Death of a Salesman story depicts the struggles Willy Loman underwent so that he could attain his American dream. Willy Loman, as the protagonist of the play, goes through a great sort of change. The central character the middle class tussles in the American nation. He is inspired by the false promises that are contained in the achievement of the American dream. Death of a Salesman story spins around the fracases of Willy Loman to identify the self-validation at the center of his unrealistic dreams. In this paper, we will provide insight into why Willy’s American dream was to be close to his family, live comfortably, and not have to travel too far away from Happy, Biff, and his wife. Moreover, the paper examines why scholars and critics say that Willy’s American dream was to be rich, which was inspired by the success of his father, brother, and Dave. Nonetheless, the arguments presented in the paper illustrates why the pressures of capitalism led to the death of the salesperson.
In the Death of a salesman, Willy is a vigorous entrepreneur and the main protagonist of the American dream story. They say the novel provided a glimpse of how Willy was lost in his world because he lacked the opportunity to truly capture the American dream. According to Gleitman (3), Willy’s death is seen as “the most devastating portrait of punctured middle-class dreams in our national literature. “Most critics considers Willy Loman as the typical American dream lost character. In this argument, it is detailed that Willy is incapable of overcoming the obstacles ahead of him. The protagonist is unable to provide the basic needs to his family, and it is said that his children are not in a position to attain the American dream because of the failures of their father. Willy greatest flaw recurs in the own misunderstanding of how to achieve what is entailed in the American dream. They say that Willy has failed as the head of the family.
Willy was experiencing a lot of struggles in his life because he wanted to succeed just like his brother, Ben. Throughout the book, Loman has a recurring memory of how Ben narrated his emergence from the Jungles of Africa. Willy believed that Ben is, “the man [who] knew what he wanted and went out and got it!” (Gleitman 8). His brother had opted to enter into the jungles of Africa when he was only seventeen, and four years later, he becomes filthy rich. Ben, as a character is Death of a Salesman, is a mocking icon of what will feel he should be. There is a huge contrast between the life of Willy and his brother, Ben. Willy was living in the urban city when Ben was interested in exploring the unconquered territories in nature, and this was the reason he has amassed massive wealth at the age of twenty-one.
Willy accepts as true that the vital goal of the American dream comprises of material wealth and success. Gleitman (7) contends that “Willy desired sense of self is rooted in ideals that are more primal than practical, and more poetic, too, and they are best exemplified by the esteemed triumvirate that is always whispering in his unconscious.” The story by his brother reveals the importance of hard-work and determination, but Willy fails to put that into consideration and goes ahead to focus on the personality traits of Ben in connection to his success. It is weird to say that Willy is certain that an entrepreneur with a well-liked and personally attractive character will indisputably and justifiably attain success by acquiring material wealth guaranteed in the American Dream. On the contrary, the American dream is centered on hard work and determination, but Willy focuses on the superficial wherewithal of attractiveness and likeability to achieve the dream.
It can be argued that Willy had already accomplished his American Dream but failed to realize that because he was too ambitious. In his journey to search for his father, Willy met Dave Singleman. The old man was a successful salesman since he had valuable merchandise in many states across the US. Dave had constructed his own hotel where buyers could meet him and purchase his products. The view of Dave peaceful and successful career inspired Willy Loman to change his career path and become a salesperson just like Dave Singleman. After getting back to Alaska, he abandoned his other plans and opted to practice entrepreneurship. Willy saw that after thirty-five years in his career, he had accomplished nothing much, and this meant he was yet to realize the American dream. After becoming a salesperson, Loman tracked the same path that Dave had followed wishing that he could be successful in the near future. The protagonist failed to admit that his American dream was linked to his career as a carpenter.
Throughout his life, Willy Loman believed that a white collar job was better than a blue collar one but did nothing to attain the white collar job. Again, after he transformed to become a salesman, he could afford the basic needs for his family but was wanted more. Loman had achieved the normal success but aimed to acquire more material wealth. Since he hadn’t accomplished much with his life, Loman molded his children towards the way he perceived life. As a result, he hoped that his children will one day subscribe to his beliefs and attain the American dream that he had failed to achieve in his entire life.
Willy Loman had been inspired by Dave but failed to conduct an extensive analysis of how the old man had succeeded in his salesperson career. According to Gleitman (9), “Singleman is successful because he commits himself to sales with ruthless single-mindedness. It is well documented that, “hundreds of salesmen and buyers” appeared in Dave’s funeral but the absence of family members was noticeable (ibid). Singleman did not have a family all through his life. If Loman could have considered that Singleman did not have a family to take care of, maybe he could have lowered his expectations regarding the salesperson career. It is always a bad idea to rush into decision making without considering the impacts that will come as a result.
The problem with Willy Loman is that he made attempts to mold his sons in his own image. In the end, his sons transformed into windbags and cry-babies. In real sense, Willy sons are not sexually impotent, but they are impotent in a larger sense. For example, Willy son, Happy, complains that his life was meaningless. Happy asserts, “
Sometimes I sit at 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 (Field 23)
Willy Loman’s sons are said to be morally and socially impotent. Their father alone has no basis to make moral choices. The protagonist lacks the ability to choose what is good for him and the family at large. Willy Loman exists in morally incoherent space, an incoherence that is demonstrated throughout the play in the torments he experiences. It is well-thought that the protagonist is both morally and socially incapacitated. Everything in his life goes against his wishes. The city is not working towards his desires, and it is killing him. The competition within the society is also not good for his life. He strains al lot and goes beyond what he could handle attempting to achieve the American dream. It is sad that Loman fails to get along with his son despite loving him the most. Critics argue that the seeds planted by the protagonist fails to blossom and this spells doom in his entire life (Field 23). In other words, it is said that Willy was unfortunate because everything that he tried did not materialize and led to massive failure. Loman meets his death before attaining the American dream.
As elucidated above, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller illustrates the hardship and diversity experienced by individuals when they make attempts to succeed and attain the dreams set by the society. It is also critical to note that the society failed to provide the space to accept the failures of a man. In other words, every man was expected to succeed in life. Personally, I think that the American dream is orchestrated by the society ad it’s more of an expectation than a reality. In simple terms, the American dream is an unrealistic way of life. It is miserable that Americans are doing what is possible to attain the dreams. According to the standards of the American dream, a successful person must be wealthy and popular within the society. To achieve the American dream, an individual is expected to work hard, remain honest, and be determined throughout his life.
Work cited
Field, B. S. "Hamartia in Death of a Salesman." Twentieth Century Literature 18.1 (1972): 19-24.
Gleitman, Claire. "Saint-Mamas, Strudel, and the Single Man in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman." The Arthur Miller Journal 10.1 (2015): 3-17.
Miguez, Ricardo. "CHAPTER TWENTY ONE THE CRITIQUE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM ON TELEVISION: A CASE-STUDY OF THE SIMPSONS." American Dreams: Dialogues in US Studies (2009): 353.
