1. Main Characters
1.1. Willy Loman
1.1.1. Very insecure; traveling salesman; believes in American Dream-easy success and wealth; jealous of Charley; crashes his car and dies
1.2. Linda Loman
1.2.1. Willy's wife; helps him through the difficulties; more realistic; always supports him
1.3. Biff Loman
1.3.1. First son, 34; great at football; loved in high school; has kleptomania
1.4. Happy Loman
1.4.1. Second son, 32; lives in Biff's shadow; works as an assistant to an assistant buyer in a store; has bad business
1.5. Charley
1.5.1. Next door neighbor; owns successful business; son named Bernard; helps Willy pay for bills by lending him money
2. Minor Characters
2.1. Ben Loman
2.1.1. Willy's older brother; wealthy; died and appears in Willy's daydreams; symbol of success
2.2. Bernard
2.2.1. Charley's son; important, successful lawyer; friends with Willy's sons; sees Biff as a hero
2.3. Howard Wagner
2.3.1. Willy's boss; inherited company from his father; eventually fires Willy
2.4. Stanley
2.4.1. Happy's friend; waiter at Frank's Chop House
3. Plot
3.1. The story takes place in a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. It is about an aged business man named Willy Loman who is failing, or at least struggling very deeply, with his job and his family alike. He has two boys, Biff and Happy Lowman, and a wife named Linda. The play also reveals that he has a few hidden things in his secretive "work life." He has a mistress. He sees her every once in a while he is "out for business." At the end of the novel, Willy commits suicide.
4. Major Theme
4.1. Pursuit of Success
4.1.1. It's all about Willy and his struggle to come out on top and his desire to be like his brother (a successful man) and to have his children also prosper. There is also an underlying theme in the novel which is about family. The lack of respect that is demonstrated in between the men in the family is combated with the love and hope that Willy has for his children. It seems as though Willy doesnt seem to like his kids very much but he wants them to succeed and to not follow in his footsteps of failure
5. Tone
5.1. Over Exhausted/Frustrated
5.1.1. Due to Willy's attitude and how dominant it is in the story.
5.1.1.1. BIFF: "Will you let me go, for Christ's sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens? " BIFF: "Pop, I'm a dime a dozen and so are you..." WILLY: "A hundred and twenty dolalrs! My God, if business doesn't pick up I don't know what i'm gonna do!"
6. Setting
6.1. Place
6.1.1. Brooklyn; New York; Boston
6.2. Time
6.2.1. late 1940's