Technological advancements throughout this century have led to a great rise in industry advancements. However, these advancements in industry have not always led to advancements in living. For some, society has created mass wealth. For most, mass society has created a standard of living unparalleled throughout history. For Willy Loman, society has created only tremendous grief and hardship, aggravated by the endless promise. For these reasons, his tragedy is due more to society's flaws than to the flaws in his own character. .
Willy Loman suffered from psychotic disorders which led to his suicide attempts and eventually the suicidal car accident. These flaws and deficiencies of his did not account for his tragic end, not by themselves anyway. The blame should be placed on society. It was society who stripped him of his dignity, piece by piece. It was society who stripped him of his lifestyle, and his own sons who stripped him of hope. .
The most obvious flaw in society is greed, the need for one guy to get ahead of the next guy. This desire to be "one up" is present on a national level. It is the philosophy of business to be "one step ahead of the competition" that comprises the dreams of man. Sometimes, this can drive a man to great things, sometimes, it can drive a man to ruin. For Willy, a simple man with simple goals, the road to great things was not in his future. The greed of others trying to get "one up" on the next guy is what led to him on a path to destruction. The developers who took away the sun and gave birth to shadows, his boss who reduced him to commission and his sons which reduced him to a failure. .
The next largest flaw in society is a lack of compassion. This could be as a result of almost overwhelming greed, the perpetrator being big business. .
"I'm always in a race with the junkyard! I just finished paying for the car and it's on it last legs. The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddam maniac.
