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 to charge again." Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance came at a time when the Occupy Wall Street ongoings echoed the play while its actors could not afford the $120 ticket price. The March version of Loman presented him as a bit more of a lunatic than other versions. Miller noted that although he wrote the play in 1947 and 1948, the play grew out of his life experiences, that included his father losing everything in the 1929 stock market crash. Miller claims that the role was actually modeled on one of his uncles. Dustin Hoffman says that the play was the