Manny Newman was Arthur Miller's uncle. To what extent is Manny's life
reflected in the life of Willy Loman, as depicted in the play

Hello nedcism-ga,

I have researched this question across quite a few resources that
document the origins of Willy Loman and his household in Arthur
Miller's Death of A Salesman (see Additional Links below). I strongly
suggest you spend some time reading through the first link below
especially, as it contains passages from interviews with Arthur Miller
that I did not simply want to cut and paste below. It documents quite
well the information you seek. I have summarized the information found
in the links below in order to clarify the extent to which Manny
Loman's life is reflected in Willy Loman in the play:

(To be clear, Miller has not pin-pointed exact scenes or circumstances
in the play that were derivitive of his uncle. Rather, Miller has made
very specific references to his uncle's influence in creating both
Willy Loman's character as well as the relationship that Willy Loman
has with his sons in the play.)

It is fairly well documented that Arthur Miller based much of the
conflict in the play Death of a Salesman on his relationship with his
uncle, Manny Newman. Miller actually wrote a short story about an
unsuccessful salesman in his youth but abandoned it. After a random
meeting with his uncle in 1947 outside the Colonial Theatre in Boston
- where Miller’s "All My Sons" had its pre-Broadway preview -  Arthur
Miller reportedly reworked his play to incorporate the conflicted
relationship between he and his uncle into his characters and the plot
of the play. Thus it was this chance meeting with his uncle that
inspired Miller to create Loman and the Loman household.

Manny Newman was a fiercely competitive traveling salesman whom Miller
was fascinated with since childhood, and was even described as
competitive with his sons (Buddy and Abby.)  Manny Newman imagined an
ongoing competition between his son and Arthur Miller, and refused to
accept failure in his household. The relationship between Arthur
Miller and Manny Newman thus formed the basis of the dramatic conflict
between Willy Loman and his sons in the play. Arthur Miller once
described the Newman household as one in which "one could not lose
hope" and there are distinct parallels made between Abby and Buddy
Newman and their fictional counterparts in the play (Happy and Biff
Loman). Buddy, like Biff, was a high school athlete who failed high
school. The relationship between the Lomans and their neighbor,
Bernard, is further based on Miller's relationship with Manny Newman's
sons (Arthur Miller's cousins.)

While Newman was the inspiration for Willy Loman and the Loman
household, Miller's uncle and his sons were not the sole origin of the
Lomans, as Miller has acknowledged that his relationship with his
father drives the play as well. In addition, one salesman in
particular -- in addition to Miller's uncle -- contributed to Miller's
conception of Willy Loman.

Thus, it was Manny Newman that originally created the spark in Arthur
Miller’s mind to rework the play, including Loman and his relationship
with his sons. Many believe the plot of the play came from Miller’s
questions about his uncle's death - not long after their 1947 meeting
- which was a suicide.

In short, it seems clear that the Willy Loman character was based in
large part on Miller's uncle. Though Manny Newman was not the sole
inspiration for Willy Loman, it is believed that Willy Loman expressed
emotions that Manny Newman inspired. It was Miller's uncle that
originally inspired Miller to rework his play and characters to
reflect Manny Newman's raw competitive approach to family, life and
his own death as a salesman.


ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Interview with Miller about his uncle's influence on the play:
http://www.thecrucibleonbroadway.com/bio_arthur_miller_M_writing.asp

Notes about the play Death of a Salesman -
http://www.classicnote.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/salesman/about.html

Further biographical parallels between Newman and Miller - 
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/salesman/context.html

New York Times mention of uncle's suicide - 
http://www.redsuspenders.com/~fridrikr/Miller%20on%20Death%20of%20A%20Salesman.htm

Biographical information about Miller and the Play -
http://www.hhs.homewood.k12.al.us/~afinebur/arthurmiller.htm

One interview with Miller about Loman's origins - 
http://www.bard.org/SectionEducate/deathman.html

Search Strategy:

"Manny Newman Arthur Miller Willy Loman"
Manny Newman influence on Willy Loman

Could hardly have been more comprehensive!!!!
Brilliant!!