Linda Loman and Charley Character Analysis in Death of a Salesman | SparkNotes (2024)

Characters Linda Loman and Charley

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Linda and Charley serve as forces of reason throughoutthe play. Linda is probably the most enigmatic and complex characterin Death of a Salesman, or even in all of Miller’swork. Linda views freedom as an escape from debt, the reward oftotal ownership of the material goods that symbolize success andstability. Willy’s prolonged obsession with the American Dream seems,over the long years of his marriage, to have left Linda internallyconflicted. Nevertheless, Linda, by far the toughest, most realistic,and most levelheaded character in the play, appears to have kepther emotional life intact. As such, she represents the emotionalcore of the drama.

If Linda is a sort of emotional prophet, overcome by theinevitable end that she foresees with startling clarity, then Charleyfunctions as a sort of poetic prophet or sage. Miller portrays Charleyas ambiguously gendered or effeminate, much like Tiresias, the mythologicalseer in Sophocles’ Oedipus plays. Whereas Linda’slucid diagnosis of Willy’s rapid decline is made possible by heremotional sanity, Charley’s prognosis of the situation is logical,grounded firmly in practical reasoned analysis. He recognizes Willy’sfinancial failure, and the job offer that he extends to Willy constitutesa commonsense solution. Though he is not terribly fond of Willy,Charley understands his plight and shields him from blame.

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