Achieving the American Dream in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Willy chooses to exaggerate his success in front of his family and even his boss in Act 2, but when he is contradicted “Now, Willy, you never averaged...” he still continues on with his façade thus further emphasizing his delusional nature. He teaches his children that they should be “liked and you will never want,” which implies that for Willy popularity is more important as it is this that will deem how prosperous one is in business as that man “is the man who gets ahead.” This contradicts the initial ideals of the American dream where you work hard in order to achieve success, and hence could be used by Miller to indicate how futile the concept was as well as how it lead to people conceiving inconceivable dreams - “He had the wrong dreams” as mentioned by Biff in the requiem.

However, since he has been working for so long, most of his acquaintances have already left his field of work and stranded Willy with young strangers. His techniques as a salesman are very antiquated and, therefore obsolete. His dreams of success are thusly bound to come to nothing. Loman spends most of his time dreaming about the financial success that he will never attain, which blinds him from seeing the futility of his actions. Anguished by several failures that resulted from his constant dreaming, Loman commits suicide, ending the road to his American Dream.

The American dream is something many people from not only outside of our country, but from within all want to one day obtain. The iconic American dream, where you plan on making it big while working and pursuing your goals. Finding a way to support a family and live a common western lifestyle. Death of a Salesman is centered on a man trying to reach the American dream and taking his family along the way with him. The Loman's, from the start of the story till the end have a very concerning lifestyle story. To them, or the husband at least, they are trying to become successful and happy. Throughout their lives they encounter many problems and the end result is a tragic death caused by stupidity and the need to succeed. The Standards of American dream are universal but now, the definition of American dream is totally distorted.

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.”  From this example, it becomes evident that Willy thinks being “well liked” can make you successful.

Many people dream of the American dream. To have a big house, two kids and a picket fence. In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman every character uses lies and deceit as a way to escape reality. With this said, it is only Biff’s character that is dynamic, realizing the error of his ways. Constantly, each character escapes their problems with deceit. Even Biff remains in this state of falsehood, until he reaches his epiphany.

In the end Willy dies trying to achieve his American Dream, but his son Happy’s perspective on his father's life is what cause the reader to lose hope for the dream in parts of the requiem. After Willy’s funeral Biff ask Happy if he wants to go away with him and start a business and Happy responds, “I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have-to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.”

Death of a Salesman and the American Dream In his play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller utilizes the character of Biff to expose the falsity of Willy Loman's beliefs and desires, especially with regards to his belief in the American Dream. Biff's assessment of Willy is accurate; Willy's values are misplaced and deluded. The “wrong dreams” Biff describes are Willy's confusion of material wealth, possessions and popularity as meaning success in life and relationships, and his delusion with certain aspects of these ambitions. These “wrong dreams” all stem from the context of post-war American consumerism and the American Dream: that everyone has the opportunity in America to achieve wealth and prosperity.

            To Willy Loman success is defined as being a well-liked businessman.  As Willy grew up, his American Dream was to be able to “pick up his phone and call the buyers, and without ever leaving his room, at the age of eighty-four, make his living.” (81) This is Willie’s dream, to be

He sees himself as someone who is well-liked. He actually compares being successful to being well-liked. However, Willy is more laughed at than liked. Lois Tyson states, “He mistakes the image of popularity for the, ignoring, for example, the obvious fact that reality, for some rich men, being “well liked” is not the source of their wealth but its effect” (Tyson 3). Even Biff knows Willy gets laughed at. Biff says, “They’ve laughed at my dad for years . . .” (Miller 1290). Another part of Willy’s denial is that he is trying to be like someone that he is not. Tyson says that, “Willy developed a ‘false self’, his successful-salesman persona-- to defend against what Winnicott calls an “original environmental-failure situation” (Tyson 4). Members in his family saw that Willy is a “Phony”, not everyone in the family, but one member in particular. That member is Biff. Biff calls Willy out on it when Biff says, “You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!” (Miller 1321). Part of Willy’s “phony” life is that a lot of things are just a big illusion to him. Koprince states this in an article by saying, “Willy Loman escapes into a world of illusion, in engaging vivid obsessive daydreams. Indeed, an interesting parallel between the protagonists secret lives . . .” (Koprince 3). If people open up and see there denial it can help them meet there dream. Maybe that is just what Willy

