps you should consider a comparison with Linda. Willy's wife also believes in the American Dream. She is very loyal to her husband and defends him, although she doesn't know the truth behind the lies he is telling. Perhaps you've been on the other end of an affair (been cheated on instead of doing the cheating).

Many students could relate to one of Willy's sons, Biff or Happy. Biff was a star football player in high school but neglected his schoolwork, which resulted him missing out on a college scholarship. I certainly hope you are not in that situation, but you might be able to connect to succeeding in one subject but failing another. Biff has made mistakes in life, such as stealing from his employers, but he has the desire to grow. Biff has some self-awareness and recognizes how his dad has influenced his life, which leads to arguments. While Biff expresses this honestly, there is still a lack of true connection between the two. Perhaps you've also fought with your parents. Happy is a little more similar to Willy, so if you connect to Willy but not his exact situations, you might want to explore Happy for your paragraph instead.

Once you pick your character, I recommend finding quotes from that character and using those in your paragraph, and then explaining how you can relate to them.

In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, with which character do you identify the most? Why? Identify similar characteristics, situations, and/or relationships between yourself and the character you choose. Key characters to choose from: Willy Loman, Linda Loman, Biff Loman, Happy Loman, and Uncle Charley.

This question is essentially asking how well you understand a particular character in Death of a Salesman. Of the five you have been offered, Willy Loman is by far the most difficult choice, with Happy Loman probably lying second. This is because Willy is thoroughly deluded, and Happy is also somewhat unrealistic and dishonest. You clearly cannot say that you are deluded, since the very fact of announcing this shows that you are aware of your delusions.

Biff Loman is perhaps the easiest character with whom to identify. Although he is thirty-four years old, Biff himself says that he is "like a boy," displaying teenage angst and uncertainty as well as the pain of lost illusions. He loves his father but sees the essentially false and corrupt nature of the values with which he has been raised.

Linda Loman and Uncle Charley are rather neutral, sympathetic, supporting characters. If you have ever had to live with the delusions and neuroses of others while remaining calm and helping them, you may find that you identify with one of them. However, they have few flaws, which makes it difficult to say you resemble them. This is most true of Charley, since Linda shares some of her husband's shallow materialism and participates to some extent in his warped view of life.