Characters in Death of Salesman

Hey guys, this is Cristy.
So I was really interested in the Death of a Salesman characters. I also liked reading it as a play because (to me at least) it made the plot more exciting because there were curves so that you couldn't see what was coming. I like extracting the scene from a person's words. (Back to the characters) In class, we mentioned how Willy had such high expectations for his sons that they seemed doomed to failure. Perhaps he got his idealistic views from his brother Ben's success in the jungle..."I walked into the jungle...and I walked out rich" Ben here is like the Arnold Shwarzenegger of the story. I don't know about everybody else, but I disliked the character Ben during the book because he was absolutely no help to Willie or his family. Ben just ignored their problems and looked down his nose at them. I think sometimes we just expect people to succeed. Isn't there the view that we shouldn't give money to the homeless because they're poor and they must have done something to deserve to be where they are? We don't all just fit molds. Another point in the book I thought was interesting was the child-parent relationships. At the beginning, Biff and Happy's admiration for their father seemes overdone but by the end it has bounded to the opposite extreme to the point when I was disgusted with their behavior towards their father. (referring to the time when they leave him disoriented in the restaurant). Do we treat senior citizens as second class citizens? I know seniors used to be treated regally as the wise elders in a town, holding a lot of power and prestige but it seems like that has become reversed in this age. It's old fashioned now to say "respect your elders" but I don't thinks it should ever become obsolete. We talked about how the Great Gatsby might have been more about Nick than Gatsby but in Death of a Salesman I feel like each character was fundamentally important to the overall story. Even Linda was a very interesting character to analyze. She seems to be the mediator but then she takes a stand and defends her husband who she is so loyal to. Willie takes her entirely for granted most of the time, but you can tell there are times when he realizes that he is not treating her well. There is remorse but what is it worth if he can't transcend it into actions? Okay, these were just some things I was thinking about while I was reading the play and I hope we'll talk more about the individual characters tomorrow in class. See you then!