Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller in 1949, won a Pulitzer Prize and established Miller’s international status. The play conveys issues of social realism and family complications as it explores the life of a man who lives in a fragmented state of reality with unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Arthur Miller’s play raises the question of the significance and value of the American dream by contrasting the two different views of becoming successful; one view believes that hard-work and support will lead to success, while the other relies on popularity, attractiveness, and likability to be successful.
Willy, the protagonist of Death of a Salesman, and his family have lived their lives believing an amoral and deluded version of the American dream compared to others. Willy is a very insecure, delusional, and misguided individual who whole-heartily believes the various lies and stunted interpretation he has based his life on; he believes that in order to be successful, one must be popular and attractive. Willy and his family are put at a disadvantage because throughout their lives “they continue to believe that the greater world will embrace them, will proclaim them, simply because they are superficially charming, are occasionally witty, and can bluster and brag with the best of them” (Thompson). Willy continues to look up to individuals that are very successful. Dave Singleman, and Willy’s brother are two characters in the play that Willy looks up to because of their hard-earned success. However, Willy helps the audience have an insight to the corrupted view of the American dream that is based on materialism, popularity, likability, and attractiveness.
The American dream that Willy is challenging was originall...
... middle of paper ...
...on what our founding fathers based it on: hard-work, support, success, and freedom of choice.
Works Cited
Cardullo, Robert James. “Selling in American Drama, 1946-49: Miller’s Death of a Salesman, O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh, and Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire.” The Explicator 66.1 (2007). Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Centola, Steven R. “Family Values in Death of a Salesman.” CLA Journal 37.1 (1993). Literature Resource Center. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Jacobson, Irving. “Dreams in Death of a Salesman.” American Literature 47.2 (1975): 246-258. JSTOR. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. 1386-95. Print.
Thompson, Terry W. “Miller’s Death of a Salesman. The Explicator 63.4 (2005). Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman exploits the notion of the American Dream and the promises made by the American Government towards its citizens. Throughout the play, Miller makes references to dreams that each character carries but the failure in the fulfilment of the same. He recaptures the disappointments and disillusionments that the American nation suffers from for the American Dream is as well as death. Miller was the first playwright of his time who sheds light on this fact that the dream that every American carries a torch for is dead and gone.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 8th ed.Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford, 2008. 1908-1972. Print.
... Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin, 1996. Print. The. Sherk, James.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 2128-2193. Print.
Barack Obama made history by being elected President of the United States, twice. This is just one more example that the American Dream is without a doubt achievable. Its pursuit is not easy; it requires undeniable hard work, modesty and optimism. Armed with these characteristics, seekers of this lifestyle will undeniably succeed. Success, though, is an interesting concept, for it can entail many superficial qualities. Willy Loman, the tragic hero of the play Death of a Salesman, sees only the superficial qualities of this dream. He views success solely as likeability (linked with attractiveness), and wealth. Ignoring all methods to honorably achieve these, Arthur Miller demonstrates how Willy’s search for the superficial qualities of the American Dream lead him to his own despair.
Eisinger, Chester E. "Critical Readings: Focus on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: The Wrong Dreams." Critical Insights: Death of a Salesman (2010): 93-105.
Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." Compact Literature. Ed. Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 1262-331. Print.
The purpose of this brief essay is to examine Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, with respect to its reflection of the impact of American values and mores as to what constitutes "success" upon individual lives.
Miller, Arthur. “Death of a Salesman.” The Norton Introduction to Literature 10. New York: W. W.
Prosperity, job security, hard work and family union are some of the concepts that involves the American Dream, generally speaking. Some people think this dream is something automatically granted; or in contrast, as in the story “Death of a Salesman” written by Arthur Miller, as something that has to be achieved in order to be successful in life. The play takes issues with those in America who place to much stress on material gain, instead of more admirable values. American society is exemplified with Miller’s work and demonstrates how a dream could turn into a nightmare. Arthur Miller’s, “Death of a Salesman”, is a play that portrays the author’s life and the psychological problems that brings the collapse of the American Dream for this in a lower-middle family in an economical depression.
In Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller, the character Willy Loman is an average modern American man with a superficial American Dream: to be liked, to succeed over everyone
Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” ends with the tragic suicide of Willy Loman, the lead character. It is the end of a life spent futilely chasing “the American dream”. Willy has been unsuccessful in achieving the success he so desperately craves because his perception of the formula for success is fatally flawed. Willy believes that the American dream is only attainable for the popular and attractive few, and he does not believe he belongs to this elite group. Yet, Willy still works his entire life pursuing his dream.
The American dream today is based on the fact that anyone living in America can achieve a perfect life if they work hard. Willy Loman, the father in the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, tries his hardest to reach the American dream as he grows up. The Loman’s life from beginning to end is a troubling story based on trying to become successful, or at least happy. Throughout their lives they encounter many problems causing Willy to have a tragic death due to the desire of succession. Willy wants to provide his wife Linda, and two sons Biff and Happy, the perfect life. Willy strives for the American dream throughout the entire play, yet never achieves what he hopes because there are too many problems standing in his way.
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman criticizes the American Dream and the means some (i.e. Willy Loman) use to achieve the Dream through many different symbol and motifs; however, the title Miller selected for his play is an overlooked aspect of his criticism towards the Dream. He uses the title to build layers of understanding for his denunciation of the American Dream.