The Influence of the American Dream on Willy Loman's Life

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The Influence of the American Dream on Willy Loman's Life

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Arthur Miller was born on October 17, 1915. He began to write at a

very early age and soon after graduating he began to receive

recognition as an established and reputable playwright. Many of

Miller's plays are based upon the dark nature of contemporary American

Society and many critics regard 'Death of a Salesman' as the perfect

quintessence of the modern American drama; it encompasses all the

characteristics of modern American drama at that time. On the other

hand, some view his work as mundane and dislike its colloquial tones.

'Death of a Salesman' represents the hardship and diversity that

people experience as a result of trying to pursue a dream created by a

society that does not accommodate the downfalls of man. I view the

'American Dream' as more of an expectation; a destiny that attaches

itself onto naïve, ambitious adolescents. It is a viable yet

unrealistic way of life that Americans and people around the world try

to aspire to. To be successful, rich and popular are just some of the

criteria that need to be achieved in order to have attained the

standard of living that the 'American Dream' promotes. The 'American

Dream' is gained through drudgery, honesty and parsimony.

People become rapt in other people's success in life, such as

footballers and pop stars and that is when the barrier that separates

fantasy from reality is weakened and fantasy's never ending juices

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