Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Every respectable parent wants what is best for their children, even if that means putting their personal dreams on hold. Unfortunately, parents can negatively affect their children through, not only their actions, but also their beliefs onto how to achieve their dreams. The damaging effects of parents chasing unrealistic dreams, such as the American Dream, can be seen through their children and how they chase their own dreams. Biff Loman of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Walter Younger of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry watch their parents fight for their dreams only to become a failure, Biff is pulled into his father’s delusional dreams of success and Walter lacks the proper role models to shape his dreams around,

Since the beginning of its time, America has set a global standard for offering chances at prosperity and career opportunities for qualified adults. Its people have been implicating the idea of the “American Dream” into its culture for many years and has become widely recognized by individuals all across the world. People pack up their lives and families to travel to American soil to try at a chance of a better life, and in doing so, they too venture on a path to achieving this so commonly understood “American Dream.” Arthur Miller, a well-known literary writer in America, seems to disagree with this national phenomena, offering a different view in his play Death of a Salesman. In this play, he demonstrates through the life of an average

Husbands and wives assume a vow of support for one another as they embark on a lifelong journey together through the ups and the downs. In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, the main character, Willy Loman, is an aged and failing salesman attempting to provide for his family without asking for help from anyone. His wife, Linda Loman, is one of the most intelligent and levelheaded characters in the play. Although her husband treats her poorly at times, she ceaselessly supports him and does everything in her power to ensure his happiness. Linda understands Willy’s declining mental health and knows that he is becoming less stable each day. Through her continued support of Willy and his unrealistic aspirations, Linda allows Willy’s mental decline to continue without attempting to keep him in check with reality. By ignoring Willy’s mistakes, failures, and blatant suicide attempts, Linda permits Willy’s disconnect from reality to continue until she is freed by his eventual death.

The minimum wage in the United States has been an ongoing controversy for many years now. The first minimum wage was established in 1938 (Reich, 2015, P. 3). That minimum wage started out at .25 cents an hour; compared to today’s higher wage of a government standard of $7.25 an hour. Many people believe that the minimum wage should be more so that those who live below the poverty level in the United States will decrease, however in many other people’s opinions the minimum wage should be the same. The minimum wage should stay the same at a low $7.25.

The minimum wage has been around since the Great Depression in 1938 under the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Initially, the government set the minimum wage at $0.25 per hour to now $7.25 an hour, although some states decide to have a lower rate than the national rate or have no minimum at all. The heated debate over raising the national rate of the minimum wage has been on everybody’s lips since there was the question of whether to alter the rate or not. I support the raising of minimum wage because of the fact that raising the minimum wage would improve the income of people in poverty and economy of America. For the same reason, raising the minimum wage would lift the incomes of about 18 million hard-working people.

People have different identities because they all make their own over the course of their lives. Identity development is the outcome of different experiences and situations people encounter throughout their lives. Views, beliefs, activities, and conflicts have an impact on how individuals form their identities. People go through life trying to recognize their character traits, the act of which leads them to their identities, but over time can lose the identities they have through society, through a marriage, or through one’s own self. Willy Loman, a delusional salesman, in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman; Minnie Wright, an unhappy and lonely housewife, in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles; and Oedipus, a king with excessive pride and

“Fake it ‘til you make it,” is a mantra that both inspires uncertain individuals to attempt something new and a battle cry for those who refuse to accept the reality of a situation. Whether it be in the acknowledgement that one needs help or that you shouldn’t have seventeen cats, the fear of hurt or loss is often too great to accept the cold, hard truth. Unfortunately, many are not alerted to the greater danger of avoiding personal growth and forming realistic, healthy relationships. Both Judith Guest and Arthur Miller use their respective literary works ‘Ordinary People’ and ‘Death of a Salesman’ to illustrate that not addressing who we are as individuals and remaining unaware of reality will only lead to unhappiness, dysfunction, and

Arthur Miller is considered one of the best playwrights of the 20th century. The most known pieces are All My Sons, A View from the Bridge, The Crucible and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller was born in Harlem, New York on October 17, 1915, he was the son of polish immigrants. Miller graduated from high school in New York in 1933, he had worked at variety of including hosting a radio program. Miller wrote plays for the Federal Theatre in 1939. In The Federal Theatre it provided work for the unemployed writers, actors, directors, and designers. Millers career did not start off great it was a little rough. Miller worked in a small building that he built in Roxbury, Connecticut. Miller wrote the first act of Death

