American Dream

708 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Major themes and dramatic techniques in the death of a salesman

From white-picket fences, big executive jobs and 2.5 kids, everyone imagines their perfect lifestyles differently. The play Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, short story Secret Life of Walter Mitty, by James Thurber and movie trailer for the 2013 adaptation, are all examples that reveal the different aspects of what it takes to achieve the American dream. Living the picture-perfect American dream can often be impossible, due to the many extensive fantasies and goals that are necessary in order to acquire it.
Throughout the play Death of a Salesman, the protagonist Willy establishes standards for himself and his family, believing that in order to have it all, one must cheat their way. Living in the Loman house hold, Happy, the oldest son has become adapted to the idea of cheating in order to get ahead. In order to live up to his father’s expectation and have the life he wants, Happy believes becoming the merchandise manager is essential. While sitting in their old bedroom Happy explains to Biff how he plans to achieve this goal: “Sure, the guy’s in line for the vice-presidency of the store. I don’t know what gets to me, maybe I just have an overdeveloped sense of competition or something, but I went and ruined her, and furthermore I can’t get rid of her. And he’s the third executive I’ve done that to. Isn’t that a crummy characteristic? And to top it all, I go to their weddings! Like I’m not supposed to take bribes. Manufactures offer me a hundred-dollar bill now and then to throw an order their way. You know how honest I am, but it’s like this girl, see. I hate myself for it. Because I don’t want the girl, and still, I take it and-I love it!” (Miller 25). Happy thinks that by sleeping with other employee’s wifes/girlfriend...

... middle of paper ...

...Willy: No, that would be terrible
Ben: Yes. And a damned fool.
Willy: No, no he mustn’t. I won’t have that! He is broken and desperate (Miller 127).
Despite the outrageous plan, Ben tries to reason with Willy by telling him that his sons will not be grateful on how they received the money. Also, Ben brings up the point that he will get caught trying to cheat the insurance company. For a man such as Willy Loman, cheating has never been a resolution he can’t depend on. Willy doesn’t care that cheating is wrong, as long as his sons are able to start the company and make something of themselves. He has taught himself and his family that by cheating you are able to get ahead quicker.
The short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and movie trailer for the 2013 adaptation portray a character that is looking to feel more important, by taking on the roles of others.

Show More
Related

  • How Is Happy Loman And Willy Alike

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ben then replies, “Haven’t the time, William”, Willy then responds with, “Ben, nothing’s working out. I don’t know what to do. […] No, wait!” (85). This desperation for attention turns out to be a personality trait of Willy.

    Read More

  • Willy Pride Quotes

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first aspect of Willy's character that affected his failure was his pride. Willy's pride caused him to in many situations make very poor and unethical decisions, that affected both himself and his family. An example of this is through the conversation between Willy and Charley “CHARLEY: ‘You want a job?’ WILLY: ‘I got a job, I told you that. [After a slight pause] What the hell are you offering me a job for?’ CHARLEY: ‘Don’t get insulted.’ WILLY: Don’t insult me.”(DOAS: pg x) Willy does not take the offer which is an obvious example of a poor decision. He makes this decision because he sees this generous whole hearted gesture as a kind of pitiful handout that his pride restricts him from taking. By not taking this handout willy puts his self pride infront of

    Read More

  • Critical Response Of Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman'

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the play it is evident that he cannot determine the realities of life, and so he repeatedly contradicts himself to establish that his conclusion is correct and opinion accepted. These numerous contradictions demonstrate that Willy is perturbed of the possibility that negative judgements may come from others. Willy strongly believes that “personality always wins” and tells his sons that they should “be liked and (they) will never want”. In one of Willy’s flashbacks he recalls the time when his sons and him were outside cleaning their Chevy. Willy informs Biff and Happy the success of his business trips and how everyone residing in Boston adores him. He mentions that due to the admiration of people he does not even have to wait in lines. He ultimately teaches his sons that being liked by others is the way to fulfilling one’s life and removing your worries. These ideals, that one does not need to work for success, demonstrate Willy’s deluded belief of achieving a prosperous life from the admiration and acceptance of others. This ultimately proves to be a false ideology during his funeral, when an insufficient amount of people arrive. Willy constantly attempts to obtain other’s acceptance through his false tales that depict him as a strong, successful man. In the past, he attempts to lie to his wife, Linda, about the amount of wealth he has attained during his

