Death of a Salesman - Character of Ben

The character of Ben in Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman functions towards the development of his main character, Willy. Miller uses him as the guiding light for Willie’s character; he provides the backbone for what Willy strives for throughout life. Ben functions as Willies idol, and through exploration into which Ben is, we see who Willy is. By viewing Ben’s morals, and actions, we are able to see what Willy himself …

…believes that his boys should be like Ben, which thus says to us that he believes in Ben’s own shady morals about how to get ahead. Ben is such a significant presence in the novel because Willy is constantly chasing him; he is constantly running to catch up to his brother. Even down to the end, when Ben is just in Willies mind, Willy believes him fully. Ben allows for the development of Willy.