He worships Biff and does anything for him. In Willy's flashbacks, he is a nerd, and Willy forces him to give Biff test answers. Charley offers Willy a job many times during visits to his office, yet Willy declines every time, even after he loses his job as a salesman. Willy is envious of him because his son is more successful than Willy's. He pities Willy and frequently lends him money and comes over to play cards with him, although Willy often treats him poorly.
He likes being outdoors and working with his hands, yet wants to do something worthwhile so Willy will be proud of him. He wavers between going home to try to fulfill Willy's dream for him as a businessman or ignoring his father by going out West to be a farmhand where he feels happy. Biff was a football star with a lot of potential in high school, but failed math his senior year and dropped out of summer school when he saw Willy with another woman while visiting him in Boston. She is the first to realize that Willy is contemplating suicide at the beginning of the play, and urges Biff to make something of himself, while expecting Willy to help Biff do so. She chides her sons, particularly Biff, for not helping their father anymore, and supports Willy lovingly even though Willy sometimes treats her poorly, ignoring her opinions over those of others. Linda is passively supportive and docile when Willy talks unrealistically about hopes for the future, although she seems to have a good knowledge of what is really going on.
His first name, Willy, reflects this childlike aspect as well as sounding like the question "Will he?" His last name gives the feel of Willy's being a "low man", someone who will not succeed however, this popular interpretation of his last name was dismissed by Miller. Willy's age and degrading mental state has him appear childlike and reliant on others for support, coupled with his recurring flashbacks to various moments of his life. He vacillates between different eras of his life throughout the play, and re-imagines them as if they were real.
He is 63 years old and unstable, insecure, and self-deluded.