Un-Happy Loman; Death of a Salesman Essay Example
In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Happy Loman is discontent with his life because his father Willy gave him false hopes that made him slave to the American Dream.
Happy is still trying to find his way in life, but comes off with a false confidence that he believes he is actually on the right track. Since family is one of the prominent elements of the American dream Willy has continuously ingrained in his sons head that prosperity and success are the key to having a happy and fulfilling life. And you can achieve that success simply by having a likable personality. Growing up Happy was always living in Biff's shadow and his need for attention from his father was obvious. Happy would often say, "I'm losin weight pop, you notice," (43) which displays his attempt to get his recognition. The adult years of his life show the effects of this favoritism, and he spends these years trying to make Willy happy by following in his foot steps and being successful.
After Willy's death Happy shows his on-going struggle to achieve success the way his father did by saying, "All right, boy. I'm gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have to come out number one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I'm gonna win it for him" (130). Happy refers to Willy's dream as the "only dream" that will bring you to the top. To him this is literally the only dream he as ever thought about since he always wanted to be like Willy. He more than wants to resemble his father he wants to be him. A fathers paternal relationship to a child is one of the strongest relationships a young boy can have. Happy, like many young boys do, looked up to his father as a hero and a role model. And his father died a somewhat shameful death striving for that status that he always wanted, and deep down Happy knows that. In the quote Happy talks about winning it for him, this shows that even after his death Happy wants to
Happy is still trying to find his way in life, but comes off with a false confidence that he believes he is actually on the right track. Since family is one of the prominent elements of the American dream Willy has continuously ingrained in his sons head that prosperity and success are the key to having a happy and fulfilling life. And you can achieve that success simply by having a likable personality. Growing up Happy was always living in Biff's shadow and his need for attention from his father was obvious. Happy would often say, "I'm losin weight pop, you notice," (43) which displays his attempt to get his recognition. The adult years of his life show the effects of this favoritism, and he spends these years trying to make Willy happy by following in his foot steps and being successful.
After Willy's death Happy shows his on-going struggle to achieve success the way his father did by saying, "All right, boy. I'm gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have to come out number one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I'm gonna win it for him" (130). Happy refers to Willy's dream as the "only dream" that will bring you to the top. To him this is literally the only dream he as ever thought about since he always wanted to be like Willy. He more than wants to resemble his father he wants to be him. A fathers paternal relationship to a child is one of the strongest relationships a young boy can have. Happy, like many young boys do, looked up to his father as a hero and a role model. And his father died a somewhat shameful death striving for that status that he always wanted, and deep down Happy knows that. In the quote Happy talks about winning it for him, this shows that even after his death Happy wants to