By the time Willy is an old man he has nothing to show for it. His first son, Biff, was a hopeless dreamer who wasn’t able to hold on to a job. He could have been successful but unfortunately he blew the chance he had to go to school. Happy, Willy’s other son, had a job, but was basically all talk, just like Willy. But now near the end of his career as a salesman, Willy realizes his whole life had been misguided by the American dream. At the end of the play, his only hope is to leave something for his family, especially for Biff, by taking his own life and leaving his family insurance money. Through his death, Willy thinks he can achieve success and fulfill his dream.
Miller highlights the many flaws within the American dream.he show how the idea of American dream can mislead men like Willy, who devotes his entire life to being successful.
Willy thinks that being successful is the key to becoming a success but he finds out that this is not the case and also the fact that at his funeral no one bothers to turn up. He expresses one of his basic beliefs that to succeed in business is a matter of personality. he also thinks that he would be just like Dave singleman as at his funeral everyone came and respected his passing away. All his customers remembered him and came to his funeral to pay their last respects
It shows this when he has a conversation with biff saying:
Happy: well, I got on the road, and I went north to