Willy Loman, a traveling salesman who clings to the American dream of success, wealth and legacy   

Linda Loman, Willy’s faithful wife whose support of her husband masks her own perceptive nature   

Biff Loman, Willy’s adult son who, after his glory days in high school, cannot seem to find success   

Happy Loman, Willy’s adult son who spent his childhood in his older brother Biff’s shadow 

Charley, a successful business owner and Willy’s neighbor   

Bernard, Charley’s son and Biff’s former classmate   

Uncle Ben, Willy’s older brother and a self-made man of success and wealth.  Ben is dead though Willy talks to him throughout the play.   

The Woman, Willy’s mistress   

Howard Wagner, Willy’s boss   

Jenny, Charley’s secretary 

Stanley, a waiter   

Miss Forsythe and Letta, two young women  

Willy Loman lives in Brooklyn with his wife Linda and two grown sons, Biff and Happy. He’s a salesman who’s spent his whole life following the rules. He’s raised his sons to believe that if they also follow the rules, they can make something of themselves. But Willy has come to realize that his life might have been a failure. His dreams for himself and sons are crumbling. Biff can’t keep a job. Happy isn’t exactly, well, happy. Willy and Linda struggle to make payments on their old house that’s surrounded by newer apartment buildings.  

In order to deal with the failures of his life, Willy escapes by remembering the past and fantasizing about how things could have been. In doing so, he loses touch with reality and makes plans to commit suicide. His family tries to prevent it by enabling Willy’s fantasies and lying to him.  

One day—and after working his whole life for the same company—Willy loses his job and gets desperate. He’s been arguing with Biff and can’t accept that Biff doesn’t want to be a businessman. Even worse, Willy can’t face the fact that his own life has been a disappointment. As the play reaches its conclusion, the audience is left to consider an important question: What does a man do when he considers his life to be a failure?  

Sourced from Kennedy Center.