Willy Loman has been a traveling salesman for Wagner Company for thirty-four years. He likes to think of himself vital to the New England territory. Long ago Willy met a salesman named Dave Singleton who would go into a town and pick up a phone without leaving his hotel room. When this man died, people from all over the country came to his funeral. This is whom Willy wanted to be Dave Singleton; this was also a part of the reason that Willy became a salesman.

In the beginning of the play, Willy has just come back home after having left for New England that morning. He tells his wife, he just can't seem to keep his mind on driving anymore. He asks about his favorite son Biff, who has just come back home for a visit after being away for a long time. Willy son, Biff was considered to be an American dream teenager. Biff was a great football player; many universities offered him scholarships. But during that year Biff failed math and had gone to Boston to tell his father the devastating news. When Biff reaches Willy's hotel room in Boston

Biff and Happy's futures were all depended on the way they were brought up. Willy was the only one with any say in the way the kids were brought up. Linda went along with whatever Willy said. Willy taught them that if they were handsome and successful, opportunity would come to you. Happy learned nothing from Willy's demise but insists that his father had "the only dream you can have- to come out number-one man". Biff and Happy idolized their father when they were young. The stories they were told made them picture their father as a popular, successful, well-known salesman. As Biff grew up, he found himself being told things about his father like "A salesman has to dream, it comes with the territory." At the end of the story when Linda says they we free, Biff is free to realize his dream of owning a ranch in West, where he can live close to the natural world. Biff also realizes that his father had the wrong dreams and didn't know who he was. Biff is sure he won't make the same mistakes his father did. Meanwhile, Happy is more like his dad, determined to stay in town and prove himself to everyone. Having Biff acknowledge the dishonesty of his own life, insists on the end of their phony dream.

Happy, Willy's youngest son, he has much more confidence than Biff. Similar to his brother he is also lost, but in a very different way, he has never allowed himself to turn his face toward defeat. He has tried to conform to the demands of the city and has been able to achieve moderate success. He likes to think of himself as more than he actually is. Unlike, Biff he wants to think less then who he really is. However, when they were young Happy had always been much less successful than Biff. This is probably due to their parents, all of the attention is put on Biff, and Happy is alone in the family. The only way Happy can prove to himself is by his place in the society and by climbing the ladder of success. Maybe, if Willy put his dreams on Happy it would have been a better choice, but again Happy might turn out to be Biff and Biff might be Happy.

After 14 years, Biff returns home. He and his younger brother Happy try to think of some job that Biff could get and settle down in New York. They think about a man that Biff used to work for named Bill Oliver. Biff wants to ask Mr. Oliver for a loan of ten thousand dollars to begin a business in New York. They tell Willy about their plans, and Willy thinks that together they can conquer the world. He tells Biff that Mr. Oliver always thought highly of him and reminds Biff that the most important thing in life is to be well liked.

The main theme in this play is about a man trying to reach the American dream, trying to find his rightful position in society. If Willy had the proper communication skills the tragedy might have been prevented. We have learned through out this class that many mistakes or arguments are a result of miscommunication. In this essay, I will try to show how Willy's character prevented him from his dream. Also, Biff's character prevented him to get close to his father.

Biff, in Linda's words, has not found himself, despite his age. He is much less self-assured than his brother Happy. His lack of self-assurance is due to his father's attitude toward him and his doubts about his own life and fut

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Approximate Word count = 2225
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)