The American Dream has been the dream of many. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
the main character, Willy Loman, has become obsessed with achieving the American
Dream. At the point in history that the play takes place the American Dream was said to be
achieving a highly prosperous and happy life through hard work Willy believes that just
because you work hard you should automatically be given the rewards of a highly
prosperous and happy life. Due to his view of the American Dream his sons have a warped
view as well. The American Dream applies in many ways to the play Death of a Salesman.
Willy feels betrayed because he can't achieve the monetary aims society has
conditioned him to try to meet. He doesn't have the capability or the constitution to be a
salesman, his chosen career. When he flounders as a salesman, no other measure of
achievement--the love of his family, his gifts as a carpenter, and so forth--can console him.
Arthur Miller, American playwright
The American Dream, New Jersey 1991
My American DreamHe thinks that a person who flops in business has no right to live. This causes his mind to
slip, relapsing into past events. He went after what he desired with intensity and
resourcefulness Yet he wanted to attain success so much that he destroyed a practical
understanding of himself.
Until the day he dies Willy never stopped imagining ways to improve his life. He was full
of ideas to make money, even to the point of suicide to make $20,000 from his insurance
policy. His view of the American Dream was distorted by him never being honest and
praising improper behavior or luck as what one must do.
Biff Loman is Willy's son. At the beginning of the play Biff is the essence of the
same incorrect standards that are destroying...