Preview

The American Dream In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
448 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The American Dream In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman
Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman“ is a play illustrating the life of a man wanting success but takes his life for his family to be financially stable. At the story’s heart is a tragic depiction of the protagonist, a man who wants to be successful, who wants his kids to be successful, he wants to live the American dream. Miller balances the literary devices of of flashbacks, motifs, conflicts and characterization to perceive the cost of the American Dream. Willy Loman’s idea of the American dream is to be wealthy, well-liked and to be successful. He says to be well-liked will make a man successful, “ The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates a personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you …show more content…
He had taught Biff that it was okay, in this case, to steal a regulation football, so he can practice. “ Sure he’s gotta practice with a regulation ball, doesn’t he? Coach’l probably congratulate you on your initiative! “ This quote is an example of false values he taught Biff, his son, encouraging him to steal. Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman is a modern Tragic hero in todays society. In the 1940’s, America’s desire was to be “someone” in the society, making him a modern tragic hero. Due to Willy’s personal flaws, the American dream was turned into an American nightmare for him. Also due to his delusions is what brought about his problems, in which, making him a modern tragic hero. In the play Death of a Salesman Willy Loman takes his life, to make his family financially stable, something he couldn't do when he was alive. His perception of the American dream was to be well-liked in the world of business, but this is what causes his death. He had too much pride in himself, he lives his life in the wrong way. He thinks that you don't have to work hard to be successful but to know people in the business and be well-liked by them. Once Willy realizes what his life was like he went crazy and loses it, resulting to his tragic

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Biff Loman: Tragic Hero

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Biff, though not perfect, can very much be considered noble. As a young man, he was full of potential. He was a star football captain whom everyone loved. An example of that is when happy says, “There’s a crowd of girls behind him everytime the classes change” (Miller 20). Biff was meant for greatness, and no one knew this more than his father Willy. When told that a teacher might flunk Biff, he couldn’t believe it. He angrily asks Bernard, “what’re you talking about? With scholarships to three universities they’re gonna flunk him” (Miller 21). It was also very easy to see how much Biff adored his father when he was younger. When his father asked him if he was nervous about the upcoming game he replied, “Not if you’re gonna be there” (Miller 20). Biff had a bright future ahead of him. It wasn’t until after that very football game did his life start to change for the worse. After flunking math and finding out his father was unfaithful to his mother, he was never the same.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play “ Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, presents a common view of the American dream. The main character, Willy Loman, struggles to become a successful salesman; he’s trying to make himself feel better by lie to his family and himself. He holds onto a strong belief in the American dream.Willy cannot face the reality and begins to daydream how to success. Although he gets fired by his boss, Willy never seems to give up on his dream, and refuse to accept a job that Howard offered to him in order to retain his pride. In this play, Miller creates a character in Willy, whose determination, belief, and dreaming illustrate the person within a capitalistic society.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the playwright targets the theme of The American Dream and how it affects Willy and his family. Miller uses this time period to help develop the theme of The American Dream within the play. In 1949, America experienced an economic boom due to their success in WWII. Miller uses the character of Willy to demonstrate to the audience what the average individual in America was going through. Willy uses Biff as a representation of himself to reflect and symbolize on his ideal of the American…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Willy Loman, the main character in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, is idealistic, stubborn and has a false sense of importance. He exhibits skewed perceptions of society that have a negative impact on him and his family. Willy believes that his philosophy of life is one that will guarantee himself and his family a life of wealth and success. Willy cannot achieve this success because his perceptions and methods to obtain it are wrong.…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The phrase “American Dream” has often been ascribed to the prosperity of the United States, but the explication of this expression lacks consistency amongst the citizens in this country. The diversity of opinions comprised in the American society causes significant variation to the interpretation of this term from person-to-person. An example of these discrepancies is depicted in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. In this play, Miller uses several different characters as a function to illustrate the widespread disparity of beliefs regarding the appropriate philosophy for the pursuit of happiness in America. Willy Loman (the central character in the play) is used to represent a highly capitalistic society. On the other hand, Willy’s son (Biff) is symbolic for socialist ideals. Charlie (a longtime friend of the Loman family) exemplifies a moderate point of view between the two aforementioned ideals. By presenting three contrasting perceptions of the “American Dream,” Miller suggests that a unified view of this concept is an illusion, due to the dissimilar sentiments spanning across the United States concerning this matter.…

    • 1401 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Betrayal and abandonment are themes that many have encountered within their lives; but nobody can perhaps relate as much to these themes as Willy Loman, the main character in Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller. This play encompasses the life of Willy Loman, albeit not in any particular order when reviewing his younger years. The man’s memories are prompted by various seemingly insignificant moments in his life. Willy is a failed salesman, clinging onto his fabric of lies he has built up throughout his life, and attempting to pull his broken family relationships back together, all while slipping in and out of trances within his life. The man invests everything into his sons, Biff and Happy, and is constantly wondering…

