“American
Dream” from “Death of a Salesman”
By
Arthur Miller
The American
Dream is a term that was first coined by James Adams in his book “The Epic of America” written in
1931.The American dream is a dream of a land where life is better and richer
for everything else. It is a dream of a social order where man and woman shall
be able to the maximum stature that they are inherently capable of, to which
they will be identified by others.
The dream is a national ethos of
American where the ideas of democracy are used as a premise for prosperity and
the idea of the dream is rooted in the second sentence of the declaration of
independence which states “all men are created equal and they are endowed by
the creator with certain alienable rights including life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness”. The dream consists of genuine and determined belief that
in America all things are possible to all men, regardless of birth or wealth,
“If we work hard enough, we all achieve anything”.
The origins of American dream seem to have been rooted in the pioneering
mentality of 18th and 19th century immigrants, most of
the came to America because of a new and better life, in particular the
opportunity to own one’s land. Some Americans, they see the dream as living a
simple fulfilling life that has less focus on financial gain and materialism.
Arthur Miller was a prominent
figure in American theater and many of his plays are considered classics. One
of his most famous plays critically acclaimed “Death of a Salesman”, is
considered by many critics to be one of the greatest representation of the
American dream. Most of the Miller’s plays are directly or indirectly about the
American dream. This leads to
Success
Wealth
&
Power
But this dream for
everyone develops and encourages greed, selfish behavior, pride and rivalry
between one another. Miller created “an attack on some of the basis values of
American business culture.
Willy Loman is “Caught up” in the
American Dream. It causes business to develop in the world. Capitalism and also
the profit motive and competitive instinct makes Willy have a weakness in his
personality. This weakness is caused by a combination of business pressures.
Willy wants to prove himself through a successful salesman but as he fails, his
own life destroys.
It is the struggle of each character’s
pursuit of the “American Dream”. This is one of the central themes of the
story. It has often been said that “Death of a Salesman” is a harsh criticism
of the “American Dream”.
The protagonist of “Death of a
Salesman” is Willy who has the “American Dream” that is the ability to become
prosperous by mere charisma or achieving the powerful personal quality which
will be used to attract and impress other people. He believes that no hard work
and innovation are the key to success. Willy wants to make sure this boys are
well-linked
