Death of a Salesman Quotes
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He's man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a Shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back — that's an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you're finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.
Context
Here we are in Death of a Salesman—not much of an upper of a book.
Charley, Willy's kind neighbor, is speaking. He's talking to Biff and Happy when they are arguing at Willy's funeral.
Yep, Willy would be the dead salesman.
Biff says that his father (Willy) "had all the wrong dreams" and "never knew who he was." Happy is...not happy...that Biff would even think of saying disparaging things about Willy at his own funeral—and that's when the ever-reasonable Charley steps in, trying to calm the boys and explain what it's really like to be a salesman.
Where you've heard it
Charley is taking Happy's side of the argument, explaining that Willy never had a choice: a salesman has to sell himself along with his product, and when that's no longer possible—when they "start not smiling back"—it's all over.
When you look at it that way, Charley's speech portrays Willy as an everyman (or everyAmerican?) who's been swallowed whole by the promises of the American dream. He can't be blamed for his failure...although we do have to question his parenting techniques (stealing lumber may be good for building a new deck, but not for character).
Bottom line: you can expect to hear this one from anyone who's got dreams—or as a comment on those who do. It's not the most uplifting quote in the world, but it's definitely got that American spirit to it.
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.
There are two pretention problems with trying to pull this one out.
First, copying Charley's dialect? No thank you. We can already hear your fake New York, purposely uneducated-sounding accent, and it's not working for you. And "dast"? Sure, Charley's speech may be the most memorable, poignant part of the whole play, but when you start reciting it word for word with all of its idiosyncrasies, well, maybe you should pick up a hobby.
Second, what's your damage? Are you an unpatriotic anti-capitalist or did you just have a bad run in with a Cutco employee? Show the salespeople some love—apparently they need it.