• Blog – What does Willy Loman think about the idea of ‘individual opportunity’? What does playwright Arthur Miller think? What evidence exposes each opinion?

I think Willy Loman believes that individual opportunity exists for everyone, but it seems like his idea of how to reach it is quite skewed. Believing that if you're liked, you'll get far isn't a way to live out your life successfully. The fact that Willy see's other people reaching goals that he himself can't get to seem to make him depressed, because he feels that he is not well liked (because being liked is the only way to success in his mind), and therefore he is a failure.
Arthur Miller seems to have reached the conclusion that (same as Willy) individual opportunity exists, but how to reach it is harder for some people, simply based on what they believe they have to do to become successful. The ideas people get about how to become successful are influenced so greatly on stories like 'Ragged Dick' and 'The Great Gatsby' skewing peoples ideas of what they need to do to get anywhere in life. Miller is able to subtly present an overwhelming statement, not everyone will be successful. But in the end is it the fault of the individual? Or the ideas presented to them throughout their life?