why is Willy having a flashback about a conversation that he had with ben? How does this relate to what has been going on in his life?

Willy's older brother, Ben left home at seventeen to find their father in Alaska, but ended up in Africa, where he found diamond mines and came out of the jungle at twenty-one an incredibly rich man. Although Ben died several weeks before the time at which the play is set, he often appears in Willy's hallucinations, carrying a valise and umbrella. Ben represents the fantastic success for which Willy has always hoped but can never seem to achieve. The flashbacks represent Willy's lost opportunity as well as Willy's own sense of failure compared to "success stories" like his brother Ben.