11.1.1

Willy Loman

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Quotations About Willy Loman

Here are seven quotations about Willy's character:

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Ordinariness

  • Linda: “not a great man… a small man”.
  • Biff: pleads with his father to finally accept that they are both just “dime a dozen”.
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Idealistic but delusional

  • “We’ve got quite a streak of self-reliance in our family”
  • “… Three of the stores were half-closed for inventory… Otherwise I woulda broke records”
  • Biff: "Wrong dreams"
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Flawed

  • Miller warns us of Willy's “little cruelties” in the opening stage direction. We see many of his flaws - his pettiness, short temper and infidelity – throughout the play.
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Insecure

  • Willy admits to Linda that, deprived of a guiding influence at a young age, Willy has always felt “kind of temporary” about himself.

Jump to other topics

1Introduction

2Act One

3Act Two

4Extended Passage Analysis

5Character Profiles

6Key Themes

7Writing Techniques

8Historical Context

9Literary Context

10Critical Debates

11Recap: Main Quotes

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