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The american dream esay
The nature of the American dream
Analysis of death of a salesman
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Is it through the understanding of concepts and one’s place in life that drives people toward a successful life, or can they move through life with complete or partial misunderstandings, and still obtain success? This is explored within the play, Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman, who is an old salesman working off of commission, is not making enough money to provide the type of successful life he envisioned. His two grown kids are reminders of his failure to provide the support and characteristics a father should. Biff is returning home all because he has found a new path in life. He has finally understood that the office is not a place for him, even though his father supported and encouraged it. Willy then compares his son 's success to …show more content…
Willy’s Distinct idea on the American dream is if your are well liked by people you will be successful. As said in the play by Willy "personality always wins the day”(Miller 1737). as said in the play by Willy. as read through the drama he looks at people who are successful and feels they have yet to attain full success. As they are surely intelligent and work hard, but do not live up to their true potential. For example, his son Biff, he feels he is wasted potential, as he is well liked yet has not obtained success. This is the point in which Willy has misunderstood, all because he had a good for nothing father. This led him to believe that the ideal success is the opposite of his father. Willy went through his life with this …show more content…
As Willy has always been a salesman, but his good for nothing father distorted his beliefs making sure that he would be nothing like his father. By trying to be likable, but in the end things because through the course of his life nothing has gone his way. His brother working hard doing the opposite that Willy believed in made a fortune and died with his wealth. Understanding this Willy attempted suicide hoping he could accomplish the same thing. Eventually, Willy became what his father was through his view as his connection with his sons slowly faded away. “Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?”(Miller
Throughout the play, Willy can be seen as a failure. When he looks back on all his past decisions, he can only blame himself for his failures as a father, provider, and as a salesman (Abbotson 43). Slowly, Willy unintentionally reveals to us his moral limitations that frustrates him which hold him back from achieving the good father figure and a successful business man, showing us a sense of failure (Moss 46). For instance, even though Willy wants so badly to be successful, he wants to bring back the love and respect that he has lost from his family, showing us that in the process of wanting to be successful he failed to keep his family in mind (Centola On-line). This can be shown when Willy is talking to Ben and he says, “He’ll call you a coward…and a damned fool” (Miller 100-101). Willy responds in a frightful manner because he doesn’t want his family, es...
"We've been talking in a dream for fifteen years,” (Arthur Miller). Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller is a play about a man named Willy Loman, Arthur Miller, who explores the American dream and what happens to a family when the dream is not fulfilled. In the late 1940s, after World War II, things don’t turn out the way people want it to be. Most men were unemployed, economical and financial issues regarding lack of payments for workers and families.
Miller’s use of personification and symbolism in the book shows the situational irony that surrounds Willy. This highlights the overall message of blind faith towards the American Dream. The major case of irony in the book is Willy’s blind faith in the American Dream. This belief is that if one is well-liked, they will become successful. The truth is actually completely opposite. The real belief is that if one works hard, with no regard to how well liked they are, they will be successful. This relationship is shown between Willy and his neighbor Charley. While Willy believes likability is the only way to success, Charley works hard and does not care how people think of him. Through his hard work, Charley started his own business, and is now very successful. Willy, however, ends up getti...
Success: Accomplishing Your Dream Completing the "American Dream" is a controversial issue. The American Dream can be defined as having a nice car, maybe two or three of them, having a beautiful, healthy family, making an impact on the world, or even just having extra spending money when the bills are paid. In the play "Death Of A Salesman," by Arthur Miller, the "American Dream" deals with prosperity, status, and being immortalized.
Arthur Miller portray Willy as being a man who lies cheats and doesn’t care for no one but himself so he portrays Willy as a failure to life a failure as a salesman and a failure to a farther.
In Arthur Miller’s Death of a salesman the play is based on one man trying to reach the a personal dream while unknowingly hurting his family. During Willy Loman’s life he caused his family to be damaged by living a life that he could no longer fulfill. His sons Biff and Happy realized what their father is going through and are their for him in his time of need. Willy traveled around the east coast selling merchandise but as he grew older he lost his ability to travel. Willy tried to force his dream on to his sons Biff and Happy after he realizes that he can no longer cut it for his traveling job. He risks his life and is eventually fired after a lifetime of hard work. Willy subconsciously decided that he need to create a future for his children. His realization that he can not fulfil his dream crush him and he starts to complain about
Willy is a multi-faceted character which Miller has portrayed a deep problem with sociological and psychological causes and done so with disturbing reality. In another time or another place Willy might have been successful and kept his Sanity, but as he grew up, society's values changed and he was left out in the cold. His foolish pride, bad judgment and his disloyalty are also at fault for his tragic end and the fact that he did not die the death of a salesman.
Throughout life people set goals for themselves and if they reach them or not is how they determine themselves to be a success or a failure. In the play Death Of a Salesman, Willy the main character in order to see himself as success embellishes his accomplishments. These embellishments of the truth make Willy think he is better than he his. Throughout Willy’s life he tries to be as successful as his idols; however in his pursuit to do so he fails not only as a worker but also as a role model to his boys.
