Comparing Light and Growth in A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman

In Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman’s life seems to be slowly deteriorating. It is clear that Willy’s predicament is of his own doing, and that his own foolish pride and ignorance lead to his downfall. Willy’s self-destruction involved the uniting of several aspects of his life and his lack of grasping reality in each, consisting of, his relationship with his wife, his relationship and manner in which he brought up his children, Biff and Happy, and lastly his inability to productively earn a living and in doing so, failure to achieve his “American Dream”.

Willy Loman believes in the “American Dream,” which is the belief that anyone can be lifted from humble beginnings to greatness. His belief on this idea is that a man can reach success by selling his

The relationship between Willy and Biff is complicated. Actually, Biff is everything for Willy. He doesn’t do well as a salesman anymore, so this situation makes him depressed but at least there is Biff. So Willy believes that Biff will reach the success and his dreams will become true. That makes him want Biff to take some responsibility, in other words this is a big pressure on Biff. “How can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life? A farmhand? In the beginning, when he was young, I thought, well, a young man, it’s good for him to tramp around, take a lot of different jobs. But it’s more than ten years now and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week!” says Willy and then Linda says “He is finding himself Willy.” Then Willy answers again “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!” This shows how Willy mad at him because he thinks they couldn’t reach their dreams because of Biff. Willy says “Sure. Certain men just don’t get started till later in life. Like Thomas Edison, I think. Or B.F. Goodrich. One of them was deaf. I’ll put my money

The father-son conflict between Willy and Biff is complex. First of all, there is a strong personal attachment. He wants Biff to love him. He remembers the fondness shown for him by Biff as a boy, and he still craves this. At this point, however, relations are strained. Although Willy shies away from remembering so painful an episode, he knows in his heart that his affair with the Boston woman left the boy bitterly disillusioned. Feeling some sense of guilt, Willy fears that all of Biff’s later difficulties may have been really attempts to get revenge. In other words, Biff failed to spite Willy. Although outwardly resenting such alleged vindictiveness, Willy still wants to get back the old comradeship, even if he has to buy it dearly. For instance consider when he asked Ben, “Why can’t I give him something and not have him hate me?” and his final moment of joy and triumph occurs when he exclaims, “Isn’t that remarkable? Biff… he likes me!”

Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun,” was a radically new representation of black life, resolutely authentic, fiercely unsentimental, and unflinching in its vision of what happens to people whose dreams are constantly deferred.

Willy believed the only way a person can make in the world, is being well liked. He even said “ Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want.” () Willy never taught Biff the important things to succeed in life, he never told him to do well in school, never told him to study. That Willy was basically telling Biff that his sport career was enough to be successful. Willy even tells his nephew Bernard that “ What are you talking about? With scholarships to three universities they’re gonna flunk him?” () Willy was teaching him the wrong way to succeed in life. So when Biff got older, he could never keep a stable job. That he even goes to jail for

Willy Loman is a senile salesman who lives a dull life with a depleting career. He has an estranged relationship with his family and believes in the American Dream of effortless success and affluence, but in no way accomplishes it. Feeling like the aim of life is to be favored by others and gaining a materialistic fortune, Willy lives in a world of delusion where

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play that displays housing discrimination in Chicago during the 1950s. Housing discrimination was partially an effect of the Great Migration. This was an event during the 1950s that resulted in about six million African Americans “migrating” from the south to the north, Midwest, and west regions of the United States. This caused the population of black people in major northern cities to increase rapidly. They are then only able to live in certain neighborhoods, which keeps their communities segregated.

