Attention must be paid! “I don't say he's a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person.”

Is there anything really tragic about the death of a salesman? After three decades of seeing ourselves as little men lost in the anonymous masses of the modern city, can we really pay attention? Can we really believe that the failure and death of a little man is a terrible thing? Arthur Miller has tried to write a tragedy about a little, ordinary man of our day. But tragedy is a great affirmation, a great proclamation of belief. It is a probing of the depth of pain and defeat and despair to find a solid base from which the spirit can rise.