Analyze the quote below from Death of A Salesman.What is the significance/importance of this quote? What does it mean? "I don't say he's a great...

This quote attempts to elicit some tribute to the man, and
not the salesman, Willy Loman.

The play Death of
a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, bases is theme in the eternal quest for the
so-called "American Dream", and the plethora of interpretations this dreams seems to
have. However, Miller is clear in illustrating Willy's understanding of the "American
Dream" as a combination of being financially successful, well-liked, and
well-known.

Unfortunately, Willy cannot enjoy any of those
attributes. In a wider-perspective we could also argue that there are many other
individuals that cannot enjoy those attributes either. That being said, we can safely
argue that the purpose of the quote is to allow for those who never achieved their
dreams to at least be honored for the fact that they lived their lives the best way they
could.

Just because many individuals do not "make it" in
life does not mean that they do not deserve to be paid the attention and the respect
that they deserve. The American Dream may still be hard to get, but those who do not
achieve it- like Willy- should not just be forgotten and
ignored.

Consider the first part of the quote that
reads:

Willie Loman never made a lot of money. His
name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever
lived.

This clearly lists the three things that
Willy aimed for: Money, recognition, and a reputation. Later on the quote we see the
words:

...he's a human being, and a terrible thing
is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall in his
grave like an old dog.

Here we see how the
narrator makes us remember that Willy (and those who are like willy) are still and only
human, and people should overlook their social weaknesses and appreciate the fact that
they do not have it easy. Hence, by ignoring the struggling man, and the failing man, we
are ignoring a huge part of a population that sometimes tries to hard to achieve
things.

Therefore, the last part of the quote reaffirms
this idea with the words:

Attention, attention
must finally be paid to such a person."

We simply
cannot offer all our respect and admiration to the successful and the glorious. Within
each of us, there is a latent wish or dream we would like to pursue but will not get.
That does not make us lesser than those who could achieve their dreams. It simply makes
us part of a big majority that, at least, still dreams.