Death of a Salesman: Use of Memories and Hallucinations to Define Characters

In the play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller recounts the story of a man named William Loman and his family. The story mainly concerns Willy's determination to become the success he once was and to pass on his success to his oldest son Biff. Written in both the present and the past, the story unravels via Willy's memories and hallucinations. Miller uses the past as a means of explaining what caused the characters to be the way they are in the present, as well as their present actions. The main characters defined are Willy and Biff.

Willy Loman is a salesman who views success as being well liked rather than being of monetary value. His past success dies down over the years and he refuses to accept it. He stubbornly believes his past of being well liked will drive him towards a better future.

"Willy: I'm talking about your father! There were promises made across this desk! [...] I put thirty-four years into this firm, Howard, and now I can't pay my insurance! You can't eat the orange and throw the peel away - a man is not a piece of fruit! Now pay attention. Your father - in 1928 I had a big year. I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in commissions.

Howard: Now, Willy, you never averaged -

Willy: I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in the year of 1928! And your father came to me-or rather, I was in his office here-it was right over his desk-and he put his hand on my shoulder-" (pg. 61-62)

Willy tries to guilt Howard through Howard's father to help him move up in the world of selling. He tells Howard about his close relationship with Howard's father and how he is the one who chose Howard's name. Willy also sees himself as being a better salesman than he ever really was. Howard knows this and when he tries to tell Willy as much, Willy just cut him off. As Willy is a salesman, he also has a competitive nature. Willy is constantly striving to be as good as his brother Ben. His brother is very rich. He earns his living off of diamond mines in Africa which he came upon when looking for his father in Alaska. He dies weeks before the setting, but is alive in Willy's hallucinations and memories. Ben plays a crucial role in defining Willy's inner-self to the readers. When Willy remembers and hallucinates about Ben, he demonstrates insecurity and uncertainty which he tries to cover up in front of his family. He admits things to Ben that he would not admit to anyone else. Willy, on the other hand, misinterprets much of what Ben tells him:

"Ben: Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way.

[...]

And good luck with your-what do you do?

Willy: Selling.

Ben: Yes. Well...

Willy: No, Ben I don't want you to think... It's Brooklyn, I know, but we hunt to.

Ben: Really, now.

Willy: Oh sure, there's snakes and rabbits and-that's why I moved out here." (pg. 34-35)

Willy tries to compete with Ben in is first memory. Ben talks about the jungle and his success, and Willy interprets the jungle figuratively rather than literally and Ben intended. He talks of Brooklyn as a jungle and refers to buyers as snakes and rabbits. He sees the world of selling as the jungle. He demonstrates insecurity and misinterprets once again what Ben tries to advise him:

"Willy: Business is bad, it's murderous. But not for me of course.

Ben: Can't you stay for a few days? You're just what I need, Ben, because I-I have a fine position here, but I-well, Dad left when I was such a baby and I never had a change to talk to him and I still feel-kind of temporary about myself.

Ben: I'll be late for my train.

Willy: Ben, my boys-can't we talk? They'd go into the jaws of hell for me, see, but I-

Ben: William, you're being first-rate with your boys. Outstanding, manly chaps!

Willy: Oh, Ben, that's good to hear! Because sometimes I'm afraid that I'm not teaching them the right kind of-Ben, how should I teach them?

Ben: William, when I walked into the jungle, I was seventeen. When I walked out I was twenty-one. And, by God, I was rich!

Willy: ... was rich! That's just the spirit I want to imbue them with! To walk into a jungle! I was right! I was right!" (pg. 36-37)

In his memory of Ben is the only time Willy directly mentions his insecurity concerning the way he raises Biff and Happy. Having not really had a male figure, he is unsure of how he should act or what he should tell them. Willy also demonstrates uncertainty in his views of success being measure by being well liked. When Ben tells Willy about his success in the jungle, he is trying to tell Willy that every man makes his own fortune in life according to his own fate. Willy conversely thinks Ben is saying that he should force his sons to be salesmen and to "walk into the jungle," the jungle being his world of selling. Unlike Willy, Ben views success as tangible wealth that can be passed on to his children rather than being well liked. This is shown further in a later conversation.

