The Personification of Family

Linda from Death of a Salesman was always taking care of her husband Willy even though he occasionally screamed at her. Linda knew her husband was not capable of going to work and she knew that he was suicidal. For instance, the night she was talking to her sons, Biff and Happy about their father Willy; Linda said to them “he’s been trying to kill himself” (394). It proves that Linda knew what her husband was trying to do every time he crashed the car. Furthermore, knowing Willy was not capable of working she agreed with it, letting him believe that he was capable to accomplish his dream of being a successful salesman. Yet, she did not perceive clearly that her husband did

Although Death of a Salesman is mainly about a salesman named Willy Loman, the almost hidden presence of the women in the novel goes all too often unnoticed.  Linda Loman seems to be the glue that holds the Loman clan together, as Willy, Biff, and Happy are all deluded in one way or another.  Arthur Miller depicts Willy's wife in a very specific way, and this is a very crucial part of the story.  He depicts the other women in the story in ways that complement Linda's distinct nature.  Although Linda's role as a woman in society is extremely limited, she is a heroic character, both wife and mother to some very sad and twisted characters.

Watching a solitary blade of grass will never tell you the direction of hurricane, just as one characteristic can never describe Linda Loman. In Death of a Salesman, Linda Loman is a woman torn between guilt, retaliation, and pity. Her guilt stems from the fact that she prevented Willy from pursuing his true American Dream; she retaliates in response to Willy's failure; she feels sorry for Willy, because he is a "pitiful lone adventurer of the road" (47). As the battling motivations blow from opposing directions, the reader is left to decide to which one motivation Linda will succumb.

Linda treats everything like its inevitably going to happen. She goes with the flow and lets everything go against her. This is one of her major flaws is not defending her self or the actions of others that oppose her view.

Ben is also a very peculiar character.  The audience first encounters him with the full knowledge that he is dead.  Ben is also the one figure that is able to move freely between the past and the present.  Because Ben represents that which Willy seeks, Willy feels that he can achieve his goal the same way that Ben did and so he believes that "opportunism, cheating and cruelty are success incarnate" (Smith).

Husbands and wives assume a vow of support for one another as they embark on a lifelong journey together through the ups and the downs. In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, the main character, Willy Loman, is an aged and failing salesman attempting to provide for his family without asking for help from anyone. His wife, Linda Loman, is one of the most intelligent and levelheaded characters in the play. Although her husband treats her poorly at times, she ceaselessly supports him and does everything in her power to ensure his happiness. Linda understands Willy’s declining mental health and knows that he is becoming less stable each day. Through her continued support of Willy and his unrealistic aspirations, Linda allows Willy’s mental decline to continue without attempting to keep him in check with reality. By ignoring Willy’s mistakes, failures, and blatant suicide attempts, Linda permits Willy’s disconnect from reality to continue until she is freed by his eventual death.

Willy’s difficulty with change in his life can be seen when Linda tries to help him. Linda tells Willy outside their bedroom, “...life is a casting off. It’s always been that way.”. (Miller, p.15) She states the truth that life is about change and not knowing the future ahead. She attempts to get Willy to see that he needs to take chances to be successful but he does not want to accept that. Willy wants

In the play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Linda Loman’s character is viewed differently by many people. Some critics have seen Linda as a “controlling mother figure” who is actually the one to blame for this failure of both her sons and her husband. In this report I will defend this view citing specific examples from the play. Linda was undoubtedly the only one in control throughout the play. I believe that Linda tried to be a good mother and wife but she did not really know what she was doing. At the very beginning of the book we see that Willy, on his way to Boston, has come home because he was unable to concentrate on the road. And just as he was beginning to figure out why, she took his mind off the subject by suggesting that

A major theme and source of conflict throughout Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, is the Loman family's inability to distinguish between reality and illusion.  This is particularly evident in the father, Willy Loman.  Willy has created a fantasy world for himself and his family.  In this world, he and his sons are men of greatness that "have what it takes" to make it in the business environment.  In reality, none of them can achieve greatness until they confront and deal with this illusion.

    Linda, a character from Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" is a selfish housewife. She pretends to care about her husband, but in reality, prefers that he kill himself so that she can live an easier life.

In the play Death of a Salesman, Linda Loman serves as the family's destroyer. Linda realizes, throughout the play, that her family is caught up in a bunch of lies. Linda is the only person that can fix the problem and she doesn't.

But in the beautiful, ironic complexity of her creation, she is also Willy's and their sons' destroyer. In her love Linda has accepted Willy's Greatness and his dream, but while in her admiration for Willy her love is powerful and moving, in her admiration for his dreams, it is lethal. She encourages Willy's dream, yet she will not let him leave her for the New Continent, the only realm where the dream can be fulfilled. She want to reconcile father and son, but she attempts this in the context of Willy's false values. She cannot allow her sons to achieve that selfhood that involves denial of these values" (Gordon p. 316). Linda is also caught up in Willy's lies and therefore does nothing but help fuel the fire in the inferno of their dreams and ambitions. She lets this whole masquerade continue right in front of her instead of doing something to stop their out of control lies.

    Linda Loman is the heart and soul of the Loman household.  She loves her family, even though she is all too aware of husband's faults and her sons' characters. She provides a sharp contrast to the seamy underbelly of the world of sex, symbolized by the Woman and the prostitutes.  They operate in the "real world" as part of the impersonal forces that corrupt.  Happy equates his unhealthy relationships with women to taking manufacturer's bribes, and Willy's Boston whore can "put him right through to the buyers." In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Linda Loman holds the family together through purity and love - she keeps the accounts, encourages her husband, and tries to

Willy’s brother Ben seems to symbolize all of Willy's dreams that have not borne fruit. Ben provides an example of the type of success that Willy desires. Ben went into the “jungle” with nothing and became extremely wealthy. Ben achieved in a few years what Willy has dreamed about his entire life. Ben also provides additional evidence on the foolish behavior and poor decisions made by Willy. Ben offers to take Willy with him and make him rich – an offer that Willy declines.

Linda is the heart of the Loman family in Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman.  She is wise, warm, and sympathetic.  She knows her husband's faults and her son's characters.  For all her frank appraisals, she loves them.  She is contrasted with the promiscuous sex symbolized by the Woman and the prostitutes.  They operate in the world outside as part of the impersonal forces that corrupt.  Happy equates his promiscuity with women to taking manufacturer's bribes, and Willy's Boston woman can "put him right through to the buyers."  Linda Loman  holds the family together - she keeps the accounts, encourages her husband, tries to protect him from heartbreak.  She