Death of a Salesman- Character and Plot Analysis 1

At the beginning of "Death of a Salesman" we are introduced to four main characters, these being Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy, of the Loman family. The tone of the beginning of the play kind of unravels to be a bit depressing and gives off a negative vibe to the reader. It seems that Linda is the optimistic one of the family, as she continually encourages her husband, despite his negativity and "disappearing" mind at this point. From the initial conversations of the play the characters all have very different and contrasting personalities. Willy is outspoken, yet he seems a bit bipolar in the way that one minute he participates in normal conversation and the next he is mad at Biff or upset about something else. Linda appears to be the caring and considerate motherly wife. She obviously loves her husband and cares for his well-being. It is particularly evident that she cares about Biff and Willy's relationship. Linda's lines in the play are often stage-directed as if to be said with a caring tone or "with infinite patience" (1.17). Biff, like his brother Happy, seems to be very "lost" (1.19). He has not succeeded too much in the world of business and can never seem to get one step ahead in his life. This clearly frustrates both him and his father which is a known cause for the tension in their relationship thus far. Lastly, Happy, the younger of the two brothers, seems more confused (1.19) because of his inability to let himself face setbacks or defeats in life. On the outside Happy appears to be stronger-willed and more motivated with his self confidence than Biff, but to me, as the reader, it seems as if both men suffer from the same sense of "loss" in life as neither can really get started too well in life during the time.