He is perpetually weary and exhibits signs of dementia, contradicting himself and displaying some memory loss. Miller presents Willy as a strong and boisterous man with great bravado but little energy to support his impression of vitality. Willy sentimentalizes the neighborhood as it was years ago, and is nostalgic for his time working for Frank Wagner, especially because his former boss's son, Howard Wagner, fails to appreciate Willy. There is a strong core of resentment in Willy Loman's character and his actions assume a more glorious past than was actually the case. Although in his sixties, he is still a traveling salesman bereft of any stable location or occupation, and clings only to his dreams and ideals. However, Miller makes it equally apparent that Willy Loman is not a successful man. He emphasizes his preoccupation with success. He wakes up his sons Biff and Happy, both of whom are in the double bunk in the boys' bedroom.Īt the beginning of the play, Arthur Miller establishes Willy Loman as a troubled and misguided man, at heart a salesman and a dreamer. Willy longs for the days when their neighborhood was less developed and less crowded. Willy calls Biff a lazy bum and says that he is lost. Willy says that there is an undercurrent of resentment in Biff, but Linda says that Biff admires his father. Linda reminds him not to lose his temper with Biff, but Willy claims that he simply had asked him if he was making any money. Linda tells him that Happy took Biff on a double date, and that it was nice to see them shaving together. Willy claims that if Frank Wagner were alive he would be in charge of New York by now, but that his son, Howard, doesn't appreciate him. Linda says that there's no reason why he can't work in New York, but Willy says he's not needed there. He tells Linda that he kept swerving onto the shoulder of the road, but Linda thinks that it must be faulty steering in the car. He got only as far as Yonkers, and doesn't remember the details of the trip. He claims that he's tired to death and couldn't make it through the rest of his trip. She worries that he smashed the car, but he says that nothing happened. Her struggle is to support him while still trying to guide him. Linda is mostly jovial, but represses objections to her husband. Linda Loman, his wife, puts on a robe and slippers and goes downstairs.
The salesman, Willy Loman, enters his home.
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