Willy’s biggest issue with his son is that he let him down by not being any more successful than him. He feels like Biff is failing on purpose just to make him look bad. Although, he has no decent job and is single; Biff has become disoriented about life. Earlier in the play Biff tells Happy, “I tell ya Hap, I don't know what the future is. I don't know - what I'm supposed to want” (Miller266). Biff once looked up to his father as a role model, but lost all faith in him once finding out that he was having an affair. Ever since he has rejected Willy’s commitment of being a husband and also a father. To add to his ruins are Willy’s ideas of how Biff should get ahead in life. Willy taught Biff that popularity was the right way to get to the top, rather than hard-work and dedication. Trying to live by his dad’s standards caused Biff to fail high school and become unable to put forth the effort to become

The events of A Raisin in the Sun revolve around the main theme of dreams and manhood. In the story, the Younger family has always had big dreams, but due to racism and prejudice, they unceasingly watch their dreams deferred. Walter’s dream throughout the play is to provide for his family by becoming a businessman, but his dreams are postponed after he must work full-time at a menial, trifling, and meaningless job as a chauffeur. When Mama gives him the remaining sixty-five thousand dollars of the life insurance check, he believes that he can finally achieve his dream, only to loose the money and have his dreams deferred once more. The title “A raisin in the sun” is also a reference to dreams, from the poem “Harlem”. In the poem, “a raisin in the sun “is a metaphor for deferred dreams. When a grape is baked in the sun, it shrinks, and withers, but does not disappear. Similarly, members of the Younger family have dreams, but the dreams wither and are deferred due to their financial struggles. Even though the dreams wither, they do not disappear, and they renew their dreams after they receive the life insurance check. Mama’s old plant is a symbol of her perseverance for her long-time dream of having her own house in spite of austere circumstances. The plant struggles to grow by the apartment kitchen window with its lack of light and resources, but Mama keeps it alive regardless. Similarly, her family does not have adequate recourses (they don’t have a house nor enough money). When her dream of moving the to house seems to be delayed, she goes to the window and looks at her plant before declaring, “Well—ain’t it a mess in here, though? […] All this unpacking and everything we got to do.” It is significant how she looks at her plant when her dream seems to be deferred again, since it means that she is looks at the plant for hope. At the very end of the play, Mama returns to the apartment to move her potted plant to a garden in the new house, symbolizing that she finally achieved her dream of raising her family in a true house.

Willy’s unreasonable expectations of Biff creates a hostile relationship between Biff and Willy. Ever since Biff was in highschool, Willy always expected Biff to be very successful without instilling the tools

The main protagonist, Willy Loman lives in a world of delusion and lies as he is in a constant pursuit of his version of the “American Dream”. The American Dream means the dream of becoming rich overnight. The scale of success is money, big house, a costly car and other material things. American values have changed due to the attempt of becoming successful, as shown by Willy and his family. Willy is obsessed and fascinated by the American Dream, as seen from the flashbacks and implementation of characters from the past, he able to picture a life better than the one he has.

“Loman wants success, but the meaning of that need extends beyond the accumulation of wealth, security, goods, and status” (Jacobson). Willy has the wrong work ethic. He yearns for success more than he actually works for it, because he doesn’t know himself and is not confident. “Willy Loman is lost because he does not know who he is” (Eisinger). He is decrepit about his family and keeps on deceiving himself in light of his self-doubt.

Willy Loman’s feelings of alienation and loneliness are direct psychological results of his interaction with society and the conditions that are found within it.  Although, he does not necessarily have the ability or allow himself to have the ability to define his feelings as such, they are still very much a part of his everyday existence.  This is evident in his constant bragging and attempted compensation.  He does not feel that he is truly a part of society.  Indeed, he is not.  Miller himself seems to be saying that this is not necessarily a bad thing; this society is not that wonderful.  Yet Willy still yearns to be like his brother, Ben, and the other men he sees making

Willy Loman has many traits of a young child. He never really lives outside of his own unrealistic world. When children are young, they think they are able to achieve whatever their imaginations believe. Willy has the same idea as this throughout his whole life. He never lets go of that dream even though he knows its not the smart decision. He knows he would be more successful as a tradesman working with his manly hands but he refuses to follow the wiser choice. Mainly because he is searching for that American Dream that society proclaims to be the best.