Death of a Salesman

Throughout the play the Lomans in general cannot distinguish between reality and illusion, particularly Willy. Willy Loman is the main character of the play and often considered its tragic hero. The sixty-something failing salesman grows increasingly insane throughout Death of A Salesman, eventually ending his life in suicide. Willy tries to persuade himself and others that he and his sons are successful, but in the end, Willy is unable to live up to his own …

…and imagines that his death must have been beautifully noble. Willy compares Biff and Happy to the mythic Greek figures Adonis and Hercules because he believes that his sons are pinnacles of "personal attractiveness" and power through "well liked"-ness; to him, they seem the very incarnation of the American Dream. Though the rest of Happy and Biff's life they try greatly to become what their father 'pictured' them as. Salesman men, hard working salesmen.