“Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground.” — Willy Loman
(Miller, 122) Life in the United States after World War II gave insight into the positive and negative repercussions of feeding the hive mind. After the unconditional surrender of the Japanese in 1945, the American citizens seemed to be all too proud of themselves and their country. A prime example of this notion was the popular American belief that they should be credited with ending the war, both in Europe and Asia. This is still a widely discussed and debatable topic, but most concrete evidence shows that the Soviet Union should be credited for ending the war, at least in Europe. There is a reason why Philip Roth called this time in history “the greatest collective inebriation …show more content…
He had spent his entire life working his way to the top in his area of expertise, or so he thought. The story begins on a night in which he realizes that he he has worked for over half a lifetime trying to become a top salesman, but he had nothing to show for it. He could not even earn enough commission to support his family or pay for maintenance on his house and car. He soon realized that one of his own life mottos, which was to make sure he was a well-liked person, only led to emptiness, failure, and a complete lack of fulfillment. He wanted people to like him, but he did nothing of action to achieve likability. He even encouraged his sons to steal and cheat in order to get what they want (Miller, 50). It is impossible to look upon a person, or a country for that matter, that only looks out for himself or itself. Arthur Miller was sending a message to the citizens of post-war Americans that said to keep level heads about winning the war. The United States owed much of the victory to its allies that sacrificed exponentially more of their own citizens’ lives to win the war. Willy Loman depended on secret support from his friends in order to support his own family, and he eventually committed suicide to adequately support them financially. This was certainly a warning sign to
(Miller, 122) Life in the United States after World War II gave insight into the positive and negative repercussions of feeding the hive mind. After the unconditional surrender of the Japanese in 1945, the American citizens seemed to be all too proud of themselves and their country. A prime example of this notion was the popular American belief that they should be credited with ending the war, both in Europe and Asia. This is still a widely discussed and debatable topic, but most concrete evidence shows that the Soviet Union should be credited for ending the war, at least in Europe. There is a reason why Philip Roth called this time in history “the greatest collective inebriation …show more content…
He had spent his entire life working his way to the top in his area of expertise, or so he thought. The story begins on a night in which he realizes that he he has worked for over half a lifetime trying to become a top salesman, but he had nothing to show for it. He could not even earn enough commission to support his family or pay for maintenance on his house and car. He soon realized that one of his own life mottos, which was to make sure he was a well-liked person, only led to emptiness, failure, and a complete lack of fulfillment. He wanted people to like him, but he did nothing of action to achieve likability. He even encouraged his sons to steal and cheat in order to get what they want (Miller, 50). It is impossible to look upon a person, or a country for that matter, that only looks out for himself or itself. Arthur Miller was sending a message to the citizens of post-war Americans that said to keep level heads about winning the war. The United States owed much of the victory to its allies that sacrificed exponentially more of their own citizens’ lives to win the war. Willy Loman depended on secret support from his friends in order to support his own family, and he eventually committed suicide to adequately support them financially. This was certainly a warning sign to