    • 1501 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” is a social drama that stands to explain the elaborate concept of the American Dream. The protagonist of the play, Willy Loman, is one of the most complex and difficult characters in literature history. This is true because Willy is another normal man with no shortage of his own issues that are far too difficult for anybody to truly understand. He is comparable to the likes of Edgar Allen Poe or Stieg Larsson in the idea that nobody could realize his legacy until after he dies. Willy Loman’s so called failure was through no fault of his own but simply because he is an anachronism, he can not keep up with society’s…

    • 1897 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death of a Salesman is the fictional play that tells the story of Willy Loman and his family’s relationship, which is dysfunctional to say the least. Scholars, playwrights, and actors easily label it alike as one of the most iconic pieces of literature in the 20th century. Written in 1948 by Arthur Miller, it still holds relevance today, more than 50 years later with themes of work and family issues. This is true because it is a story that people can relate to and understand. But this was not a story entirely fabricated by the genius mind of Arthur Miller; in fact, it was a story he was all too familiar with.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Willy Loman

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages

    For many critics and people, Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman is one of the greatest plays ever written. This play tells a tale of an aging salesman named Willy Loman who believes that being “well-liked” is the key to success. Willy Loman is the protagonist and tragic hero in this play. Willy, like all tragic heros, has a flaw that leads to his demise. Willy’s pride does not allow him to accept help from others and forces him to live in denial. In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller uses characterization through Willy’s actions to depict the fall of a modern tragic hero in his quest to reach the American Dream.…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this particular novel, Miller presents the failure of the theory of the American Dream and the effect on the Loman family, how it ruins the life of Willy, and destroys the life of Willy's son, Biff, as well. Willy, an elderly, traveling salesman, around his late sixty's, was caught in the uproar of the success that was basically promised from America. Well, this promise was broken because of the terrible effects from The Great Depression and World War II starting in the late 1930's.…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death of a Salesman

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Death of a Salesman” is a 1949 play written by Arthur Miller. This play is about an aging and struggling salesman, Willy Loman, and his family’s misguided perception of success. In Willy’s mind being liked is more important to him than anything else to him. He also believes that his self-worth is determined by material success. In the end his beliefs is what actually destroys him, and shows how he was wrong about himself. He dies and barely anyone attends his funeral, Biff decides not to follow in his father footstep while Happy decides to follow his father’s belief. The two major themes in “Death of a Salesman” are abandonment and betrayal.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Salesman American Dream

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Initially, an unusual degree, “The death of a salesman” interweaves the past and present. Willy Loman is the protagonist in the play. He is an insecure and self-deluded traveling salesman. He has reached the age where he can no longer compete in his chosen career, of being a salesman. Linda Loman is Willy’s wife and his biggest supporter. Willy wants to be able to leave something behind for his two sons Harold and Biff. His two sons don’t fulfill his hopes and dreams, that they will be…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Death of a Salesman addresses the painful conflicts within one family, but it also tackles larger issues regarding American national values. The play examines the cost of blind faith in the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea, held by many in the United States of America, that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers and have been passed on to subsequent generations. What the American Dream has become is a question under constant discussion, and some believe that it has led to an overemphasis on comparative material wealth as the only measure of success and happiness. To be successful in the 20th century one must be able to accept change, for the world never stays the same for long. The goal of every North American is the American Dream. Willy's inability to adapt to the changing world around him leads to his failure. His attitude is similar to a child's; he is never willing to take responsibility for his actions. As a result of his immaturity Willy builds enormous dreams which are unrealistic for a man of his age. Willy believes wholeheartedly in what he considers the promise of the American Dream - that a “well liked” and “personally attractive” man in business will undoubtedly and deservedly acquire the material comforts offered by modern American life. Oddly, his fixation with the superficial qualities of attractiveness and likeability is at odds with a more rewarding understanding of the American Dream that identifies hard work without complaint as the key to success. Willy’s interpretation of likeability is superficial, for example he childishly dislikes Bernard because he considers Bernard a nerd. Willy’s blind faith in his distorted version of the American Dream leads to his rapid psychological decline when he is unable to accept the difference between the Dream and his own life. Willy’s…

    • 1655 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There is something magical and sometimes overpowering to the majority of mankind: It is the thing that allows people to live in mansion 's with helipad 's as well as underground society forced to live in the many tunnels and passageways under New York City and to beg for their meals. Although this is definitely the extreme that I have described. It is sometimes indescribably cruel and other times very gracious. This thing that I write about is the American system. In Arthur Miller 's moving and powerful play, "Death of a Salesman", Miller uses many character to contrast the difference between success and failure within the system. Willy is the dreamy salesman whose imagination is much larger than his sales ability, while Linda is Willy 's wife who stands by her husband even in his absence of realism. Biff and Happy are the two blind mice who follows in there father 's fallacy of life, while Ben is the only member of the Loman family with that special something needed to achieve. Charlie and his son Benard, on the other hand, enjoy better success in life compared to the Lomans.…

    • 1961 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Death of a Salesman

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman addresses loss of identity and a man's inability to accept change within himself and society. The play is a montage of memories, dreams, confrontations, and arguments, all of which make up the last 24 hours of Willy Loman's life. The play concludes with Willy's suicide and subsequent funeral.…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays