The American Dream Of Success In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

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Recommended: Miller's views on the American dream in Death of a Salesman

Introduction: One of the major myths that is widely present in American literature is the American Dream of Successs. The American Dream of Success is a nationalethos or belief of the United States of America. It is a set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers . Historian James Truslow Adams popularized the phrase "American Dream" in his 1931 book Epic of America. To quote from his book,
"But there has been also the American Dream that dream of a land in which life shopuld be better and richer and fuller for every man,with opprtunity for each according to his ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret not a dream of motorcars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognised by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."
Thus, in Truslow's definition, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." …show more content…

The play which greatly highlights the subject of the American Dream of success. The play, in fact, is centered on that. The central appeal of the play can be argued to be the struggle of each character’s pursuit of the American Dream. This is a valid point because we see each of the Loman men following their own versions of that dream. Willy has a completely different definition than his brother Ben. By the end of the play, Willy's son Ben has dropped his father's viewpoint and redefined his version of the

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