Within the play, Death of a Salesman, one can deduce that people surrounding the main character Willy, shaped the dreams and life of Willy and the next generation. As Willy’s goals were carved by others, he forgets about his own desires. His astray ambitions oriented his life towards deceit, delusions, failure, and finally death. As he taught the same erroneous philosophies to his progeny, he unintentionally set them up for a failure. Due to misguidance and following other’s dreams, the lives of Willy and Biff are sacrificed for their fathers’ dreams. Although having dreams in life can drive one forward, following wrong dreams can lead to a disaster.
Arthur Miller undergone much hardships and pains as he developed his writing career, however with persistence and hard work he was able to overcome his critics and personal problems to become one of America’s greatest authors and playwrights. Miller’s life exemplifies that the American Dream exists, that with hard work and determination you can reach monetary and social success, however if that dream is distorted to superficial standards and likeability, it becomes a self-destructive pursuit that leads only to your own demise. In Death of a Salesman, Willy blinded by distorted memories of his idealistic American dream, leads his family on a path of self-destructive perpetual denial in pursuit of his dream.
The author and journalist Arthur Koestler once said “Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion.” In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the main character Willy Loman’s illusion of his life led to the suffering of others due to the fact that he would not accept that he was not as successful as he believed. Biff, Willy’s son lived in his father illusion and when he realized it was all an illusion he was frustrated and fought with Willy. Biff wanted to do the activities he enjoyed and couldn’t because of his father. Happy, Willy’s other son becomes incredibly similar to his father, never leaving his illusion of how flawless his life was. In addition to this Willy’s wife Linda was constantly trying to please Willy keeping him in his illusion even though she knew they were struggling for money.Through the play Willy Loman has an obsession with the American Dream, which causes the suffering of both his sons Biff and Happy and his wife Linda, which increases the tragic vision of the play as a whole.
Instead of admitting that he is not a famous success, Willy retreats into the past and chooses to relive memories and events in which he is seeming as successful. To Willy, the American dream is being highly respected and wanting to earn more money. It alternates between the past and present using a stream of copiousness techniques and flashbacks. The story follows Willy’s life as a sixty-three-year-old salesman who pursues the American dream even though he’s not that great at his job. Loman tries to escape reality by recalling his memories and leaning on others for support. Willy's favorite memory is of Biff's last football game because Biff promises to make a touchdown just for him. In this chapter, Willy can barely wait to tell the story to his buyers. He considers himself well-known as a result of his son's pride in him. Both of Willy's sons, Biff
Throughout Death of a Salesman the males of the Loman family cannot distinguish between the reality of the American Dream and the illusion of it. Willy cannot see who Happy and Biff actually are as individuals or himself for that matter. Therefore, Willy and his sons believe that they all know and have what it takes to be a success in life and in business. In actuality the success of both falls very far from the ideal American Dream of their time.
Willy lived everyday of his life trying to become successful, well-off salesman. His self-image that he portrayed to others was a lie and he was even able to deceive himself with it. He traveled around the country selling his merchandise and maybe when he was younger, he was able to sell a lot and everyone like him, but Willy was still stuck with this image in his head and it was the image he let everyone else know about. In truth, Willy was a senile salesman who was no longer able to work doing what he's done for a lifetime. When he reaches the point where he can no longer handle working, he doesn't realize it, he puts his life in danger as well a others just because he's pig-headed and doesn't understand that he has to give up on his dream. He complains about a lot of things that occur in everyday life, and usually he's the cause of the problems. When he has to pay for the repair bills on the fridge, he bitches a lot and bad mouths Charley for buying the one he should of bought. The car having to be repaired is only because he crashes it because he doesn't pay attention and/or is trying to commit suicide. Willy should have settled with what he had and made the best of things. He shouldn't have tied to compete with everyone and just made the best decision for him using intelligence and practicality. Many of Willy's problems were self-inflicted, the reason they were self-inflicted was because he wanted to live the American dream. If he had changed his standards or just have been content with his life, his life problems would have been limited in amount and proportion.
Willy Loman is the first character to represent the search of the American Dream. First, Willy has a strong belief in the American Dream because of his brother Ben. "Why boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich. (Miller 1900)" This quote by Ben is the basis of Willy's beliefs for his family and himself. Willy thinks he will never need to search for anything; it would come to him. Next, Willy instills this same belief within his sons. "Listen to this. This is your Uncle Ben, a great man! Tell my boys, Ben! (Miller 1898)" When Willy states this to Ben he wants his boys to have the same thought on life as himself. Though, like their father, the two sons are led to the idea that greatness will come to them. Finally, Willy does not ever understand his search until the end of the play. "What-what's the secret? (Miller 1921)" Willy asks Bernard this question which shows he is still searching for the key to the American Dream. At the end of the play, Willy believes that the only answer to the success of his family is through his death.