A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man. He works for a company thirty-six years this March, opens up unheard-of territories to their trademark, and now in his old age they take his salary away.
– Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman, Act 1. Linda demands from her sons that they pay attention and respect to Willy after he is fired from his job. Devoted to her husband, she explains how an ordinary man like Willy can be as exhausted by life as a great man. She is angry that having devoted a great part of his life to the company he worked for, he has been discarded by his employer. She is making the point that any individual, regardless of status, can be ground down by the burdens of life.