    Read More

  • Death of a Salesman Character Analysis

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the play, Willy can be seen as a failure. When he looks back on all his past decisions, he can only blame himself for his failures as a father, provider, and as a salesman (Abbotson 43). Slowly, Willy unintentionally reveals to us his moral limitations that frustrates him which hold him back from achieving the good father figure and a successful business man, showing us a sense of failure (Moss 46). For instance, even though Willy wants so badly to be successful, he wants to bring back the love and respect that he has lost from his family, showing us that in the process of wanting to be successful he failed to keep his family in mind (Centola On-line). This can be shown when Willy is talking to Ben and he says, “He’ll call you a coward…and a damned fool” (Miller 100-101). Willy responds in a frightful manner because he doesn’t want his family, es...

    Read More

  • Pursuit of the American Dream in Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    2. Willy proclaims "I'll knock' em dead next week [in Hartford] ... I'm very well liked in Hartford" (Miller 36)

    Read More

  • The movie, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    Life is about finding yourself, each other, and being true to one’s self. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an extremely original and creative story written by James Thurber. The movie, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, starring Ben Stiller, conveys a daydreamer escaping his typical life by disappearing into a realm of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. In both the movie and the book, the title character retreats into fantasy as an escape from his mundane reality because in the real world, he is ordinary, insecure, and passive. In the short story, Walter simply retreats into his daydreams and tolerates his domineering wife, while in the movie he actively pursues finding himself.

    Read More

  • The American Dream in Death Of A Salesman, by Arthur Miller

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    Success: Accomplishing Your Dream Completing the "American Dream" is a controversial issue. The American Dream can be defined as having a nice car, maybe two or three of them, having a beautiful, healthy family, making an impact on the world, or even just having extra spending money when the bills are paid. In the play "Death Of A Salesman," by Arthur Miller, the "American Dream" deals with prosperity, status, and being immortalized.

    Read More

  • The American Dream

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... shining, his golden opportunity…the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him…”(qtd.in The American Dream). A person who “manages” to achieve his or her version of the American Dream is often said to be “living the dream”. However this concept has been subjected to great criticism because some people that the social structure of the U.S. prevents such an idealistic goal for everyone. May critics often allude to various examples of inequality rooted in class, race, ethnicity, and religion, which suggests that the American Dream is not attainable to everyone. The principles of the American Dream are too idealistic. Everyone has dreams and goals, but the American Dream is one that is infinite and endless. It is very difficult to live the dream when so much of it is obscured by the government.

    Read More

  • Narcissism In Death Of A Salesman

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    Willy Loman becomes incredibly involved in work-related matters, instead of the happiness surrounding his family life. He discourages Biff to take his own path, and instead, nearly forces him to become a salesman, in hopes that Biff will be more successful than he turned out to be. Willy tells Biff that his dreams will “cut down (his) life…!” Willy cannot simply hope for Biff and Happy to attain satisfaction in life, which is the element that Willy misses. He is so consumed by the idea of success that he had not once stopped to reflect on being a good father or loving his wife. Having an affair was one of his main problems-he could not put enough love into his family, so he put it anywhere else he could. He visited his mistress on business ventures, which is the only aspect of his life he truly appreciated. Therefore, his home life became full of lies, Biff saying that they “never told the truth for ten minutes.” Miller is, again, critiquing American households, since their typical values revolve more around money and presentation than a loving, kind, and caring home. Willy had a family who loved him, but he neglected to notice this, which lead to his unhappiness. Never placing any type of value of love and kindness can cause a person to become cold and bitter, which is exactly what Willy became. He may have avoided suicide if he had realized the love and care he could have been surrounded

