Kaitlyn McGinness
H. English 10
Mr. McVety
October 9th, 2013
Wrongly Thought Notions Everyone has their own dreams that they would like to accomplish. Not all dreams are alike, and those that are alike are not always achieved or depicted similarly. The American Dream is one dream that many people have shaped and interpreted in every possible way. Some versions of the American Dream contradict each other, while others go off of one another. This famous dream used to be a popular Literature topic for books in the early 1900s; Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is one. Miller's book is about a salesman, Willy Loman, and how failing at his job and his version of the "American Dream" plays a hefty role in his mind, leaving him to become crazier and crazier over the years. Willy should of been brought up learning that achieving success from the American Dream is not dependent on how much money you end up making from your job, but whether or not you love what you are doing with your life. Willy wrongly possess the values of the American Dream, that being you need to be well-liked in order to have a successful, wealthy job. When a person is taught wrongly to do something, it normally results in that person teaching others those bad habits. Thus forming a vicious cycle. Willy Loman is wrongly taught by his brother Ben while he is growing up. Therefore he cannot help but teach his sons, Biff and Happy, exactly what he was taught. Willy teaches them what he the believes to be the key to a successful life. His heart is so set on the idea that you only need to be well-liked and determined to make it far in the business world, and that you cannot just rely on being smart to get you places in life. One of the many times Willy talks to his sons about the type of person they need to strive to become in order to be successful, he uses Bernard as an example of who they should try to avoid being. Bernard is Biff's friend who lives next door and tries to keep Biff on track with his schoolwork. Willy says, "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" (Miller, 20). Biff and Happy adore their father, and all that he says and does. Therefore it is not a surprise that they eat up every word Willy says to them when they are young. Things begin to change once Biff and Happy become older. Willy personifies himself to his boys as someone they should look up to and they do. Biff and Happy are in awe from all the respect Willy says he receives whenever he goes out on all his business trips: "You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. 'Willy Loman is here?' That's all they have to know, and I go right through" (Miller, 21). Biff and Happy never question Willy and the things he says because they did not have any reason to when they were in high school. As they get older and reach an age in the thirties, Biff begins to see through Willy's fake success and no longer believes what Willy always tells him about the business world. When Biff is talking about business, he says, "Screw the business world!...I don't care what they think! They've laughed at dad for years, and you know why? Because we don't belong in this nuthouse of a city! We should be mixing cement on some open plain or--carpenters. A carpenter is allowed to whistle!" (Miller, 44). Willy overhears Biff saying this to Happy and responds, "Even your grandfather was better than a carpenter. You never grew up. Bernard does not whistle in the elevator, I assure you" (Miller, 44). Willy always wanted for his sons to grow up with a job in business. He could never perceive anyone being able to achieve success and wealth through any job other than business. Biff does not agree
Death Of A Salesman Willy Loman rides on the views of illusion and doesn’t open his eyes to his present reality. His failure is the failure of American myth of success. According to this myth being “well liked” was what one needed for being successful. Another assumption examined by the play is that petty crimes like adultery and stealing are evidence of high spirit. Another assumption examined by Willy was that being an athlete brings glory and privilege, but being studious leads nowhere…
Elements that make a play Successful Death of a Salesman is arguably one of the most successful playwrights to date. Miller won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best Play as well as many other awards (Wikipedia). The play was written in 1949, in postwar time economy, demonstrating the hardships and struggles of a middle class family. What makes this play so successful is Millers use of dramatic element such as plot and characterization, as well as dramatic action and tone, which…
Death of a Salesman Why come to America? What does America really have to offer, one may ask? What sets America aside, and makes it different from other nations around the world? The “American Dream” simply answers all of these questions. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman, a man hopelessly chasing the “American Dream”, is unsuccessful in his journey to “paradise.” The “American Dream” is the belief that through hard work, patience, and courage, one can achieve success and…
opportunity to go to a play with my Intro to Art class. This play was called Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller has written a lot of plays that have been very popular. So I was very intrigued to see some of his work. However, the title did not make me very excited to see it. It sounds very depressing, and in fact, it was depressing. I had mixed emotions about this play while watching it. Death of a Salesman was a very interesting play that did not keep me on the edge of my seat…
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The main character Willy Loman is a 60-year old unstable salesman who bases his life on the idea of the American dream. Willy suffers from self-delusion and is obsessed with the desire to succeed. In the play Death of a Salesman Willy Loman is considered the static protagonist. In the play Willy Loman is the static protagonist. The plot of the play focuses on Willy not being aware of the difference between reality and…
Drama Review –Theme and Conflict in Death Danyelle Westphal Rasmussen College Author Note This paper is being submitted on August 10, 2014 for Vicki Phillips, G330 American Literature. The story “Death of a Salesman” was written by Arthur Asher Miller in 1949. Arthur Miller was an American playwright, essayist and prominent figure in twentieth-century. He was born in Harlem, New York City on October 17, 1915 and died in Roxbury, Connecticut on February 10, 2005. He was married three times…
Joseph Grippo Comprehensive English 12 – Death of a Salesman “Problem Essay” Mr. Mouzon 5 January 2, 2015 “And I was fine… I opened the windshield and let the warm air breathe over me. And then all of a sudden I’m going off the road!”- Willy Loman (pg 14) This doesn’t quite sound like the words of a man who is perfectly stable in life. Normally if you are fine just a moment ago and then the next thing that happens is you zoning out and driving off the road, this means that your mind is having…
Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman illustrates the culture of entitlement. Miller shows us a man who fails in his own life and whose children fail also in their own lives. At a time when Willy should be retiring, he falls lower and lower on the ladder of success. First losing his salary and then losing his job. Willy’s idea of American dream and entitlement is completely contrary to reality. Willy believes that happiness will be fed to him because of his personality…
prosperous, America was in better economic condition than any other country in the world, but this didn’t mean all Americans were home free. Especially working-class Americans still clinging to the hope of the infamous American dream. Both Death of A Salesman, and Fences major themes revolve around the demise of the American patriarch of a single family, including fathers who commit adultery and illustrate their characters' attempts to make the elusive American dream a reality, specifically the fictional…
How is the American Dream portrayed within the play? The 'Death of a Salesman' was written in 1949 by a playwright named Arthur Miller, who was showing what could be called the antithesis of the American Dream. The general description of the play's theme would be, an individual man involved in business laboring to become successful in a world which to him has become mystifying and unfriendly. Even in the name of the play the idea is vague, because of the use of 'a' instead of 'the', but throughout…