Peter Hazlett’s major problem in “Canoe” was his inability to treat people as humans. Throughout the story Hazlett acts as if other people are just beings that only exist in relevance to him. “After thirty-six years of li

“Death of a Traveling Salesman is a story of contrasts” (Daniel 278) R.J. Bowman is a self-absorbed salesman who has a similar character flaw to that of Hazlett. He thinks of other people as sales, victims ready to be preyed upon by buying his shoes. This is illustrated when Bowman first meets the “old” woman; after begging for help rather than connecting with her, or letting her know of his sickness he tries to sell her shoes. “I have a nice line of women’s low priced shoes…”(S&L 213) When Bowman says this he is making more than an offer for her to buy a product but making judgment on her wealth. Bowman’s sickness is causing his vision to blur and his first impression of the “old” woman is that she is elderly. “She was a big woman with a weather-beaten but unwrinkled face; her lips were held tightly together, and her eyes looked with a curious dulled brightness into his. He looked at her shoes, which were like bundles.” (Kreyling) When in fact this would be completely opposite and would explain his confusion to why she calls her husband Sonny strong. As he is waiting for Sonny, Bowman attempts at making small talk and connect with the woman and in this commentary we see more of his bitter-selfish personality. “…He was surprised to hear his old voice, chatty, confidential, inflected for selling shoes, asking a question like that- a thing that he did not even want to know” (S&L 213) Ironically, Bowman wanted to know, he wished that he could sit there and talk with her as a friend unfortunately he didn’t know how. “But he wanted to leap up, to say to her, I have been sick and I found out then, only then, how lonely I am. Is it too late??” (S&L 215)

Hazlett has one moment in the story in which you can truly capture the essence of his character before the canoe. “A beer at the end of the day is sweet, remarkable and life affirming. Nothing can make you happier than having a woman in bed. Except making money. It runs a close second. Whatever goes wrong there’s alwa

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