Willy Loman And The American Dream

Similar to Gatsby, Willy Loman from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, bases his "American Dream" on the idea that public acceptance would bring him wealth.  Willy believes that appearing well liked makes him successful.  Willy has based his life on the idea that if you are "well liked, you will never want" (Miller 33).  Moreover, he believes his sons' appearance will make them successful because they are "both built like Adonises" (33).  Furthermore, Willy's obsession with money leads him to equate the value of an individual with their financial worth.  Willy idealized his older brother Ben because "he is rich" (41).  Willy, reflecting on his own worth, concludes "you end up worth more dead than alive" (98).  Finally, Willy thinks that being a popular and successful businessman will win him the love of his wife and children.  Willy lies to his family, by telling his sons "[if there is] one thing boys: I have friends"(31).  He also exaggerates terribly by telling his wife he sold "five hundred gross in Providence and seven hundred gross in Boston" (35).  In his final imagined discussion with his brother Ben, Willy concludes that by taking his own life he will finance his son's business venture, and "[Biff will] worship me for it" (135).

The play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, takes issue with those in America who place too much stress upon material gain, at the expense of other, more admirable human values. Miller uses flashbacks to provide exposition, to foreshadow the upcoming tragedy, and most importantly to reveal character traits. An analysis of the main character, Willy Loman, illustrates the underlying theme that the concern over material success breaks down the bonds between men that form the basis of a smooth-functioning society.

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

The story ‘Death of a Salesman’ written by Miller focuses on a man doing all he can to allow him and his family to live the American dream. Throughout the story it is shown how the Loman’s struggle with finding happiness and also with becoming successful. Throughout their entire lives many problems come their way resulting in a devastating death caused by foolishness and the drive to be successful. Ever since he and his wife, Linda, met she has been living a sad and miserable life, because she has been trying support his unachievable goals. Also by him being naïve put his children’s lives in jeopardy and also made them lose sight of who they really were. Miller uses the Loman family to show how feeling the need to appear a certain way to the public and trying to live a life that is not really yours can turn into an American nightmare.

Willie Loman is an ordinary man who embodies traditional American values of success. He has reached the age where he can no longer compete successful in his chosen career, that of a traveling salesman. Faced with the termination of his job, he begins to examine his past life to determine its value. At this critical point in Willie’s existence, his oldest son Biff has returned home for a visit, and Willie’s old desire for his son to be a traditional success in life is rekindled. But the old tensions between the two men are also renewed. Once again, to Willie’s great disappointment, his son rejects Willie’s values and aspirations. (“Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller 1949 Drama”)

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 belief that if you work hard you will gain success and wealth in life. In Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller, the idea of the American dream is shown through the main character Willy Loman. Willy has a flawed perception of success and the American Dream. His desire for wealth and popularity is what eventually leads to his downfall. His obsession with his image and his desire to be someone he wasn’t overtime drives him crazy and leads to his death.

America’s social system and class divisions create barriers to those who want to obtain the American Dream because diligence is needed, and unequal opportunity, and there’s disillusionment Individuals of the lower class need to work harder, on account of the poor conditions and battles that they need to persevere. In Death of a Salesman, the main character Willy Loman has confidence in the American Dream of simple riches and upscale life which later drives him to his grave. At a certain point in the scene, Willy Loman was having a discussion whit his child, Biff Loman. And pointed out the fact that "[He is] not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. You were never anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash can like the rest of them! "

Before even beginning to read ‘Death of a Salesman’, we know what the play is going to be about from the given title. However, this play is much more than just a death of a salesman, it’s about the death of the promise of the American Dream. At heart, it’s about the protagonist’s desire for success, respect, and status — and failure to achieve it.

After reading the New York Times review of Death of a Salesman, I agree that “With employment continuing to lag and millions of homes in foreclosure, there are surely many men and women avoiding the mirror and its accusations, believing, like Willy, that their inability to achieve the golden ideal of financial success is somehow a personal indictment.” (Isherwood 2012). This review can be related to any point in time in society. While there is a natural flow of change society always craves the “American dream.”

Death of a Salesman and the American Dream In his play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller utilizes the character of Biff to expose the falsity of Willy Loman's beliefs and desires, especially with regards to his belief in the American Dream. Biff's assessment of Willy is accurate; Willy's values are misplaced and deluded. The “wrong dreams” Biff describes are Willy's confusion of material wealth, possessions and popularity as meaning success in life and relationships, and his delusion with certain aspects of these ambitions. These “wrong dreams” all stem from the context of post-war American consumerism and the American Dream: that everyone has the opportunity in America to achieve wealth and prosperity.

Willy strongly believes in the American Dream, that anybody can achieve wealth, but his version of it is one that is nearly impossible to obtain. Everybody except Willy has lived the dream, his brother discovered a diamond mine, Charley his neighbor owns a chain of stores, Charley’s son Bernard became a lawyer, and Howard inherited a company from his father. Ben being that main influence on Willy’s beliefs of the American Dream causes Willy to believe that if you look good, manly, and are well liked, that you would automatically achieve success.

Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ is a modern tragedy; one that incorporates both the tragic genre presented in theatres for centuries as well as essences of the modern world we live in. Materialism is a modern phenomenon, something which possibly began due to the American Dream – an idea which is heavily criticised through implications in this play. The play is set in 50’s capitalist America, where the idea of the American Dream had only just begun gaining momentum; Miller’s criticism of the Dream very much

In one of Arthur Miller’s play, “Death of a Salesman” written in 1949; it uncovers the betrayal of the American Dream. Willy Loman, one of the characters in “Death of a Salesman” who believes that finding success is very easy, but in reality’s he only finds his success in own imagination. In Act one of the play, Willy Loman stated “Bigger than Uncle Charley! Because Uncle Charley is not … Liked. He’s Liked, but not well Liked (p21).” This quote expresses that being liked is not the key to success but rather being well liked is the path to success; in another word, personality is the key to everything, because he believes that the American Dream applies to everyone. Throughout the play, Willy Loman had been betrayed many times by the

The play Death of a Salesman greatly portrays a specific ideology in regards to values, dreams, goals, and success in our consumer-driven society. It helps showcase the American dream that society tends to strive for even in the early 1900’s (the play is set in the 1940’s). That dream of being a successful business person or vendor. As well as the theory that image and physical attributes are most important to gaining fruition. Willy Loman plays a man in his sixties who has strived for this American dream for over 30 years but realistically has failed miserably on his goal in life – a wealthy salesman like his idol Dave Singleman (a fellow who could make a fortune selling without even leaving his hotel room). He spends his entire life in