Death of a Salesman: The Emptiness of the American Dream

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Any way that you state it, an American dream is a never-ending cycle of idealism. In other words, the yearning to be better than the best and to achieve perfect governmental harmony throughout society. Think about it though, if this were a possibility, wouldn’t it have already occurred? The first character seen directly acknowledging the emptiness of the American dream was the overlooked Loman brother, Happy. Happy, although suffering from “younger-brother syndrome” and lack of fatherly attention, proved to be the only successful family member of all the Lomans. Still, any amount of success would never be enough for him. The American dream would never be enough to make Happy “happy”. All I can do now is wait for the merchandise manager to die. And suppose I get to be merchandise manager? He’s a good friend of mine, and he just built a terrific estate on Long Island. And he lived there about two months and sold it, and now he’s building another one. He can’t enjoy it once it’s finished. And I know that’s just what I would do. I don’t know what the hell I’m workin’ for. Sometimes I sit in my apartment- all alone. And I think of the rent I’m paying. And it’s crazy. But then, it’s what I always wanted. My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I’m lonely. It is rather ironic that the American dream that Willy strives for everyday is the very same dream Happy pushes away. Willy believes the key to life and achieving the American dream is being well liked. However, his beliefs were faulty as well as trite, as we all saw when Bernard, who wasn’t very “well liked,” achieved the American dream. “Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him…Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want.”(Willy P. 33) This is Willy and one of his more pompous conversations with Biff on regards to Bernard. As usual, Willy’s prediction was far off from the truth. Bernard grew up and got married, had 2 boys, and had his last appearance leaving to go argue a case in front of the Supreme Court.

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