Does success constitute only of monetary wealth, power, and fame, or is there something more? The question as to what success really entails and how it is achieved is profoundly explored and critiqued in Arthur Miller’s 1949 Pulitzer winning play, Death of a Salesman. Ironically, Death of a Salesman follows the unsuccessful and dysfunctional relationship of the Loman household and the problems that arise as the two Loman brothers strive aimlessly to obtain success through completing the so called “American Dream”. The story features Willy Loman, the old and senile father of Biff and Happy Loman, who consistently urges his children to settle down and be the accomplished young men he has always envisioned them to be. After Willy loses his job
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Unwittingly, Linda and Happy Loman enable Willy and allow him to continue living in his fantasy world everyday, which eventually pushes him into a delusional state of mind where he commits suicide. Just as Willy’s life ends tragically, so does the rest of his relationships as they all seem to collapse from his disrespectful, guilt ridden, and prideful character throughout the play. In the end, the one factor that stands out as the most responsible for Willy’s failures in life is his ignorant and misconstrued approach towards achieving success based only on attaining the most amount of money, fame, and power as possible. In today’s standards, success consists of direct links to money, power, popularity, and luxuries, similar in the way that Willy views success in his own life and for his children throughout the story. Taking note of the hardships and struggles Willy faced in living out his philosophy towards success is important because Death of a Salesman truly reveals that success is a lot more than wealth, power, and fame. In fact, Miller does an excellent job criticizing Willy’s “American Dream” because he overshadows the importance of hard work, effort, and amount of time needed to really acquire that success. Miller’s Death of a Salesman suggests that the “American Dream” is an ideology that promotes freedom and hard work ethic among all in a society in order to earn success. An essential component of attaining success that Willy and society today, both oversee is the fact of knowing that at the end of the day, the work put into something is the amount that a person will get back. Success encompasses the self-satisfaction that ends up living in a person’s
Unwittingly, Linda and Happy Loman enable Willy and allow him to continue living in his fantasy world everyday, which eventually pushes him into a delusional state of mind where he commits suicide. Just as Willy’s life ends tragically, so does the rest of his relationships as they all seem to collapse from his disrespectful, guilt ridden, and prideful character throughout the play. In the end, the one factor that stands out as the most responsible for Willy’s failures in life is his ignorant and misconstrued approach towards achieving success based only on attaining the most amount of money, fame, and power as possible. In today’s standards, success consists of direct links to money, power, popularity, and luxuries, similar in the way that Willy views success in his own life and for his children throughout the story. Taking note of the hardships and struggles Willy faced in living out his philosophy towards success is important because Death of a Salesman truly reveals that success is a lot more than wealth, power, and fame. In fact, Miller does an excellent job criticizing Willy’s “American Dream” because he overshadows the importance of hard work, effort, and amount of time needed to really acquire that success. Miller’s Death of a Salesman suggests that the “American Dream” is an ideology that promotes freedom and hard work ethic among all in a society in order to earn success. An essential component of attaining success that Willy and society today, both oversee is the fact of knowing that at the end of the day, the work put into something is the amount that a person will get back. Success encompasses the self-satisfaction that ends up living in a person’s