Willy Loman And The American Dream

The American Dream first manifested in the Declaration of Independence which identified that the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are among the inviolable rights that all men must be able to exercise. The term was used by the historian James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book ‘Epic of America’ and it gained enough popularity to be mentioned in many literary works. In the beginning, the American dream meant being able to avail opportunities to the best of one’s capacity and succeed and enjoy the benefits of your hard work. Things changed drastically after the Great Depression which began in 1929 that lasted almost a decade. Because of the rough economic crisis, many people were laid off and had to work two jobs to make payments

This paper is an attempt to comprehend the importance placed on the American Dream by the cultural practices of the USA. Arthur Miller represents the flaws and fissures of society through the character Willy Loman. By discussing the manner in which the author treats events, characters, time and space, he reveals his intention to expose the constraints that bind our lives, person, community and society.

Ted Ownby in 1999 identified four ‘American Dreams’ which people considered essential enough to pursue

• The first was the "Dream of Abundance" offering plenty of material goods to all Americans, making them proud to be the richest society on earth.

• The second was the "Dream of a Democracy of Goods" whereby everyone had access to the same products regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or class, thereby challenging the aristocratic norms of the rest of the world where only the rich/upper class horde

He frantically starts planting seeds in the garden to leave something behind in the ground before he decides to kill himself. An unwholesome childhood made him vulnerable as a father and he was prone to looking for validation in his decisions. He failed in identifying that there would be more barriers to improving your social mobility in the post-depression age. It could be argued that Willy’s tragic flaw stemmed from parental abandonment.

In his quest to attain success, Willy had become entranced by the greed of others. His brother Ben is an example. To Ben, the American dream is about starting from nothing and still being able to make a fortune. Willy is envious of how well things turned out for his brother and seeks to duplicate that success. Willy’s situation represents that no matter how satisfied one may be with oneself; the greed of society can delude them into thinking that they need more money and more luxuries to live. His wife, Linda is wary of Ben since she realizes that Ben must have had to be a good deal ruthless and unfair to etch his success story. She is the only one who understands Willy’s tiredness and hardships and is also worried of his failing mental faculties.

Witnessing her husband in his state of distraction worries her immensely but she feels helpless about