The American Dream in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

He realizes that these values are not true, and is not too concerned if he does not come out on top. He wants to be able to know who he is. Happy, on the other hand, continues to believe in Willy’s ideas, even after his father’s death, and decides that Willy’s name will succeed.

In 1949, Arthur Miller wrote a play called “The Death Of a Salesman”. This play is known for its compelling view on the mind of the middle class working man. The characters in “The Death of a Salesman” all have various dimensions of development throughout the story. These characters can all be seen as components one collective mind using Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory; the Oedipal, Id, Ego, and Superego. These characters all strive for success by way of the American Dream and all of it’s inconsistent factors and betrayal that personify it so well.

Since Columbus made land, people have been searching for the “American Dream”. Many people have their own idea and ideas that have changed over a period of time, but what exactly is the “American Dream” defined as .Origins of the dream have been rooted in the pioneering mentality of the eighteenth and nineteenth century immigrants, most who came to America because of a promise for a new and better life. The American Dream was sought through hard work and determination. After the time of the World Wars, society changed and so did the view of the “American Dream”, it changed from a potential reality into being a dream. People were striving to reach their definition of the American Dream. Beliefs and values took a turn. The American Dream

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman tells the story of the failure of a salesman, Willy Loman. Although not all Americans are salesmen, most of us share Willy’s dream of success. We are all partners in the American Dream and parties to the conspiracy of silence surrounding the fact that failures must outnumber successes.(Samantaray, 2014)

He believes highly in the American Dream. He is all about working and being successful. He wants to show people that he is well-liked and to show his two sons, Biff and Happy that he is successful. He wants his sons so be successful so he is trying to show them how hard working he is. He raises Biff and Happy to be part of the American Dream. As you later see, Biff is not successful like he was brought up to be. Biff was a thief and couldn’t hold any jobs. Happy was just like Willy he had a job, but it was mostly all talk. Willy is just a strong believer in that success and popularity will always result in happiness. He instilled in his sons that big business and money was the main focus. He taught them the wrong idea of the American Dream. Willy influenced his sons in a bad way. Willy always told people that he was better and wealthier than he actually was and carried onto Biff and Happy. When will would ask them how their jobs are going and how much money they are making, they both say that they are doing good and making money. In reality, they are like Willy, pretending that they are more than they actually are. Will lied to everyone about how much he made because he wanted to please everyone. Biff eventually realizes that in order to be successful, it requires working at a job that makes you happy. The other son Biff still thinks that wealth and popularity are the focus in order to be successful. Willy was seeing and instilled the wrong way to

Willy Loman's dream is an adaptation of the American Dream. Willy believes that the only things that are important in life are the successes that he achieved and the amount of friends that he made. This is easily illustrated when Willy says " It's who you know and the smile on your face! ... and that's the wonder, the wonder of this country, that a man can end with diamonds here on the basis of being liked!" (Movie). Success is an important part of the American dream, but Willy puts too much importance on the need to achieve success. He neglects the needs of his family and chooses to remain in the mindset that as long as he is well liked he will achieve success. Although he has lost his ability to sell, Willy continues to believe that as long as he works hard good things will happen to him and his family. Willy's wife Linda realizes this and conveys these thoughts to her sons when she says "He drives seven hundred miles, and when he gets there no one knows him anymore… what goes through a man's mind, driving seven hundred miles home without earning a cent?" (Movie). Willy has delusional ideas about the American Dream. Even in the end Willy still believes that the only thing Biff needs to be successful is some

-Willy Loman is a salesman who wants nothing more than the typical American Dream of riches, success, and luxury but never gets that. He doesn’t get along with his family considering they complain he is never home and he doesn’t think his kids will be successful in their lives. He’s a very insecure character who lets things get the better of him, and as reality

The American Dream is the belief that if you work hard you will be able to gain success and wealth. Willy Loman has a flawed perception of success. He believes that if he is wealthy and well-liked than he will be happy. His desire for money and material items it what eventually leads to his downfall. He is so caught up in the fact that his life isn’t what he wanted it to be that he begins to view himself as a failure which eventually leads to his death.

The reader learns that the Loman family is deeply in debt and that Willy is only getting paid by commission because he has lost most of his ability as a salesman.

In the novel Death of a Salesman, the audience comes across a dysfunctional family where Willy is one of the main characters is a salesman and the father of two boys. Willy had been a salesman for many years looking to attain the American Dream. Linda Willy’s wife always supports and protects Willy from the judgement of his son Biff as long as those of other people. Biff and Happy are Willy and Linda Loman’s sons both are raised with the mentality that if a person wants to be successful they must be well liked and well known. Due to Willy’s childhood background and the misfortune of not having a father figure to guide him as he was growing up he confuses success with nurturing and love. This is what he shows his kids, he constantly tells them that success comes from being well known and well liked instead of telling them that success not only comes from being well liked and known but it also comes from hard work and motivation to prosper. Willy, Linda, Happy , and Biff are the center of attention in the novel they live in dreams and not reality. Charley and Howard are minor character that have an extremely important role in the play.

            In Death of a Salesman, Happy and Biff are uncertain of where they are in life, and only reach out for the simple,

Webster once said,“Whether we fall by ambition, blood, or lust, like diamonds we are cut with our own dust.” Lying refers to the action in which one alters or conceals the truth as a means to deceive. The act is one that often seems to have beneficial short term gains but unfortunately, this effect is strongly opposed by reality, which always catches up. Not only does a person’s duplicity seriously affect their accountability, it often leads to inner battles with hypocrisy. This self-deception involves a lot of confusion regarding the nature of ones beliefs, ideals, and principles. Such situations can lead to two very different, yet life changing conclusions, self-realization or misconception of reality. Death of a Salesman, a tragic play by Arthur Miller, explores the effects of such deception through the character Willy Loman and the consequences of his decisions. It does so by addressing the mental and financial struggles associated with achieving the American Dream whilst showing readers the significance of acceptance and how lies and deception can lead to unhealthy relationships and a disgruntled view of ones self.

Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” provides an in depth look at the dark and desperate side of the American Dream. Each character in the play represents different aspects of post WWII attitudes and outlooks in American middle class society. Set in Brooklyn, the mood is established with remarks made by protagonist Willy Loman about the way the houses are built close together and the lack of grass (Miller, pgs. 1432-1433). Willy’s longing for the good ole’ days is apparent as he laments the loss of trees and flowers, and his disdain for overpopulation. He is a man who never quite measured up, always in the shadow of his older brother Ben who became wealthy by mining diamonds in Africa (Miller, pg. 1447).

A question you often ask yourselves when times become difficult, “Why me, God?” Willy Loman probably asked himself this question many times; wondering why he was caught in an affair, why he did not turn out as financially successful as his brother, or why his son did not become what he had hoped. In Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman, a sixty-year-old traveling salesman dreams of reaching the “American Dream” and being rich, which he has the opportunity to do when his brother, Ben, asks him to accompany him, but Willy chooses to remain at his job. Working as a salesman has a lot of perks including having affairs with secretaries of the clients, which Willy does, but when his son, Biff finds out, it destroys him and all his dreams including playing college football. After some time, and the company put Willy on commission, yet his wife, Linda, finds a way to be supportive of him and encourages him to ask for a non-traveling job, which later results in Willy’s discharge. As all hope diminishes, Willy thinks he has an idea to still be a hero by killing himself and leaving the insurance money behind to help support the money, but his plan fails. Consequently, his dreams of becoming someone well liked by others and having many people at his funeral becomes unsuccessful, having only his family and neighbor, Charley, attend the service. Thus, in Death of a Salesman, Miller portrayed Willy as a tragic character due to his lack of communication, living in the past,

America has long been known as the land of opportunity and the idea of the American Dream is rather appealing to most. Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, addresses the ongoing conflicts within one family. However, he also uses the play to offer an indictment on the American capitalist system, and in it he exposes the potentially harmful and destructive myth built around the American Dream and the struggles to obtain it.