Willy Loman

One who lives their life in truth will be happier than one who lives in lies. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is about a salesman named Willy Loman who struggles with change within his life. During the movie, Linda plays the role of Willy’s wife and the mother of their two children, Biff and Happy Loman. Linda tries to help her husband as he goes through a tough time with his job. Linda is the supportive character that tries to make peace between everyone.

To begin with, Linda can be described as the housewife that always looked sad, and worried but at the same time calm. Her hair was brown and about shoulder length. Linda’s clothes varied from a long flared, loose fitting dress to a long night gown and pink robe. The last part of the movie showed Linda wearing a long black coat and hat at her husband’s funeral. She carried herself in a strong way and at Willy’s funeral she did not cry.

Pursuing this further, throughout the whole movie Linda Loman is recognized as a wife that cares deeply about her husband who is trying to reconstruct his real life. Linda plays a character that is encouraging, strong, patient, and loyal. She did what was necessary to keep Willy
happy so that she did not lose him. Linda knew that her family would not live the life that Willy wanted them to live because he did not do well at his job. Linda once said, “Willy Loman never made a lot of his money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He’s not allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person. You called him crazy.” Although Willy was not able to bring home a steady income, Linda accepted his imperfections. When Willy yelled at Linda she never got irritated or upset with him. Linda protected Willy from negativity and criticism from others. Willy once told her that people laugh at him and her response was “Willy, darling, you’re the handsomest man in the world.” Later in the movie, Willy committed suicide and at his funeral Linda asked aloud, During the movie Biff started to lose respect for his father because he realized that his father Willy never knew himself. Linda stated to Biff, “Either he’s your father and you pay him respect, or else you’re not to come here.” Linda was the support system for her entire family and she wanted everyone to remain close. At the end of the movie Willy committed suicide and Linda was saddened. Linda spoke aloud at the funeral to Willy and said “I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there’ll be nobody home.” Linda tried to search for the answer to why Willy committed suicide but could not figure it out. She did the best she could to keep everyone in the family happy and together.

Moreover, the four most important symbols used in the Death of a Salesman is the rubber hose, stockings, the Loman’s house and the Loman’s car.
The rubber hose symbolized Willy’s attempt to commit suicide by inhaling gas. Willy attempted to commit suicide many times because he felt that he could not provide enough money for his family. The stockings symbolized Willy’s affair and Biff’s disapproval of it. As Linda is mending her stockings, Willy gets mad at her because it reminds him of his affair so he feels guilty. The Loman’s house symbolizes success because it took Willy and Linda a long time to pay the house off and when he passed away she had been able to make the last payment. The Loman’s car symbolized death for Willy. He made many attempts to kill himself by driving off the road
purposely.

To conclude, Linda was the housewife of the main character, support character, and the mother of Biff and Happy Loman. Throughout the entire movie, she protected Willy to the best of her ability and she did not let anyone disrespect him. Willy yelled at Linda often and she never got upset or irritated with him. Linda knew Willy was not good at being a salesman but she continued to support him. She did not care how much money Willy made. Linda knew that Willy was not bringing home much money but she still thought highly of him and acknowledged his effort for trying to provide for his family. She wanted to make sure Willy was happy and would not leave her so she did all that she could. When other people laughed at him she spoke words of encouragement to make him feel better. She never questioned what Willy was doing or where he was and she remained loyal to him. Her attitude was always positive and encouraging towards him. In addition, when no one else believed in Willy, Linda did. When Willy passed away Linda was heartbroken and she searched for answers. Overall, Linda wanted peace between her sons and husband since he was already stressed enough. She made sure no one added any unnecessary stress to his life.