Death of a Salesman - American Parody by:Arthur Miller

Essay by kutiekatushkanycCollege, UndergraduateA+, April 2004

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Death of a Salesman "The American Dream"

In 1949 Arthur Miller wrote the play, Death of a Salesman. The play is an example of the American Dream and how people view this way of life as their only measure of success. The aim of this essay is to explain in what ways this statement can be proved to be true and what is the American Dream to Willy Loman? But at first, what is the American Dream? Well, if you are an American and if you have a family, a house and a car, a decent job with a good salary and if you consider yourself to be surrounded by people who respect you for who you are, you can be said to have reached the American Dream. The concept of the American Dream became a popular idea during the twentieth century when millions of people immigrated to America to have better lives.

At that time, a better life could mean a house a job that pays, and a family to come home to. Even today the meaning of the American Dream is quite the same; be sure to have valuable possessions, a social life with high standard and keeping up high standards.

There are several connections to the concept of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman. One of them can be found on page 32 when the main character Willy Loman expresses his jealousy towards the success of his brother Ben. Ben knew what he wanted, Willy so says. He started with the clothes on his back, walked into the jungle and came out extremely rich at the age of twenty-one owning several diamond mines. Willy says: "That man is a genius, that man was success incarnate!" (pg. 32) Another example of a man's...