Cora Tucker vs. Willy Lowman

Cora Tucker differs from Willy Lowman in a variety of ways. For one, their views on success are completely different. All of Cora’s life she’s believed that hard work and dedication is the way to succeed in anything. She grew up in a family with 8 brothers and sisters with only her mom. She watched her mom work so hard to succeed and provide for her family. Cora’s mom was so poorly educated that she didn’t even know how to get welfare support. As you can see from the beginning Cora had that mindset of working hard to succeed. Willy on the other hand believes that you must be well liked to succeed. By well liked I mean that someone likes you enough to give you a job, or a promotion. In Willy’s opinion it is not how well you do something, or how dedicated and hardworking you are. It is how many connections you have with people that are willing to help you based on how much they like you. Cora would totally disagree with that thought process. Cora thinks completely differently from Willy. Cora is quoted saying, “if you stop doing things because somebody says something bad about you or does something to you, then you’ll never get anything done” (RA p.364). By that quote you can tell how much perseverance she had. When Cora faced adversity she pushed through it. The difference between Cora and Willy is success, not only success gained, but how they define success. Cora is a successful person. She is well liked by many and hated by just as much. She wasn’t given handouts as a way to succeed, she “raised hell” as she puts it. She didn’t own land and a house because someone gave it to her. She worked as a seamstress for a large knit sportswear manufacturer. The conditions at this factory were tough. She states many women hurt their backs, and two women had heart attacks due to the work environment, and after all of this she worked there and saved 1,000 dollars each year for the first two years she was there. With that money she saved she bought land, the saved some more and bought a house, and she bought every piece of furniture with the money she earned. Her dream when she was younger was to buy her own house, and with hard work she completed this task. To me she has been successful throughout her life with helping in organizations and being involved in the community. With Willy he wants what he doesn’t have, and doesn’t believe that he can work for it. He believes that he needs a handout to succeed. When Willy doesn’t earn these handouts, then he feels like he fails, not only does he fail, but due to his son not being successful he failed as a father. Cora succeeded through hard work, and Willy failed through wanting to be “well liked.” In the end, Cora is the more successful person.