Death of a Salesman

People faced with many problems each day of their lives. No one really has a true perfect life. Everyone has conflicts that they must face sooner or later. There are different ways in which people deal with these personal conflicts. They can be differing as much as the people themselves. Some insist on ignoring the problem as long as possible, while some attack the problem to get it out of the way. In the play, Death of a Salesman, by Authur Miller, the plot is affected by three minor characters: Ben, Charley and Howard. The minor characters help the story's main character, Willy to develop completely throughout the course of the play; therefore, they are the key elements in the story line. This story line blends and contrasts Willy's closest companions, Ben and Charley. They represent two aspects of Willy's ideals. Howard is Willy boss, functions in a way to heighten the destruction of Willy's dream. The characters Ben, Charley and Howard are influential in the play's outcome and help develop the main character, Willy.

Ben is a false fiction of Willy's imagination that represents his idealistic view of well-being. Ben represents the success of the American Dream. "I walked into the jungle, when I was seventeen. When I walked out I was twenty-one. And, by God I was rich!"(1212). Ben earned his wealth and success without the help of an education or a job. Their father died early, so when Willy was young he had no one to look up to; therefore, he looks up to his bother Ben. Willy is lost in his own world. He continues to daydream to be rich just like Ben. "What are you building? Lay your hand on it. Where is it?"(1228). Here, Ben questions the success of Willy's sales job ...