Character analysis
Howard Wagner
in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Howard Wagner is Willy Loman's boss and the owner of the Wagner Wagner Company, a business he inherited from his father, Frank, whom Willy helped build from scratch. Though he only appears in one extended scene, his role is crucial: he symbolizes the cold, impersonal machinery of modern capitalism that ultimately leads to Willy's downfall. When Willy visits Howard's office to ask for a transfer to a desk job in New York, Howard is preoccupied with his new wire recorder, joyfully playing back his children's voices and his wife's rendition of "Roll Out the Barrel." This gadget serves as a stark contrast — Howard is absorbed in domestic novelty while Willy struggles to secure his livelihood. Howard listens to Willy's desperate pleas with polite but unyielding indifference, frequently interrupting him. He denies the transfer, cuts Willy's territory, and ultimately fires him, citing the company's inability to keep someone who "can't work." Howard's cruelty stems not from malice but from a bureaucratic mindset — he simply lacks any emotional connection to Willy's long years of service. He even reminds Willy, almost nonchalantly, that "business is business." Ironically, Willy once named Howard at his birth, a detail he brings up to highlight his loyalty — a loyalty that Howard neither recognizes nor reciprocates. Howard exemplifies the theme that the American Dream is transactional rather than sentimental, and that personal history means little when productivity declines.
Connected characters
- Willy Loman
Howard is Willy's employer and the son of the man Willy helped build the company under. He fires Willy in Act II despite Willy's decades of service and the emotional plea that Willy once named Howard at birth, making him the direct human agent of Willy's professional — and ultimately personal — destruction.
- Uncle Ben
Howard contrasts sharply with Ben as an image of success. Ben represents the rugged, self-made ideal Willy idolizes, while Howard inherited his wealth and power, yet it is Howard — not Ben — who holds actual authority over Willy's fate, underscoring the gap between Willy's dreams and his reality.
- Charley
Howard and Charley serve as foils in how they treat Willy. Where Howard fires Willy without sentiment, Charley quietly offers him a job and continues lending him money, highlighting Howard's institutional coldness against Charley's understated human decency.