Readers and viewers never learn the last name of Charley and his son Bernard, who are close neighbors to the Lomans. The fact that Miller does not give them a last name when he gives many other characters last names could suggest several different things. Perhaps one reason Miller does not provide a surname for them is that they are so familiar to the Lomans that they have always been on a first-name basis--they are almost like family. Bernard even calls Willy "Uncle Willy," although they are not actually related.
Another meaning that could be conveyed by the lack of last name is the lack of respect that Willy and his boys show toward Charley and Bernard. Although Charley is a faithful friend and even helps support the Lomans financially, Willy is constantly arguing with Charley, saying unkind things to him, and spurning his offers of employment. Likewise, when the boys...
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were younger, they considered Bernard a pesky little tag-along. Biff tells his dad that Bernard is liked, but not well-liked. Letting them go without a last name hints at this disdain that the Lomans feel toward Charley and Bernard.
What name should Charley and Bernard have had? The play, through Biff's lines, makes it clear that Willy had the wrong goals in life--he misunderstood what success was. His role model--the eighty-four-year-old gentleman who died the death of a salesman--was named Dave Singleman. That last name suits Charley and Bernard well. Charley was single in his devotion to Willy--he never abandoned him, even though Willy's actions probably deserved it. Charley and Bernard succeed by their single-minded pursuit of their careers--they do not get distracted by shortcuts to success. Finally, Willy admits toward the end of the play that Charley is his only friend--the single man who cares about Willy. One could conclude that Charley and Bernard have earned the last name Singleman, but that Willy never recognizes that in time to give them the respect they deserve for their unwavering friendship.
Charley is Willy's foil, his opposite number. Where Willy believes that good looks and charm are the keys to success, Charley prizes hard work and a good education. Willy fails; Charley succeeds. In a similar way, Bernard is the foil to both Happy and Biff. Bernard is teased by Biff and Willy for studying hard in school, but it is Bernard who graduates and goes on to great success as a lawyer, even so far as to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court. He is the example of what could have been for the Loman boys, had they had a better role model.
Not giving Charley and Bernard last names is a deliberate choice by Miller. Their purpose in the play is to show the other road, the example of success that the Lomans lack, not to serve as full as complete characters in their own right.
In the play "Death of A Salesman," Charlie is a neighbor and friend to Willy. Benard is Charlie's son. Their last names are never revealed. Charlie is described as "a large man, slow of speech, laconic, immovable” – engages in teasing banter with Willy, who feels insulted when Charley good-heartedly offers Willy a job." Charlie is called Uncle Charlie by Biff and Hap, however he is not related to the family, just a friend who helps the Lomans financially.
In Death of a Salesman, are Charley and Bernard related to the Lomans?
In a word, 'no'. That Biff and Happy address Charley as 'uncle', and Bernard greets Willy in the same way seems to imply a familial relationship, but their use of this term of address is the one sometimes used in a number of cultures by children for a male friend of their parents. That being said, it is abundantly clear that the relationship between Willy and Charley is more than mere neighbourliness. Although Willy died in the fond hope - recalling the death of his ideal salesman, Dave Singleman - that hundreds of former friends and business associates would flock to his funeral, only Charley attends, eulogizing the man and his dreams. In Willy's last nightmarish months of 'earning' straight commission, Charley safeguards his appearance as the breadwinner of the family by paying him fifty dollars a week, but at the same time repeatedly offers him a job. Charley is a true friend, in fact the only friend Willy has.
I don't believe that the Lomans in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman are genetically related to Charley and Bernard. As best I recall, they're neighbors, with Charley's son Bernard having grown up and gone to school with Willy's two sons.
The enotes study guide seems to support my suspicions: Charley is described only as "Willy's only friend," and Bernard is described as "the son of Charley, Willy's only friend and supporter outside of his family."
Their lives are certainly enmeshed (e.g. Charley continues to "loan" money to Willy), but as far as I recall, they're not literally related.