Research Paper On Willy Loman

Anne Frank once said, "Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness" (Martin, C., 2009). Unfortunately, the wisdom of Anne Frank was lost on the main protagonist in the play, Willy Loman. Willy Loman was a complex individual who had sincere intentions for himself and for his children. However, there were several instances in which he failed to recognize his own personal shortcomings.
As exemplified throughout the play, there are several instances in Willy Loman's life to which he turned a blind eye to his shortcomings. For one, Willy essentially wasted his entire life waiting for permission to be great, instead of charting his own course for greatness. Blinded by the assumption

By his own words, we see his need for approval and recognition by his employer exemplified, "If old man Wagner was alive I'd been in charge of New York now! That man was a prince, he was a masterful man. But that boy of his, that Howard, he don't appreciate" (Miller, A., 1952, 1:25). No doubt, Willy expressed the desire to own his own business, however, he never pursued the opportunity to do so. Likewise, this shortcoming was only bolstered by Willy's penchant to equate the acquisition of materialistic objects, trophy wife and children with success; thus, lending way, at times, to arrogance, an over-inflated ego, low self-esteem, and a self-conscious nature. As exemplified in a conversation with his sons, Willy compares his sons' physical appearances to that of the Greek god, Adonis, and boasts that