Willy "WELL-LIKED"

When I first read this book, I thought that it was really depressing, and I thought that Willy was a pathetic character. But, when you look beyond the surface of Willy, you find that he is a sad man, and this is all because he wanted to be "Well Liked." Well, I don't believe that other people define you, but that you are defined by your actions, and only you can rely on yourself. THis is exactly what Emerson was talkng about, how you can't depend on other people like Willy did, Willy wanted everyone's approval for himslef and his sons. What he doesn't realize is that if he would focus more on his own actions, and less on what other people think of him, then he could be a better salesman.
Another aspect of this is that he wants to be like another salesman that was very great, and a lot of people came to his funeral. willy will never be that same salesman, especially if he is comparing himslef to that other salesman.
Willy's son Happy is seen in WIlly's eyes as beign "not well liked," and maybe he is, but at least he is not living up to the fake standards of his father like Biff. It is not Biff's fault that Willy sees him as being "Well liked," but is Willy's fault for not seeing how Biff is just a farmhand who can't do math. Even in high school Willy saw Biff as being popular and smart. This is precisley the reason why Biff is so unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Biff's friend Bernard is not very popular in high school, and now he is married and happy, while Biff is not.
I honestly think that Willy is a complicated, yet at the same time a very shallow character, and it was not a surprise for me when I read that he died.