And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ‘Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?
– Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman, Act 2. Willy is speaking to Howard about his idol Dave Singleman, a successful salesman across New England who was Willy’s inspiration. But Willy’s uncritical admiration for Singleman blinds him to reality and shows the depth of his self-deception. For at over 80 years of age, Singleman was still working, very likely because he was under financial pressure to do so. Willy, who lives in his own world of illusion, also sees his hero as happy and loved by people in the business. But it is also likely that he was a lonely man without family, which is suggested by his name "Singleman." Willy’s version of the American dream, as represented by Singleman, is a corrupt one.