Cora

While Willy and Cora are put into similar situations in the readings, Cora differs from Willy in that Cora is where she is through her own beliefs and not through blind conformity to society. Willy had spent his whole life conforming to a society which eventually turned on him, and when he was done conforming, no part of his original self remained. Cora was different. While she did have monetary problems and was not working her dream job, she still had the ideas and urges for change in society that were meaningful to her from the beginning. Willy's profession slowly provided him less income as society changed, and Cora's job did not provide her with much money to live in a nice apartment, but while from a monetary standpoint they were approximately equal, the one thing that Willy did not have that Cora had, was individuality of character, and this vital yet intangible concept drove Willy to insanity and ultimate failure.