Willy Loman

Danielle Goldman
November 25, 2002
English 2, Seventh Period
Perpetual Childhood

In the dramatic play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the daily life of the Loman family is shown through the eyes and mind of the father. Now a sixty years old discouraged salesperson with nothing to show for a lifetime of hard work, Willy Loman is lead to reminisce on happier times with the presence of his two grown sons, Happy and Biff, back in the house. Reassuring himself that his children would be successful because of their well-built physical appearance, Willy prided himself on Biff’s athletic feats especially, ever since Biff was young. Although it would seem Willy was the only one disillusioned by this false hope of success, Biff’s athletic status appears to dominate an aspect in his life past his adolescence that seems to trap him in a perpetual childhood.

Biff is introduced into the play nostalgic of his youth, for he is fumbling with an old deflated football as he d...