The drama Death of a Salesman, composed by Arthur Miller in 1949, portrays the hours preceding Willy Loman's death. Willy is a sixty-year-old salesman who lives in Brooklyn New York with his wife Linda and after thirty-five years of working as a street vendor he feels defeated by his failure and difficult family life. As a salesman, Willy Loman focuses more on personality and being liked by everyone than on actual ability. When he returns early from a business trip, it is clear that he is extremely distressed and confides that he almost had an accident. Everyone thought that throughout the play we witness the unraveling of Willy's brain and his tragic character flaws which all seem to stem from abandonment by his father and brother. This abandonment leaves Willy with an extreme need for approval and direction, but he is also full of fears and insecurities. This fear ruins his character, making him an emotionally desperate and needy man who feels that the only way to succeed in life is to be "well-liked". Which is heartbreaking because it becomes apparent that he doesn't like it at all or isn't successful, but lives out fantasy scenarios to numb the pain. His brother was the man he admired most, but over the course of the play Ben is revealed to be a mean, evil man who believes that being rich is the only sign of success, even though he came across his wealth by thinking of pure luck. We started to see his wounds opened up by abandonment that lead to this obsession with having to please everyone, which is why the relationship between him and Biffs is so strained and irreversibly broken, but also why he is so disrespectful towards Linda. plays the reader is constantly reminded by Willy th...... half of the paper ......itedBradford, Wade. “Character Analysis: Willy Loman from “Death of a Salesman”” About.com Plays / Drama. About.com and Web. February 16, 2014. “Death of a Salesman Characters.” Study guides and essay editing. GradeSaverLLC and Web. February 16, 2014. "LitCharts | Death of a Salesman: Act 1 Summary, Analysis, and Themes." LitCharts | Death of a Salesman: Summary, Analysis, and Themes of Act 1. LitCharts and Web. February 16, 2014. "Essay on Gender Roles in the Death of a Salesman in English Literature." Examining Gender Roles in the Death of a Salesman English Literature Essay. UKESSAYS, nd Web. 17 February 2014. Shmoop editorial team. “Quotes About Death of a Salesman, Respect and Reputation Page 1.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. February 16, 2014. Stewart, Estate. "Death of a Salesman: Biff's Struggle." Yahoo contributor network. Yahoo, June 19, 2008. Web. February 17. 2014.