The American Dream is a philosophy, that “freedom and independence includes the opportunity for success”(1) and prosperity through hard work. Both in Arthur Miller 's Death of a Salesman and F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is a strong theme throughout, as ultimately the protagonists in the novel and play fail to achieve their dream. As a result, the reader is forced to consider whether the American Dream is an unattainable concept or if it is due to personal interpretation. The Great Gatsby written in 1925 and Death of a Salesman 1949, gives a slightly different perspective being post WW1 and WW2 due to the state of America changing. The gender roles of men and women altered over this period as the war forced a change in responsibilities. The play Death of a Salesman was well received and has since been revived many times on Broadway. Whereas when published, The Great Gatsby had varied views and did not sell well, it was later after the Second World War that the novel received widespread appreciation. In both texts the main characters are convinced that achievement of the American Dream is their only way to be happy. The American Dream evolved to be a concept of gaining fortune and happiness through hard work and prosperity. Fitzgerald extinguishes this idea as Gatsby is not fulfilled even with his magnitude of money. Whereas Willy seeks the wealth Gatsby has, fundamentally each are striving for what the other has.

As though to recreate the connection in life, literature often shows the relationship between past events and a character’s present actions and values. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy is haunted by memories of his older brother, father, and salesman Dave Singleman. Willy’s character and values are constantly influenced by the memory of the three men, compounding upon his deliria throughout the play. Willy considers these men the epitome of success, thus explaining his dependency on all three. Miller’s view on society, men, and the success of the American Dream are portrayed through Willy’s interactions with the men. The American Dream is synonymous with the phrase “the world is your oyster,” but Miller uses Death of a Salesman to criticize the American Dream through Willy Loman and his interplay between the past and present.

The American dream is strongly associated with the identity of America and everything our country stands for: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, the protagonist Willy Loman believes a person will be happy once they obtain success by living the American dream; if you are unable to achieve this goal then you are a failure. The play is divided into two categories: successes and failures. The image of the American Dream depicted in society influences Willy’s own perception of success and is the cause of his failures.

In “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman, a salesman in New York, struggles with his internal beliefs of what makes America great. His lovely wife attempts to support him and as his sons grow, they defy his passions and ideals. Willy goes through his days committed to being a likable person and has goals to support his family. Unfortunately, Willy Loman’s ideals become outgrown as the technological age develops. Due to the protagonist’s motivations, he represents the tragic hero in a few ways.

What is the correct definition of tragedy anyways? Many people would define tragedy as a disaster, but according to the book The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre by Martin Banham, the word tragedy is “a word whose meaning changes with time and place” (1002). In Medieval times, “tragedy came to mean the downfall of a person of high degree” (Banham 1002), but in recent times, the meaning of the word tragedy has many definitions. According to Banham, “realists refused to limit tragedy to privileged protagonists” (1002). Two famous tragic plays that I found to have a genre of tragedy are Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. In both of these plays, the downfall was not of a person of high degree but there was a

In 1938 Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act setting the first federal minimum wage at 25 cents an hour. Since then it has been increased 23 times and currently stands at $7.25/hour. In 2011 around 3.7 million Americans earned the minimum wage. There are two types of workers who earn the minimum wage- young workers(still in school) and old workers(out of school). Statistics show that minimum wage earners are likely to be from low income households and are likely to be working part time. Former President Obama supported a minimum wage increase but it failed to pass because of differences within the Democratic Party. Recently Senator Tom introduced a bill to raise the minimum wage to $10 but it is unlikely to pass in a Republican controlled Congress. The debate over minimum wage can be found at all levels of society from the federal government to the states. The current minimum wage is not a living wage and immediate steps must be taken to raise it.

In today’s society the term “American Dream” is perceived as being successful and usually that’s associated with being rich or financially sound. People follow this idea their entire life and usually never stop to think if they are happy on this road to success. Most will live through thick and thin with this idealization of the “American Dream” usually leading to unhappiness, depression and even suicide. The individual is confused by society’s portrayal of the individuals who have supposedly reached the nirvana of the “American Dream”. In the play “Death of a Salesman” Willy thinks that if a person has the right personality and he is well liked it’s easy to achieve success rather than hard work and innovation. This is seen when Willy is