Death Of A Salesman And The American Dream Essay

Death to a Dream Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman play conforms to Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy. Arthur Miller follows all of the key steps to a tragedy, whether it’s a misguided person set out to accomplish something, actions arousing pity, or following the timeline of a tragedy. Arthur Miller’s play follows but puts into question the American dream. Aristotle defines a tragedy as "imitation of an action that is serious, that arouse pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of these emotions" The American Dream includes love, wealth, looks, but in the end which you can clearly see in the play, popularity is the biggest part of the American Dream. Willy know he isn't well liked, but he lies about it to his family and …show more content…
“He’s liked, but not well liked”, a line was used by Biff to the Loman’s neighbour’s son Bernard, who, in Willy’s flashbacks, was a geek who tutored Biff in math. Biff, on the other hand, was very well liked and popular in high school, was a big football player and was seen as someone who would get a football scholarship and continue playing the sport professionally. After Biff failed math, which which didn't allow him to graduate, the opinions on Biff changed, which Willy couldn't stand to see. This event is what we describe as the chaos in the play. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman follows a very specific plot line, starting with order. The beginning of the play starts with Willy Loman driving his car with music playing. You can notice happy vibes during his trip. In the plot line, following order comes hamartia. This is when all of his mistakes come back to haunt him and therefore putting him in a sense of confusion, anger and sadness. This demonstrates that he is losing his mind. Another event that would play a major part in Willy’s life that is displayed in one of his flashbacks is the affair he had with a woman, and his Biff found out. This would ultimately prove to be the downfall of Willy later