Willy Loman And The American Dream Analysis

The American Dream ~ for many, it is the unlocked door that leads to happiness.  It is the hope for a future filled with success and fortune.  Although most people have a similar idea of what the American Dream is, they may have different ideas on how to achieve it.  For Willy Loman, a struggling salesman, achieving this dream would be a major accomplishment.  Unfortunately, his unusual ideas of how this dream can be achieved prevent him from reaching his goal.

The American Dream is a sought after idea sold to Americans and immigrants alike. It promises the opportunity to create a better future for oneself. So long as said individual works hard it promises a happy ending. Arthur Miller reveals the reality of the American Dream in his play Death of a Salesman through the life of Willy Loman and his family. Willy represents the primary target audience as a working class man providing for his family. His pride causes him to be two steps behind in his life-long quest to achieve the American Dream and his family inherit his failures in their own individual quests.

Willy Loman had accomplished the historical American Dream but because of his ambition he did not realize it. When Willy was deciding to go with his brother to look for his father he met Dave Singleman. Dave was an ¨eighty four year old salesman who had drummed merchandise in thirty-one states and who could now simply go into his hotel room, call the buyers, and make his living in his green velvet slippers¨ (Stanton 131).This view of a tranquil and successful career made him reconsider his decision and instead of going to Alaska he chose to be a salesman. It seems that Willy saw a “father figure” in Dave, so he followed the same path, hoping he would have the same future and the same success in the field (Stanton 133). After thirty five years of his career he saw he hasn’t accomplished the success that he wanted. He devoted his life into a career as a salesman knowing that he was good with his hands, but ¨he possessed too much snobbery to admit that his own destiny was in a simple career as a carpenter¨ (“Death of a Salesman”). For Willy the difference between a white collar job and a blue collar job meant a lot, but he didn’t do much to gain a white collar one and he stayed with his old job. His career as a salesman did give him and his family the normal success people would want. Willy wanted more, and since he saw he didn’t accomplished it, he taught his kids into his

The American dream originated when immigrants came to America searching for new opportunities and a better life. In the early 1900’s all people could do is dream; however, those dreams gave many different meanings to the phrase “American dream”, and for the most part, wealth and hard work play a very large role in the pursuit of “the dream”. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and Arthur Miller’s drama, Death of a Salesman, both protagonists, Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman, are convinced that the way to achieve a better life is by living the “American dream”. However, the dream does not end up successfully for these two characters. In fact, their ideals and hopes of rising to success cause their American dream to take a turn into

The American Dream is something many Americans desire. The desire to the mind – set or belief that anyone can be successful if they worked hard for what they’ve been yearning. It is considered to be a ‘perfect life’; it can be full of money, contentedness or even love. There are many divergent opinions given by people. Walter Younger from Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and Willy Loman from Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of the Salesman’ both have their own views on the American Dream and how it can be achieved. Walter Lee Younger, a

Former American Lawyer and politician Robert Ingersoll once said, “In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences.” Ingersoll states that all actions have the same general result, people do not get rewarded nor punished, but instead they suffer from any plausible repercussions of these actions. As Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller tries to pursue his own american dream, he leaves behind a series of consequences due to the decisions he makes throughout the novel. Willy creates an unrealistic american dream for himself, which causes the family to struggle with him and his worthless belief of himself.

The American Dream is the ideal daydream, promising an abundant happiness. Whether its dreamer sees a millionaire, a successful businessman, or a simple musician at the end of the road to the American Dream, the road must always be planned with caution. For Gatsby and Loman, who were taken astray by lust, or by the mere thought of the dream, the fruits of the American Dream were just out of reach. But, if pursued with a clear mind and plentiful tenacity, the propitious road to the American Dream is a worthwhile trek.

Everyone has a dream of their desired future, they dream of the one thing that makes them happy that they do not have now. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman and Gatsby are characters dominated by an American dream that destroyed them. Their dream comes from a fantasy past. These dreams were made outside from who they truly are. Gatsby tried to repeat his past, while Willy attempted to create a new past. The lack of control over their goals and dreams lead to their downfall at the end. The two novels show the various points of the American dream; either to pursuit of happiness, or to pursuit of material wealth.

The American dream is something many people from not only outside of our country, but from within all want to one day obtain. The iconic American dream, where you plan on making it big while working and pursuing your goals. Finding a way to support a family and live a common western lifestyle. Death of a Salesman is centered on a man trying to reach the American dream and taking his family along the way with him. The Loman's, from the start of the story till the end have a very concerning lifestyle story. To them, or the husband at least, they are trying to become successful and happy. Throughout their lives they encounter many problems and the end result is a tragic death caused by stupidity and the need to succeed. The Standards of American dream are universal but now, the definition of American dream is totally distorted.

The American Dream is an idea that one can achieve success through their hard work. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Arthur Miller's The Death of a Salesman the authors show the American Dream as something that is sought by most but only leads to suffering and ultimately death through their use of motifs and symbolism.

Arthur Miller presents characters that have their own interpretation of their American Dream that plays a toll on the main character, Willy Loman. Living in Brooklyn, a decade after The Great Depression, rebuilding the economy along with building your reputation. The American Dream has its benefits as Willy tried to live out his dream through his personality. Constantly reiterating to his wife how he's well liked or his sons that they need

The American Dream is a concept defined in many different points of views, every individual has their own interpretation to the actual definition. During the play “Death of a Salesman” the character Willy Loman has envisioned his own American Dream into his mentality that one needs to have charisma to prosper. The protagonist Willy Loman is introduced to the audience as a man who was able to get “deals” anywhere he traveled to, in his words “when they hear my name they stop everything and go on to greet me”. The character Willy Loman expresses himself as one “popular man”, during his time as a salesman he has made “amazing sales” and never even struggled.

The American Dream is a national set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. In the death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, we how this set of idealistic morals can be warped by one man’s mistakes. "Be liked and you will never want. "-Willy (Pg.33). Willy is reteaching the value of being well liked to his sons.

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman the American Dream is a topic that is profoundly important in the plot. The American dream is the idea that with hard work people can achieve their goals. Many characters in the play have dreams, but one character in particular realizes that some dreams just can not be obtained. Biff does not achieve his dream because he witnesses his father cheating and decides to not go to summer school, gets denied a position where he could establish something of himself, and because he has bad morals. First, Biff does not achieve his dream because he observes his father cheating.

The main issue with Willy and the American Dream is his expectations. Dave Singleman was someone he looked up to. He was successful and liked by many. When he died, his funeral was packed due to his popularity. Willy spent his life trying to become a Dave Singleman, however, it is discovered that he is nothing like Dave.