"Willy: Look at this boy! Without a penny to his name, three great universities are begging for him, and from there the sky's the limit, because it's not what you do, Ben. It's who you know and the smile on your face! It's contacts, Ben, contacts! The whole wealth of Alaska passes over the lunch table at the Commodore Hotel, and that's the wonder, the wonder of this country, that a man can end with diamonds here on the basis of being well liked! [...] You can't feel it with your hand like timber, but it's there!

Ben: Good-bye, William.

Willy: Ben, am I right? Don't you think I'm right? I value your advice.

Ben: There's a new continent at your doorstep, William. You could walk out rich. Rich!

Willy: We'll do it here, Ben! You hear me? We're gonna do it here!" (pg. 65-66)

Willy is very reliant on Ben's opinion, but remains stubborn and chooses to interpret it the way he wants. Finally in the end, Willy understands Ben and listens to him. He understands that it is all just a dream of his and believes that the only way he could help his family is by committing suicide. Ben even encourages him in the end to commit suicide giving Willy even more incentive to do it as he trusts his brother's opinion. Willy deters at first because Ben tells him that Biff would hate him for killing himself, but he does it anyways.

Willy expects a lot from his son Biff. Biff enjoys the occupation of cattle ranching, but feels as though he needs to satisfy his father's expectations for him. Biff is seen as very successful in Willy's memories and therefore a success to Willy. Due to misinterpreted conversations with Ben, Willy believes that Biff should be a salesman in the future to lead a life of success. In Willy's memories Willy and Biff get along (pg.18-22), but in the present time they are at each other's throats. The view of the past shows that something caused their relationship to change as well as what caused that change to happen:

"Willy: Hurry downstairs and-

Biff: Somebody in there?

Willy: No, that was next door.

Biff: Somebody got in your bathroom!

Willy: No, it's next room, there's a party-

The Woman: Can I come in? There's something in the bathtub, Willy, and it's moving!" (pg. 93)

Biff catches Willy cheating on Linda when he is eighteen years old. After that he remains angry at his father and no longer admires Willy:

"Willy: Oh, my boy...

Biff: Dad...

Willy: She's nothing to me, Biff. I was lonely, I was terribly lonely.

Biff: You-you gave her Mama's stockings!

Willy: I gave you an order!

Biff: Don't touch me, you-liar!

Willy: Apologize for that!

Biff: You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!" (pg. 95)

After this betrayal, Biff is no longer obedient and becomes rebellious. He steals as Willy once encouraged him too (pg. 35) as a way of acting out against orders. Still, Biff loves his father and would do anything for him. In the present time, Biff returns and tries to please his father by trying to become a salesman. He later realizes Willy's dreams for Biff's future were just that: dreams. They are his plans created in the dream world Willy lives in. Willy bases his beliefs that Biff should be a success in the present on Biff's popularity in the past:

"Bernard: Just because he printed University of Virginia on his sneakers doesn't mean they've got to graduate him, Uncle Willy!

Willy: What're you talking about? With scholarships to three universities they're going to flunk him?

Bernard: I head Mr. Birnbaum say-

Willy: Don't be as pest, Bernard!" (pg. 20)

In the past, Willy sees Biff as the boy who is going places and Bernard as the "pest." Biff is the boy who was well liked and Bernard in the boy who was not. Yet, Bernard is now successful and going to the Supreme Court while Biff remains jobless. Biff attempts to make his father happy by getting a job as a salesman, but fails because he understands his father's dream world. In his family, Biff is the one who stands out because he is the only one who stands up and faces his father. Biff questions him about trying to commit suicide with the fumes and tells him that there will be no pity for him if he tries to commit suicide. Biff is the one who shows he really cares by making Willy face the truth. Biff is also the only on in the family who sees outside of Willy's dreams and goes off to make something of himself in the real world with tangible income.

Willy and Biff's characters are defined through their past and present in the play. In the seventeen years that passed between the time periods, they are the ones who have changed. Willy went from simply believing success is weighted by being well liked to believing that being a salesman is the only way to be successful. Biff on the other hand went from following his father blindly to becoming a individual who stands up and works for himself. The use of past memories and hallucinations accomplishes this by showing how the characters have developed over time.