The American Dream is discussed in Death of a Salesman;

In Death of a Salesman protagonist Willy Loman, is on a quest for the American Dream. Miller writes that the dream is a fruitless pursuit. Miller’s
decision to make Willy Loman a worker broken by a vague, unfeeling industry stems from the playwright’s socialist leanings. It may be that Miller
wanted to clarify the definition: What is the American Dream? The answer depends on the perspectives of different characters.
To the protagonist of Death of a Salesman, the American Dream is the ability to become prosperous by mere charisma. Willy believes that
personality, not hard work and innovation, is the key to success. Time and again, he wants to make sure his boys are well-liked and popular. Of
course, Willy’s version of the American Dream never pans out. Despite his son’s popularity in high school, Biff grows up to be a drifter and a ranch-
hand. Willy’s own career crumbles as his sales ability declines. When he tries to use “personality” to ask his boss for a raise, he gets fired instead.
Willy’s blind faith in his stunted version of the American Dream leads to his rapid psychological decline when he is unable to accept the disparity
between the Dream and his own life.
Willy is constantly trying to be a better man. He wants to become rich and prosperous, to be liked by everyone, and to be successful in his work and
life. These things come together to make up his American Dream. Willy's problem is that society is constantly shattering his dreams. All of society
keeps building up against Willy, and eventually forces him to do the most drastic thing possible to capture a small fragment of his American Dream
which is to commit suicide so that his son Biff could use the life insurance money to set up a business.
There is an abundance of peer pressure in the play. Willy wanted to be liked by everyone, and as a result of that, he was miserable when he
discovered his lack of friends. He felt that an important part of being successful was to be surrounded by people and to have everyone love you. He
thought that if he was unpopular, he was a failure in life. All of the pressure that society was continuously piling up on Willy to be liked contributed
to his downfall.
Death of a Salesman also projects the false image of happiness. Society tries to teach that if people are rich and well-liked, they will be happy.
Because of this, Willy thought that money would make him happy. He never bothered to try to be happy with what he had, he just tried to get more
things to make him feel happy. If he had realized other opportunities, like the job offer from Charley, he might have been happy. However, he saw
the image of happiness that society was trying to portray, and he continued to work for that, and only that.
Willy thought that material things would make him happy, because that is what society wanted him to think. This is in sharp contrast to the
American Dream’s notion of a society which is free to pursue its own form of happiness and God given rights.
He contemplates having people “remember” and “love” him as the ultimate satisfaction, because such warmth from business contacts would
validate him in a way that his family’s love does not. In so highly esteeming Dave Singleman, the mythic salesman who died the noble “death of a
salesman” that Willy himself covets and regarding his on-the-job death as dignified, respectable, and graceful, Willy fails to see the human side of
Singleman, much as he fails to see his own human side. He envisions Singleman as a happy man but ignores the fact that Singleman was still working
at age eighty-four and might likely have experienced the same financial problems and consequent pressures and misery as Willy.
Another perspective of this contrasting American Dream can be seen through the perspective of Biff, Willy’s eldest son. Although he has felt
confused and angry since discovering his father’s infidelity, Biff has the potential to pursue the “right” dream – if only he could resolve his inner
conflict. Biff is distracted by two different dreams. One dream is his father’s world of business, sales, and capitalism. But another dream involves
nature, the great outdoors, and working with his hands. Biff explains to his brother Happy both the appeal and the frustration of working on a
ranch.
However, by the end of the play, Biff realizes that his father had the “wrong” dream. Biff understands that his father was great with his hands. Willy
built their garage and put up a new ceiling. Biff believes that his father should have been a carpenter, or should have lived in another, more rustic
part of the country. But instead, Willy pursued an empty life. Willy sold nameless, unidentified products, and watched his American Dream fall
apart.
Biff’s explanation to his father during the climax of their final confrontation in Act II helps him articulate the revelation of his true identity, even
though Willy cannot possibly understand. Biff is confident and somewhat comfortable with the knowledge that he is “a dime a dozen,” as this
escape from his father’s delusions allows him to follow his instincts and align his life with his own dreams. Whereas Willy cannot imagine any notion
of individual identity outside of the confines of the material success and “well liked”-ness promised by the American Dream, Biff realizes that he can
be happy only outside these confines. During the funeral of his father, Biff decides that he will not allow that to happen to himself. He turns away
from Willy’s dream.
It seems that the regular employee is not noticed as much, and that the company as a whole is what is more often seen. This was shown through
both Biff and Willy. Willy was not well treated because he was a lowly salesman, and not a high-class owner or manager. Biff's old employer didn't
even remember him, because he was only a shipping clerk. This shows that many employees are not often observed, even if they have made
contributions to the work place in their lifetime. Without the workers who are lower in rank, companies cannot be run. However, these people are
often taken for granted as big businesses take over. The American Dream gets shrouded in ignorance when such things are taken into account.