    Read More

  • American Dream or Nightmare

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    James Cone’s Martin & Malcolm & America paints a distinctive portrait of the individual yet complementary lives of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Cone takes an introspective lens and casts imagery of the backgrounds of King and Malcolm; examining their childhood until the moment they reached monumental heights in the face in history. The story of these two heroic men is not a foreign tale, for all have heard of the works of each. Cone does not take this as an opportunity to provide a biography of their lives, he chooses to look deeper into their lives and reflect upon the development of their ideology. This in depth analysis shatters the preconceived notions many uphold regarding King and Malcolm. Both King and Malcolm looked for justice in an unfair and unjust society, but one looked through the eyes of optimism, the other looked through the eyes of an unrelenting truth. Those who have systematically suffered under the guise of others, such as African-Americans have; search for a new sense of reality. They adapt an attitude that yields a sense of well-being and self-worth. This new attitude shields one from fear and deception and gives them a collective voice. These two men, provided that voice. King advocated integration, while Malcolm focused on Black Nationalism. During an era in history that was marked with violence, inequality, hatred, hurt, and pain, an eruption of change was inevitably brewing. Cone shows how this manifested from a Southern as well as Northern perspective. There is often a false sense of equality for northern blacks, but Cone reveals how hatred and racism did not draw a boundary in the sand and say we are not crossing this line. Unfortunately, it existed everywhere. Cone successfully...

    Read More

  • The American Dream

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    "The American Dream" is that dream of a nation in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with options for each according to capacity or accomplishments. It is a dream of social stability in which each man and each woman shall be able to achieve to the fullest distinction of which they are essentially competent, and be distinguish by others for what they are, despite of the incidental conditions of birth or stance. The American Dream is often something that humanity wonders about. What is the American dream? Many people discover success in a range of things. There are many different definitions of the American Dream. However, the American Dream embraces prosperity, personal safety, and personal liberty. The American dream is a continually fluctuating set of ideals, reflecting the ideas of an era.

    Read More

  • The Character of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    Willy is a multi-faceted character which Miller has portrayed a deep problem with sociological and psychological causes and done so with disturbing reality.  In another time or another place Willy might have been successful and kept his Sanity, but as he grew up, society's values changed and he was left out in the cold.  His foolish pride, bad judgment and his disloyalty are also at fault for his tragic end and the fact that he did not die the death of a salesman.

    Read More

  • My American Dream

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    “American Dream” is a national ethos of the United States citizens, it is the idea that American is the land of opportunity, it is a set of traditional social ideas, including freedom of opportunity for prosperity and success. Through studying this interview, I learned the term “American Dream” was commonly used after the Civil War, which represented the era of struggles, discrimination and a war that put an end to slavery. More than that, the term “American Dream” displayed a story of hope, opportunity, freedom, inspiration for the whole of society. However, in the video “On Winner-Take-All Politics” It showed that the American Dream is too difficult to achieve because the rich kept getting richer, and the poor worked harder without being

    Read More

  • Willy Lowman’s Tragic Misinterpretation of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin, Willy’s methods of searching for likeability are erroneous. He believes that the superficiality of attractiveness goes hand in hand with being well liked. Willy’s downfall started with his impression of Dave Singleman, an 84 year old salesman. According to Willy, he had “…the greatest career a man could want.” Sure this man was liked in cities around the world, but Willy’s altered perception of the American dream masked the realities of his life. Willy failed to see that instead of being retired at 84, Dave Singleman was unwed, still working, and in the end “dies the death of a salesman”; alone and without love. Believing in this dream, ultimately leads Willy to his hubris; too proud to be anything but a salesman. Throughout the play, Charlie often asks Willy, “You want a job?” Instead of escaping his reality of unpaid bills and unhappiness, Willy’s shallow values lead him to refuse the switch from him attractive job, to that of a carpent...

    Read More

  • My American Dream

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    American Dream: what is your definition of it? Does it involve money? Does it involve love? Does it involve healthiness? People have different definitions of what they would want in their "American Dream." First of all, let's define American Dream. American Dream is what you would consider a "perfect life." It can be full of happiness, money, love, food, cars, whatever you desire; everyone has a different opinion. One person?s American Dream may be totally different from someone else?s; that is what makes us all individuals. Robert Wuthnow writes about different people?s American Dream in his essay "Having It All." Throughout Wuthnow's essay, it seems that not too many people are truly living out their American Dream. Many complain about having to work to much, not enough time with the family, not enough pay, and so on. My American Dream would include a good job and lots of money, spare time for my family and I, and most importantly, healthiness.

    Read More

More about American Dream

Open Document