Arthur Miller Miller brilliantly solves the problem of revealing his main character's inner discord, rendering Willy Loman as solid as the society in which he tries to sell himself. Indeed, many critics believe that Miller has never surpassed his achievement in this play, which stands as his breakthrough work, distinguished by an extremely long Broadway run, by many revivals, and by many theater awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1949. "Death of a Salesman" seems destined to remain an American classic and a standard text in American classrooms. Willy Loman desperately wants to believe that he has succeeded, that he is “well
Willy Loman rope". Lowry described the production as depicting "the end of a man when his dream world is shattered". Creator Arthur Miller described the role as one for a large character in a small physical body and noted he had difficulty finding the right actor at first. The part was originally written for a physically small man with Willy at one point saying to his wife "I'm short. I'm very foolish to look at." When Cobb was cast, the line was changed to "I'm fat. I'm very foolish to look at," and a reference to Willy being called a "shrimp" was