Death of a Salesman-Part 3

This post covers the third section of the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, stretching approximately from page fifty to page eighty. In this section, four new minor characters are introduced. These include Howard Wagner (Willy's boss), Jenny (Charley's secretary), Stanley (a waiter at Frank's Chop House), and a call girl referred to as "Girl." Stanley and Jenny have little effect on the story.
In this section, Willy begins as bright and happy as we have ever seen him. He is excited to go to dinner with his sons and he is optimistic that his boss will give him a job closer to home. However, since Willy has such major mood swings, it is clear that his mood is easily changed. Willy also has a tendency to be overly optimistic. When his request for an in-town job is denied, he uses sentimental tactics such as telling the story of how he got into sales and reminding Howard that it was, in fact, Willy who named him. This shows Willy's value for the dramatic and his nostalgic tendencies. It also demonstrates how the world has changed since Willy's career began. Being well-liked is the number-one qualification for success in Willy's mind because that was what used to be important. However, in the midst of the Great Depression, nostalgia and personal preference (the things Willy values most) have become obsolete and Willy himself has become obsolete with them. When he is fired, Willy is devastated and fires into another series of hallucinations. In one of then, Willy praises Biff and the future he has. It is clear that Mr. Loman wishes he could return to the days when everyone in his family had such a bright future. When Willy brags to Bernard about Biff's "big deal," he seems petty and childish. Bernard, unlike Happy and Biff, fulfilled his dreams and has reached a successful point in his life. Willy, for the first time, recognizes that Biff hasn't reached his potential and seeks advice from Bernard. It is later revealed that Willy has been borrowing money from Charley. He maintains his pride and refuses a job but accepts the money. This reveals Willy as a character who will accept help but will not help himself, making him much less pitiable.
Bernard has become a successful lawyer. He is well-mannered, perceptive, and much happier than anyone else in the play. While his character is not developed much, he serves as a foil for Biff. When they were children, they were close friends. Bernard always built Biff up and encouraged him to study. Since Biff didn't listen to him, their lives took very different paths. Charley, Bernard's father, seems to be the only one in the book who cares about Willy but is also unwilling to coddle him. Though Willy leaves his office upset, Charley may be the only one with Willy's best interests at heart.
Biff and Happy go to Frank's Chop House together to meet their father. It is revealed that Biff was not received well by his old boss, Bill Oliver and that he did not get the loan for their sporting goods store. Happy, as usual, glosses over the truth and focuses on the prostitute sitting next to him. This just highlight's the differences between Biff and Happy in how they deal with problems.
The plot in this section seems to be sending Willy on a downward spiral. Everything in his life is going wrong. When he arrives at the bar, he will learn that the one thing that gave him the confidence to face the day (hope for his sons' futures) has been crushed. It is not certain how he will react but he already has suicidal tendencies so his life may be in danger. Happy and Biff don't seem to be aware of the gravity of their father's condition and Linda seems helpless to stop it. The plot of the story  seems to be out of the control of any of the characters.