Character - Willy Loman

Willy's dream was that of the "American Dream". Quick and easy money. I don't think he had the "wrong dream", but more he went about trying to get the dream the wrong way. He assumed that with a flashy smile and dominant personality you can have all the money and power in the world. That's the way he raised his sons and neither of them were at the top. Everyone that surrounded Willy and his family were successful. They all put their hard work in and didn't just wait for good things to come. I think Willy could have had a successful life, and in many ways did. He had two boys who thought the world of him growing up, a wife that would do anything for him and expected nothing, and a brother who would give him a job that could keep him around home. It bothers me, the idea that someone can put their whole professional life into something and leave with nothing. My old boss just had that happen to him. He put 23 years into his job, basically his whole professional life, and one day they took him in the office and said, "thank you for your time, but your services are no longer needed." Willy put all that time into his job, found the salesman and lost the salesman in him all in that time, but never found his true, personal self. So did he find success? Yes, but he didn't see it. He saw the failures which a lot of time stand out a lot more than our successes.