"Oh Ben, I always knew one awy or another we were gonna make it, Biff and I!.... Now when you kick off, boy, I want a seventy-yard boot, and get right down the field under the ball, and when you hit, hit low and hit hard, because it's important, boy. There's all kinds of important people in the stands, and the first thing you know.... Ben! Ben, where do I... ? Ben how do I... ?" (II, page 1628).
Ben and Willy are most definitely foil characters in this play. Arthur Miller constantly juxtaposes the characters. For instance, Willy is a character that thinks that his success comes from luck. He believes that the reason he is unsuccessful is based on other people's problems. Willy never takes responsibility for his actions. On the other hand, Ben is a very successful character. His luck has apparently been thrust upon him. Ben appears to be a character who looks at hard work as success, but earned success merely by luck. Willy is a character who refuses to work hard for success, and does not earn success by his luck. On top of this, Willy drowns in his misery instead of doing anthing about becoming successful on his own. Ben has more of a positive outlook on life. I'm not really sure if Ben is real or not, but I feel as if Ben is a figment of Willy's imagination as to how success should be......
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