Death of a Salesman: Minor Characters and Their Affect On The Plot In the play, Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, three minor characters affect the plot. These characters are Ben, Charley and Howard. The minor characters help the story's protagonist, Willy, develop extensively throughout the course of the play; therefore, they are key elements in the advancing story line. This story line blends and contrasts Willy's closest companions, Ben and Charley. They represent two aspects of Willy's ideals. Howard, Willy's boss, functions in order to heighten the destruction of Willy's dream. T