The Pursuit of the American Dream in Arthur Miller’s Play Death of a Salesman

The story that will be discussed and analyzed in this paper is called "Death of a Salesman". This is a play written by Arthur miller in 1949. The play was set in the late 40's or early 50's and this was a time where salesmen were more prominent than they are today. There were multiple themes and symbolism throughout the whole play. The main theme that sticks out is the theme of trying to achieve the American dream at all costs.

The play starts out with the main character, Willy, coming home to his wife and after talking a bit, they get into discussing their sons. Neither Willy nor his wife Linda is happy with their son's decisions. Biff, their eldest son, was their prize jewel. They placed all their hopes and dreams into Biff and expected him to exceed in life. Happy is the second born son and is constantly living in his older brothers shadow, trying to live up to his parents hopes as well. Both of them look up to their father and try to attain the success that he wants for them but both always end up short.

All that Willy ever really wanted was to attain the American dream for himself and for his kids as well. When this wasn't achieved, Willy might have had a psyche break or developed a mental problem due to the intense stress of his job. Willy often had periods of time when he would see and experience it as if the past experiences were real. This might've happened because Willy was so sure that he would succeed and when that didn't go as planned, Willy simply couldn't handle it and turned it into a form of denial. Since Willy's children didn't end up successful like he wanted, this sent him deeper into denial and mental instability.

Order custom essay The Pursuit of the American Dream in Arthur Miller’s Play Death of a Salesman with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

Biff tried to be like his parents wanted him to be, well liked, an athlete. Since academics didn't matter then he focused all on sports with the goal of becoming a star. This was how things were supposed to be until Biff caught his father with another woman. This devastated Biff and his perfect world and dreams all the sudden came crashing down. Biff no longer looked up to his father the same way and therefore lost his father's big aspirations for himself. This is where the failure being passed on from father to son is really being shown. All that pride and ego that Willy had taken his whole life to build up in Biff came to a sudden halt.

In Willy's reminiscent memories, he often speaks to his older brother Ben. Ben is the exact opposite of Willy and the epitome of what Willy wanted his life to be. Ben is very successful and it is obvious by the way he speaks and dresses, he even offers Willy to come with him on his adventures to make money. Willy refuses and says how being a salesman will pay off and he'll show Ben just how successful he and his family will turn out. Willy would never admit it, but this is probably one of his biggest regrets. The type of money that he would've made would've been enough for the whole family. Then why did he stay? Perhaps he wanted that American dream of being loved by multiple people that he'd meet while selling products and the prestige of it all. Willy is in such deep denial that he was absolutely sure that he would succeed no matter what.

Then there's Happy, the second born son. Happy's name is pretty ironic since in the play he practically does whatever he can to keep the peace and make others happy, no matter the cost. Throughout Willy's flashbacks, we can see that Happy is always trying to grab his father's attention to no avail. Happy will constantly talk big, saying how he's going to get married and how he's going to get a good job to help pay for his parent's finances. However, he never follows through and in a way, is a lot like his father, living in a constant denial of failure to where his life has led him.

Another pivotal part of the play was when Willy meets Bernard after not seeing him for years. In Willy's mind, since Bernard was a nerd and always focused on his studies rather than being liked, then surely Bernard would turn out a loser for the rest of his life. However, the complete opposite happened. Bernard was a successful lawyer who was appealing to the supreme court. This is when willy realized that his sons really had followed in their father's footsteps of going nowhere in life. Willy simply couldn't comprehend how Bernard could be so successful while his boys weren't even able to hold a job.

In the end, when Willy had died, he actually had attained a fragment of the American dream that most Americans try to do all their lives. Willy was able to pay off his house. However, the main reason for him becoming a salesmen was because of all the people who would love and know him by name. Yet, at his funeral, his one friend and family were all that showed up. The recognition that he had dreamed of was unattainable even after death.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer