Death of a Salesman Quotes
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Source: Death of a Salesman
Author: Arthur Miller
When today fails to offer the justification for hope, tomorrow becomes the only grail worth pursuing.
Context
This line is misquoted from the play Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller (1949).
Willy Loman is a hopeless character who eventually gives up on tomorrow. So this quote seems fitting for Death of a Salesman, though it sounds a little academic for a dying salesman, doesn't it? No offense to salesmen, of course…well, maybe "The ShamWow Guy." He can take offense if he wants.
Anyway, this quote sounds out-of-character because Arthur Miller didn't write it. This quote is actually from the introduction to the 1998 Penguin Classics edition of Death of a Salesman, written by Miller scholar Christopher Bigsby. That's why it sounds so scholarly.
Where you've heard it
You hear this when someone is feeling quite hopeless, or they're about to give up searching for the Holy Grail. (Don't drink from the wrong one!)
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
While the language and word choice is a little pretentious, the hopeful message behind the quote lessens the pretentious factor a bit.