Myths of the American Dream Exposed in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Willy Loman, the lead character of Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, believes in "the myths of the capitalistic society"(DiYanni 412). This essay will examine the impact of the capitalistic myths on Willy Lowman.
Willy believes in the myth that popularity and physical appearance are the keys that unlock the door to the “American Dream”. We are first introduced to the importance of popularity and physical appearance when Willy is speaking to his wife, Linda, about their son Biff. “Biff Loman is lost,” says Willy. “In the greatest country in the world, a young man with such personal attractiveness gets lost.” In this quote, not only is Willy confused about how Biff’s good looks can’t help him get a job, but also because his son can’t get a job in a country like America.
Willy believes in appearance, in phoniness, in popularity with those he regards as important in the capitalistic machine. An example of how Willy depends on popularity to help achieve the dream is seen when Willy is having a flashback in which he’s speaking to both Biff and Happy about having his own business. The boys ask their father if his business will be like their Uncle Charley’s. Willy responds by saying that he’ll be, “Bigger than Uncle Charley! Because Charley is not- liked. He’s liked, but he’s not- well liked.”
The most significant example of Willy’s belief in the popularity myth also takes place in one of Willy’s flashbacks. Again, he is speaking to his sons about becoming successful. He tells them, “...the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ...
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... slogans for his own beliefs: “Chevrolet, Linda, is the greatest car ever built.” But his blind faith cannot sustain him: “That goddam Chevrolet, they ought to prohibit the manufacture of that car”.
Each day Willy must run faster and stretch his arms out further in his attempt to catch the dream. When he is too tired to run, Willy is spewed out of the capitalistic machine as a worn-out and useless part. Willy then gives all that he has remaining so that his son can collect the insurance money and thereby pay his entrance fee to the capitalistic machine. The same machine that destroyed Willy.
Works Cited
DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Compact Edition. McGraw Hill, 2000. 395-530.
Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman" in Literature, Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact Fourth Edition. Harcourt, Inc. 2000.
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... Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin, 1996. Print. The. Sherk, James.
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Death of a salesman. : McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print. The. "
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.
Is it right to blame society when the stronghold of trust in the American Dream diminishes or dies? The critical point in Death of a Salesman was the mission for this dream. Miller depicts this in his character Willy Loman and his deceived mission of this dream. Arthur Miller's outline of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman was created in post bellum America. Around then, the thinking was more than essentially a declaration; it was a lifestyle. In attempts to further the onlooker's understanding of the story, one must portray the American Dream. After World War II, the United States thrived and flourished monetarily. The possibility of achievement was the establishment of the American Dream. The possibility of a free market framework was reborn and by living in a capitalistic free market, everyone in America had an open door to get rich and be productive. To put it fundamentally, the American Dream was portrayed as "an American flawless of a playful and powerful life which all may want: the American Dream addresses a reaffirmation of standard American hope. Arthur Miller makes the spectator grasp the dream is a lie, in light of the way that it is not for everybody. In the play, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is an impeccable outline of somebody who is attempting to search for this dream. “Death” in the title insinuates Willy's authentic destruction. The play is tormented with conspiring and refusal of reality and self-image, in which don't permit Willy Loman to accomplish independent satisfaction. Willy Loman's life is far from merry and successful.