Salesman American Dream

Death of a Salesman The American Dream Since North America was discovered, the common goal has been to explore and own the land, to pursue individual ambitions. Even though much time has passed, and the continent populated, this collective idea remains. The American Dream generalizes the desire for independence and the freedom to go after each person’s own happiness. It was stated in the Declaration of Independence, and is one of the most well known concepts today. That was the main drive when this country was coming to be, the land of the free and home of the brave. Over time, multiple works of literature have described this ideal and even detailed on how it has lost momentum. The story of Willy Loman, in Death of a Salesman, is a tale of …show more content…
The way he thinks about other people’s fates which are better than his own shows his main flaw. He is constantly unsatisfied. He often reminisces the time when his sons were happy and Biff was doing well in school. Willy has been in the middle class his whole life, and he tries to please too many people, including himself, at once which conveys his general discontent with life. In one scene, he tells his sons about how wealthy people in New England know about him, though the validity of this statement is questionable. He says, “And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England. The finest people… ‘cause one thing boys: I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England…” (Miller). The way he boasts about this enlightens the readers to his true feelings. Willy tries so hard to be successful, but he makes mistakes over and over again which disappoints him. This embellishes the theme of the American Dream and Willy’s attempts to pursue it. With words like these, seen excessively in Act One, it explains why he was so excited about the “million-dollar …show more content…
It is hardly sympathetic to the reader, as it was expected due to the title. Willy Loman’s whole life had been an ordinary one, and he defeatedly resorts to cheating with “The Woman” and desperately trying to land a good deal with his job. His multiple defects lead him to his own doom. The death of the salesman, Willy, is a symbol for the death of the American Dream. As time goes on, the dream has dispersed into different desires for each individual, trying to make their ways in this country of opportunities. Willy Loman was such a man, one who never made it. His death is an allegory for the death of the dream that once overwhelmed the nation. Willy’s final destination proves the foolishness of this quest when it is twisted into impossible things, as it ends the play and his