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  • Essay / Installments - 2198

    CharactersIn Death of a Salesman, Act I, pages 11-41, the main characters, as well as most of the important secondary characters, are introduced into the story. The play opens with Willy returning home early from a business trip, very tired and irritable. Willy is 63 years old and has worked very hard as a salesman his entire life to provide for his family. Even though Willy put so much effort into his work, he still hasn't really succeeded in life, always struggling to provide for his family. Quickly introduced into the story is Willy's wife, Linda, who still tries to love Willy, even after so many years of difficulty. She may be unhappy with their situation, but she doesn't really show it outwardly if she does. Linda tries to comfort Willy as much as possible, whenever he returns from a bad business trip, and it's clear that she has a lot of experience. The biggest problem for Willy is the fact that he is less and less able to do his job. When he gets home, Linda addresses him and asks, "You didn't break the car, did you?" As we later find out, Willy had already been in a car accident. As a traveling salesman, if Willy can't drive his car, he can't make money, which seriously upsets him. Despite this, Willy still insists that he drive, even though he has admitted several times that he knows he is incapable of driving the car, and even tells himself that he would not be able to find a job that would require less travel. Even if Linda, in an attempt to comfort Willy, gives him the opportunity to blame the car or his glasses, Willy still prefers not to deny the fact that he is getting older and more and more senile. Upstairs, awakened somewhere during Willy's rant, are his two sons Biff and Happy, aged 34... in the middle of a paper... there's more money than he could ever make for the rest of his life, $20,000. life insurance. Money can also be seen as a seed, a seed for one's family's future. Biff approaches Willy and tells him he's leaving for good. Willy yells at him, and Biff goes on to explain that all this time, while he was out west and Willy and Linda couldn't contact him, he was actually in jail the whole time. Everyone goes upstairs except Willy, who continues talking with Ben. Soon Ben is gone too, Willy is alone. Willy gets in his car and speeds away, while his family listens, knowing full well what he has just done. In the requiem, a sort of definitive closure is provided for the story. Linda remarks to the late Willy, “I made the last payment on the house today. Today, my dear. And there will be no one at home” (139). Family members each take their share of the insurance money and go their separate ways..