Death of a Salesman

By Arthur Miller QUOTATION: A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man.
ATTRIBUTION: Arthur Miller (b. 1915), U.S. dramatist. Linda, in Death of a Salesman, act 1 (1949)

QUOTATION: 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.
ATTRIBUTION: Arthur Miller (b. 1915), U.S. dramatist. Linda, in Death of a Salesman, act 1.

QUOTATION: Nobody dast blame this man.... For a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life. He don’t put a bolt to a nut, he don’t tell you the law or give you medicine. He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.
ATTRIBUTION: Arthur Miller (b. 1915), U.S. dramatist. Charley, in Death of a Salesman, “Requiem,” (1949).