S.S.F.I.T
Willy Loman
Appears in: Death of a Salesman
Age: 60
Occupation: Salesman
Role in Family: Father of Happy and Biff, husband of Linda, brother of Ben
Background: Unsuccessful salesman. Has a wife. Cheated on his wife. His father abandoned him when he was young and Willy has since been emotionally damaged. Deteriorating mental state.
Interests/hobbies: blond women, cheating on his wife, seeds, lying to his family, Biff's football education
Character Analysis: Willy Loman has a distorted view of success, and has failed as a father as well as a husband. He lies to his family as well as himself, deluding himself into thinking that he is well-liked and pretends that he is earning enough money to sustain the family. Willy lies simply because he can’t cope with the reality that he isn’t well liked, he didn’t bring up his children properly and he cheated on his wife. Willy is a common man, and his pride prevents him from admitting this.
Willy’s view of success is distorted and largely materialistic. He measures his success by the amount of money he has, as well as what he has to pass onto his sons. When he doesn’t reach these goals and become his definition of ‘successful’, instead of adapting and finding a job, he sticks to the belief that he is well liked and therefore everything will work out.
Willy is someone who sticks to the past and does not evolve with the modern world. His flashbacks are an example of this, recalling all the positive times when Biff was still in high school. He has trouble accepting that times have changed, represented through his difficulty with machinery.
Willy’s parenting of Biff and Happy also had serious flaws, teaching them that if they were well-liked, they would succeed in life. He did not discipline them when they stole and failed to leave anything behind for his sons.
