During pages 8-10 Arthur Miller uses Linda and Willy’s interactions to display Linda’s misguided attempts at restoring Willy to mental stability. Throughout the rest of the play Miller’s permissive characterisation of Linda catalyses the deterioration of Willy’s psyche and relationships. Miller presents Linda as Willy’s enabler; she is seen as not only allowing but socialising Willy into a self-destructive way of being.

Miller incorporates the symbolism of the flute into the stage directions to symbolise Willy’s hamartia, a tragic flaw that leads to a character’s downfall. Although Willy Loman does not fit the criteria of the tragic hero, Arthur Miller wanted to show the fate of one of the many ordinary people who are rejected by a system which should support them. In Tragedy and the Common Man, he wrote, “I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were”. As Willy enters a “small fine melody on a flute is heard”. A flute is an artificial object; it could be interpreted that its elusive and indistinct sound represents fantasy, a product of the imagination. Furthermore, its “small” and “fine melody” hints at childlike imagery. All of these attributes relate to the character of Willy. Children strive for unattainable fantasies; Willy, as an adult, should be more rational. Miller presents Linda as being a contributor to this flaw due to her need to conceal the cracks in their relationship, covering up issues rather than confronting them, “They can’t expect you to travel to work every week” and to bolster Willy’s increasing fragility, “You’ll have to take a rest dear.” Willy is presented as increasingly unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. Miller again alludes to the connection between an artificial object and Willy’s delusional nature during the scene in Howard’s office. The stage directions describe the chair