The American Dream In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman
Introduction
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Arthur Miller has based “Death of a Salesman” in a time of the great depression, where Willy Loman, the protagonist, is much an individual as he is a representative of society at the time. Feeding into this post-industrial capitalist boom was the American dream that comprised hard work, success, money, a happy family and freedom. This was a dream all Americans aspired for at this time. It started with the industrialization, which lead to the depression, people losing their jobs, hence unemployment, or insufficiently low wages, which in turn increases competition, leaving the people with only the hopes and desire to maybe achieve the American dream someday.
The American Dream is an idea of finding happiness and satisfaction through hard work. In Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller writes about how the American Dream, for the most part is unattainable, and how the obsession with it can destroy lives. Miller expresses this through the tragedy of the protagonist salesman, Willy Loman, who believes that personality, not hard work and innovation, is the key to success.
In “Death of a Salesman” Arthur Miller writes about how the American Dream, for the most part is unattainable, and how the obsession with it can destroy lives. This is shown through the tragedy of the protagonist Willy Loman, who believed that personality, not hard work and innovation, is the key to success. To Willy his own identity revolved around being ‘well-liked’. He believed that with
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