Ben Loman In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Sometimes all you need to get stuck in a rut is to interact with one simple person. Occasionally, someone’s sly words and convincing argument is all that is needed to keep a person’s mind on a one way track. One such person is Ben Loman, who despite only appearing within a few sections of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, has a presence that completely defines the Loman family’s goals. With Ben’s influence in Willy Loman’s life, he and his family are pressured into following a pointless dream that ultimately keeps them stuck on a fixed path.

Firstly, let’s take a look at how Ben affects the play’s main character, Willy Loman. Throughout his life, Willy has always been impressed by the success of Ben, since he became a diamond tycoon after a brief detour on a visit in Africa. Even after his death, Ben starts to show up in Willy’s hallucinations, encouraging him to keep striving for a success similar to his own. An example of this can be seen in this quote, which Ben restates throughout the play, “Why, boy, when I was seventeen I

In spite of the fact that he only shows up for a few key conversations, his philosophy and ideas drive Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy in many aspects of their lives. Willy continues to search for fame and fortune, Biff and Happy still to try to impress him, and Linda supports Willy’s and Ben’s ideals, even when her husband becomes delusional and her children become stuck in an endless cycle of disappointment. By the end they escape these issues, but it’s important to acknowledge where they went wrong in the process of getting to that point. Often times, the most important thing to remember is that one person shouldn’t govern what someone does with their life, and that the search for one’s own individuality is the most important goal of all. Sometimes the best way to escape the jungle is to not enter it at