Student Question
Why does Ben reappear when Willy is making his final decision?
Quick answer:
Ben reappears when Willy is making his final decision because he symbolizes the success and adventure Willy yearns for but never achieves. In Death of a Salesman, Ben represents the American Dream that Willy pursues. As Willy contemplates suicide, Ben's presence reinforces the idea that Willy's death might provide financial security for his family, enabling them to pursue their dreams. This reflects Willy's hope that his sacrifice will finally bring success, akin to Ben's achievements.
In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is a 60-year-old salesman whose many years on the road have apparently contributed to the mental challenges that he manifests in the course of the play.
In a number of instances, Willy imagines past events or has conversations with people from his past. One of these people is his older brother, Ben. Willy admires and brags about Ben's adventures and great achievements, and such achievements lead Willy to think that he himself can achieve great things.
Just before Willy finally does manage to kill himself, Ben, according to the stage directions, "appears in the light just outside the kitchen." Perhaps Ben appears because he represents the sort of life that Willy has dreamed of having. Just before Ben appears, Willy has had an emotional moment with his son, Biff, whom Willy declares is "going to be magnificent." Thus, I...
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would suggest that Ben's appearance reminds Willy of the possibilities that exist for adventure and achievement. Perhaps Willy realizes that he himself cannot experience those dreams, but that his son is still young enough to have those sorts of adventures. Thus, Ben reminds Willy of the potential for a different life and Willy may kill himself in the hopes that the insurance money will provide Biff with the sort of financial foundation that he would need to undertake such an adventure.
Willy Loman's late brother Ben makes regular appearances in his fevered imagination in the form of an apparition. He represented everything that Willy can never be—rich, successful, well-liked. In his life, he was the epitome of the American Dream by which Willy tries so hard to live, but which will eventually destroy him.
When Willy finally makes the decision to end his own life, Ben appears once more. This time he tells him that his suicide will be like a diamond, that is tangible, something you can reach out and touch. Ben made his fortune in the diamond trade, and in Willy's apparitions tells him that the "The jungle is dark, but full of diamonds." In other words, however hard life appears to be, there are always opportunities out there for the right man.
Willy comes to see his imminent suicide as the grasping of just such an opportunity; not for himself, but for his family. With the money they'll collect from the insurance policy they'll be able to take their own shot at the American Dream. In that way, Willy's death will be his only real success; the only way he could ever hope to emulate his late brother.