Willy Loman is a victim of the “fabled” American Dream, and is shown through Miller’s description of Willy’s home. Every appliance in their kitchen falls apart, symbolising Willy’s rapidly failing attempts at achieving the American Dream. The self-proclaimed successful salesman in his youth, Willy is a far cry from that as his proudest moments in life are numbered on his hand. Willy keeps a “silver athletic trophy above [his] bed,” –belonging to Biff– which is one of the select few achievements that he can cling to (Abbotson 37). This further shows that Willy was at one point successful, but he has resolved to “[exaggerating] his earning potential” due to the changing markets in an effort to prioritize “efficiency, [and] productivity” (Abbotson 43).

(...) and that’s the wonder, the wonder of this country, that a man can end with diamonds here on the basis of being liked” (Miller 68). Willy, sixty-four, has worked as a travelling salesman for more than thirty four years. In that time, Willy visualized a rather bizarre philosophy of the American dream, based on the premise that popularity trumps hard-work, ultimately leading to a definitive success. Willy, the father of two boys, Biff and Happy, expresses his theory on how Bernard their next door neighbour, will be a failure. Willy tells his sons, that even though Bernard is a hard working boy, he will never make it, due to the fact that he is a nerd. In turn, Bernard becomes a successful lawyer, presenting the idea, that Willy has no knowledge of what it takes to be successful in life. In addition, Willy’s interpretation of the American dream results in the creation of false hope. Willy believes that his viewpoint on life is one that will guarantee himself and his family a life of wealth and success: ‘Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave home anymore (…) bigger than uncle Charley! (...) he’s liked, but he’s not-well liked.” (Miller 23). Willy an

Willy Loman a father to two boys Biff and Happy and a wonderful husband to his wife Linda. Willy is a man who embraces tradition ways of what an American dream should be with values and success. Willy has reached a stage in his life that he can no longer be successful as he used to be. Facing the termination form his formal job will starts to reinsure his past about his values. By having his sons to be determine and follow and old desire that his father once had a traditional success. As Willy attempts make his older son Biff follow the same ways as him but Biff rejects the ways of his dad “I don’t fit in the business” (Kirszner).

Throughout history, people have become obsessed with the idea of living the American Dream. The American Dream, revered by many, is the belief that someone who comes from nothing can become rich and completely turn their life around. They believe that prosperity and success will increase their happiness and allow them to be well liked. Similarly, in Death of a Salesman, Willy’s obsession with materialism pushes him to reach his death, which ultimately symbolizes the death of the American Dream.

The American Dream is the belief that if you work hard you will be able to gain success and wealth. Willy Loman has a flawed perception of success. He believes that if he is wealthy and well-liked than he will be happy. His desire for money and material items it what eventually leads to his downfall. He is so caught up in the fact that his life isn’t what he wanted it to be that he begins to view himself as a failure which eventually leads to his death.

“To me, success means to have a goal, plan the steps to achieve the goal, implement the plan, and finally achieve the goal"(TalkenEnglish). Many people tend to try to follow this procedure when reaching for success, regardless of the type of success. At times they lose themselves and become confused when their process does not go as planned. Like Willy, a character in the play, “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller; he did not have a set plan that would ensure him success upon completion. As Willy gets older, he fights with himself and his family--practically going insane--to try to grasp this concept he has about success. In the play, Arthur Miller highlights how the American Dream can quickly turn into a nightmare and how the approach to success for one person may not work for someone else. Miller also implements the theme Quest for Identity as Willy wishes to be acknowledged as a rich and successful businessman who earned his wealth from working hard. Willy’s immediate family tries to remain as optimistic as possible while facing the hardship of Willy mentally battling himself. In the play, “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, Willy’s constant obsession with the American Dream causes him to lose his identity.