Willy Loman self-perceived traits successfully as he grew older. Loman's world crumbles around him during the play. According to Associated Press correspondent Cynthia Lowry's review of the drama, "we watched an aging, defeated traveling salesman move inexorably toward self-destruction, clinging desperately to fantasies". The play begins with the 63-year-old Loman dealing with a recent pay cut after 34 years on the job at a time when he is having difficulty meeting his financial responsibilities. In the second act, he deals with being fired. The firing was at the hands of the son of the person who had hired him 36 years prior.
Willy Loman sudden realization that he is over the hill and does so with a fantasy world in which he remains important. "The Huffington Post"'s theater critic, Wilborn Hampton, describes the role as "one of the most complicated characters in dramatic literature", making it a draw for the great actors. The play is a statement on the idea that a man is valued by his position in life. Loman never matures enough to realize that being popular without any substance or skill is meaningless in the end and Miller uses Loman to make his point against the anti-intellectualists. In the end, Loman