Neither Cora Tucker nor Willy Loman are wealthy individuals, however, one made choices that allowed her to succeed, where the other never did. The primary difference between the two was their interperatation of success. Cora Tucker saw it as personal fulfillment, where Willy Loman saw it as fulfillment in the eyes of others. This is interesting because Tucker lived her life serving society.
Cora Tucker succeeded because she was doing what she wanted to do, regardless of how it would effect her financial status. To her, serving others and fighting for a cause she believed in was her path to happiness. She got the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of her work, for she worked very hard. Being a black woman, who was described as being not particularly attractive or well-spoken, she could not rely on being "well-liked." In fact, she accepted the fact that she was absolutely hated by some, and continued to work forward anyway.
Where Willy Loman failed was his pressure on himself to beat the best man. Instead of working to help society, he worked to advace himself soley in the materialistic sense. He didn't do what he wanted to do; he did what he though would bring in enough money to live as he thought he wanted to. Whether or not Cora Tucker was helping people, she was still doing exactly what she wanted to do. Willy describes Biff as lost, but Willy is as well because he doesn't know what he wants. By sacrificing his desires to the apparent desires of others, he became emotionally bankrupt and lost.
Cora Tucker did what she wanted without caring whether or not society disapproved. Willy Loman did only what society expected him to do, so although he worked hard, he was never able to achieve success. Had Willy wanted to be a traveling salesman with no salary, his monetary lack of success would have been irrelevant to him.
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Nice post. You're very articulate when it comes to abstract ideas. I wish I could be more concise.
I disagree with you when you say that Willy Loman is selfish, though. Everything he does, while the goal is to get ahead materialistically, he does it for his wife and kids. He doesn't want his wife to have to mend stockings, he doesn't want his kids to be poor, and he doesn't want people to look down on the family name. At no point does he ever indulge himself for no benefit (except with "the lady", but that was not a monetary issue). I think he's not selfish at all, he just doesn't know how to provide for his family properly.
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