Who Is Willy Living The American Dream

Jayla Nolen
Ms. Locano
AP Lit (Option B)
6 November 2014

Willy lives this fantasy life in which he feels is the “American Dream,” but yet he doesn’t know that there really isn’t a definite example of the “American Dream.” Willy lives his life a lie and is too stubborn to realize the truth that all families are not perfect and happy all the time. Miller uses Willy as an example of people trying to please others and caring what society thinks, and worried about being the more popular one. Miller is trying to prove that not every family is perfect and completely functional. Miller is using the Loman household to exemplify how families have the wrong idea of a household that is living the “American Dream” The outside view of what Willy thinks
is the American Dream is the wrong idea. There is no “American Dream” everybody wants to accomplish something big in life. Willy tried to live the life he dreamt of living through Biff. There was no wrong that Biff could do in his eyes. Willy felt like in order to live his dream through Biff he should allow him to do whatever he pleased even if it wasn’t right. When Bernard came to Willy about Biff failing math he told Bernard “You’ll give him the answers! (Pg. 26)” Willy felt like if you were well liked by any and every one that you could skate your way through life and be successful and prosperous. I feel like Miller has Willy portray that trait because Willy didn’t have a father figure in his life and he was lost and trying to find himself and didn’t know how to raise his sons to be successful and at that time period a lot of younger boys didn’t have their father figures in their life so they may have been lost. Willy was a confused man and he contradicted himself, and he couldn’t be honest with himself or the others around him, being oblivious to the obvious caused others around him to be oblivious as well.
Biff said "We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house!(Pg.96)” Everybody in the household wanted something but Willy and his American dream fantasy prevented everyone from obtaining what they really wanted. Linda felt bad that Willy was trying to commit suicide because she couldn’t let him know that she knew. That was even more embarrassing for her. She tried to get Biff and Happy to realize that during that point in time Willy needed his kids more than ever and Biff couldn’t just come home to visit her and not worry about his father because regardless if Biff believes it or not Willy cares about him, Linda wanted Biff to come home to see Willy as well because she loves him and she wants Biff to feel the same way, “...You can’t just come to see me because I love him. He’s the dearest man in the world to me…(Pg. 39)” Happy on the other hand just wants to be accepted by his father and is slowly but surely turning in to him more and more throughout the story. Happy always had been a “philandering bum” but he wanted to be accepted and liked throughout society especially by his father he wanted the attention Biff got from Willy. He thrives on sexual gratification, but even more than that, Happy savors the knowledge that he has "ruined" women engaged to men he works for
and also despises. He states, "I hate myself for it. Because I don't want the girl, and, still, I take it and — I love it! (pg.45)" Happy is similar to Willy in two ways they both deny their positions and exaggerate details in order to make themselves feel good, and sexual interludes are the defining moments of both of their lives. Willy's life revolves around his attempt to forget his affair with the Woman, while Happy's life revolves around an active pursuit of affairs with many women. Happy never knew what he wanted to be he didn’t know whether he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps or go be free how Biff wants to be, “Biff I just can’t take hold, Mom I just can’t take hold of some kind of life. (Pg.39)” I think Miller used this neither line while happy was talking to Biff and Linda because his father wouldn’t understand nor care. All during Happy’s life he listened to his father embellish the truth so he’s now confused as to find himself and figure out what he wants to do and what to become in life. Biff knew what he wanted in life and it didn’t revolve around Willy’s dreams after he caught his father cheating on his mother. Biff finally realized that Willy was trying to live him dreams through Biff. When he walked in on his father and realized he bought this woman stockings and his mother was at home mending hers, “You – You gave her Mama’s stockings!(pg. 95)” Biff felt betrayed and that his father was a liar he no longer wanted to go to U. of Virginia because that’s where Willy wanted him to go. I feel like Miller included this into the storyline because that’s where part of the problem lies and Biff just wanted honesty he refused to live his life a lie and trying to please others and that’s when Biff started to hate his father. Willy wanted his boys to follow after him because he wanted to leave some type of legacy behind, he knew his company didn’t need him anymore so he sent Biff to go and get a job being a salesman and going to talk to Oliver. Biff does it to make Willy feel better because he sees the struggle his father and mother is going through. Miller continuously uses Willy as an example of someone whose mind is deteriorating because Willy thought his funeral would be huge which also ties into the “American Dream”.