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Why does Miller let us know in the title that Willy's death is coming? Why doesn't he make it a surprise? Is Willy's death in a car more or less
appropriate than a suicide using the rubber hose on the water heater would be? Why? What harm does Willy's death do? What good?

Miller's purpose behind letting his readers know right from the beginning that the salesman Willy Loman is going to die is simple. There can be no
other end for a salesman. In the play, salesmen are portrayed as working until their life is finished. Of course, in those times, people were known to
stick to one profession throughout their lifetime and usually the company they worked for would honor their employees loyalty. For Willy Loman,
unfortunately, he was fired. Yet even in the end, he was earning money, although his suicide was an attempt to obtain insurance money for his
family, since he was no longer making his own money in sales.
*Being fired was technically the "death" of Willy as a salesman, and his actual death was so soon after the loss of his job that Miller might have
meant that the death in the title was in fact Willy being fired.
Willy Loman had a road job. He was constantly on the road in order to sell merchandise. The fact that he committed suicide and died by way of a car
is much more appropriate than gas poisoning by inhaling the fumes from the water heater. Besides, Biff had taken off the hose to the water heater,
effectively canceling out that as an option for Willy to try and kill himself. It seems that he didn't much of a choice if looked at in that way.
Overall, Willy's death seems to be rather anti-climatic and unnecessary. For Linda, it was a shock, considering they were almost finished with all
their troubles and they were finally working on getting along with Biff and Happy. They seemed to be coming together as a family when Willy
decides to die. If the situation is looked at with an absence of emotion, then it could be said that Willy's death did a lot of good. His family would no
longer be submitted to his lies, Charley would no longer have to pay out fifty dollars a week, and Biff and Willy would of course no longer be able to
fight. No longer would any tension between the members of the Loman family in regards to Willy exist, but they did lose a vital person in all their
lives. The effect is devastating even when the member of a family dies that is hated or despised. Willy was simply "not well-liked." His family did
indeed love him and his death was hard on them all. Linda is now technically on her own as well. Who will support her now? Linda gave the majority
of her life to support Willy Loman, now let’s hope the insurance money from his death will be enough to support her in his absence.
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Some critics are of the opinion that Miller's Death of a Salesman is concerned mainly with the father son conflict, while others see the play as a
family drama. Millerhimself regards as a unit of society. For him, family does not simply depict the emotional bonds between the family members
and the relations. Miller thinks the problem that confronts men is how man can make a home for himself in the vastness of strangers and how may
he change that vastness into a home.
Miller believes and demonstrates that home is the starting point for every individual. The job of the dramatist is to inform the uniformed about
the present. Miller does not regard family as an isolated microcosm. It serves and important psychological function. The dramatist relates the family
to a larger group, the society.
Playwrights like Miller and O'Neill have the family as their forte. While O'Neill's dramas evolve round the problems of obedience, respect, lack of
filial bond; etc, the plays of Miller goes a step further. We witness the disintegration of the family in the dramas of Arthur Miller. In
the Loman home, jealousy, disapproval and guilt shake the family ties. In Miller's plays, the family is a centrifugal force. For a American
individualistic mind, disintegration of the family is not painful. Audience is not move to tears regarding this issue. Miller also asserts this American
individualism. His plays are based on the thesis that an individual who can survive the disintegration of the family and who can find another role
himself in the larger social group can be "at home in the world".
In ' Death of a Salesman', the tragedy is not Willy alone . It is the tragedy of the family, of Linda and of Biff. Biff worships his father and looks up to
him for ideals. But he finds filth and corruption which shocked him and compelled him to sever the bond of filial respect and love. After trust has
been betrayed, shame and disapproval come in way of a real reconciliation. In this process of discovery and shock, both Willy and Biff get some self
knowledge. Willy is attempting to gain self fulfillment by making Biff into a loyal and worthy son. He is obsessed with this and will not accept Biff's
failure at any rate. Willy's suicide is not only an escape route from shame and exposure, it is also his ultimate attempt to maintain the integrity of
the family and stamp it with his confidence. Thus, both Willy and Biff are opposite characters who want to do well to each other but their direction
are contra posed.
Another aspect of family relationship that the dramatist explores is that of the husband and the wife. Linda's love for Willy is very obvious. But she
is a failure when it come to understanding Willy. She sympathize and supports Willy blindly without really knowing about his dreams and why they
are such.
Happy Loman the son is also in the family, his attitude towards his father and his family is quite different from that of Biff Loman, he is not very
concerned about his family. He ignores his ageing father who needs affection. Happy is a vagabond and a womanizer. He even refuses to
acknowledge as his father for the sake of winning over a new girls in the restaurant.

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A Devoted Wife: Linda Loman is a devoted wife. She shows a constant wifely care and kindness about Willy. This is her most important
characteristic. This trait appears in the opening dialogue when Willy has unexpectedly returned after having left in the morning. Linda worriedly asks
him if he had an accident with the car. Perhaps the steering wheel caused him some trouble. Perhaps he needs a change of glasses. When all these
guesses prove to be wrong, she says: “well, you’ll just have to take some rest, Willy, you can’t continue this way.” She then suggests that he should
ask his company for a job in New York so that he should not have to travel. She next offers to make a sandwich for him. She is worried that he should
eat something and tells him that there is some cheese in the refrigerator. Willy is fully aware of Linda’s devotion to him and acknowledges this fact
in the following words: “You’re my foundation and my support, Linda.”
As A Mother: Linda is a very affectionate mother too. She is quite generous towards her two sons. She requests her husband not to loose his
temper with Biff. Both Biff and Happy have a high opinion about their mother. Biff often addresses her as his ‘pal’ and does not want her to feel
unhappy. Happy thinks that his mother is a woman of ‘character’.
Although she loves both her sons, she is not crazy about them. She asks Biff why he is so ‘hateful’ towards his father. She goes on to say: “Biff, dear,
if you don’t have any feeling for him, you can’t have any feeling for me”. She tells him that her husband is “the dearest ma in the world” to her. Even
when Biff tries to prejudice her against Willy by saying that Willy has never had eve an ounce of respect for her, she continues to defend Willy. She
says, “I don’t say he is a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever
lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid.” She tries to make both her sons feel ashamed of
their indifferences towards Willy. She reminds them of the great love he has always borne for them and of their worship of him in the bygone days.
Later in the play, when Willy has been treated by both the boys disgracefully in the restaurant, Linda looses her temper with them and says: “You’re
pair of animals!”
Her Weaknesses: But with all her good qualities, she has black spot too. She can never abolish her faith in Willy as the great salesman. She is
somewhat timid and passive person. She falls so much under her husband’s influence that she becomes a sharer of all his illusions. In other words,
she becomes an unthinking partner in his fantastic dreams and unrealistic hopes. In being a good wife, Linda has extended her devotion to an
extreme that has destructed not only her husband but also her sons. In her overwhelming devotion to Willy, she has helped build a doll’s house
around him. Thus Linda Loman is Miller’s mouthpiece. She has been identified with all the hest values in American society-care, love, courage and
humanity. She is a good mediator between her husband and sons. She constantly pleads for harmony and understanding.
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“Death of Salesman-Arthur Miller” As a social drama

was one of the most successful American dramatists. He had distinction of being the most outspoken American writers of the last
Arthur Miller

four decades. As a dramatist, Miller is a socialistic who conceives that society is inside of man and man is inside of society. According to
Miller, “The greatest dramatist seems to have been speaking for some fate-making power behind the social force itself.”
His dramas deal mainly with man’s relation with his family and society. ‘Death of Salesman’ is a typical modern tragedy shows the
social reality of common man. It can be described as a great social tragedy because it extends itself out of the family circle and into society.
Now discuss ‘Death of Salesman’ as a social drama in a depth.
“Death of Salesman” is a Sociological Tragedy. Generally it is believed that a drama can not be both tragic and social because a social
drama depicts, the common man as victim. It arouses out pity but not terror like tragic plays. On the other hand tragedy neglects material
conditions with which social drama deals. But Miller has reconciled both these aspects.
‘Death of Salesman’ deals with the common theme of the individual versus society. Like Ibsen, Shaw and Galsworthy Miller also deals
with social problem of modern men. The play is not so much concerned with the life of an individual-Willy Loman but with the life of a
section of society, which the representative of Willy is. The play is a good example of so called ‘middle class tragedy’, having social impact on
it. It depicts the fate of a commonplace man in a common place environment In words of John Mason Brown, “Saturday Review of
Literature”
“Death of Salesman broaches the questions of a social status, social honour and recognition, which expand its vision and lift it out of the
merely parti- cular towards the fate of the generality of men.”
Willy Loman is a victim of the American Dream. Much of Willy’s suffering is due to the nature of American society. American society is
highly commercializes and nightly competitive. One of the most dominant beliefs of American society goes by the name ‘the great American
Dream’. It means the view held by most Americans that it is possible to for a man to rise to the top through good looks, personality,
attractiveness, winnings manners, and social contacts. Willy Loman is a fervent believer in the romantic American Dream. He believes,
“Success falls inevitably to the man with the right smile, the best line, the most charm, the man who is not only liked, but well liked.”
Though the reality is different, Willy is having a very high opinion about himself and his contacts in society. He considers himself
indispensable for Wagner Company. He feels that he is largely responsible for the large sales of the products in New England. He thinks
himself to be a very successful salesman but it is his self-deception as in reality he is nothing. Same way he deceives himself by high opinion
regarding his son Biff. He lionized his son and kept telling him that he had a great future before him. He thinks that Biff is a very hard
working young man with a lot of a personal attractiveness. But in the reality, Biff has achieved nothing though he is thirsty four years old.
On social level, Willy is a victim of the ‘American Dream’ which is personified by three different figures. First there is Ben, Willy’s
brother, the self made man who went into the (capitalist) jungle and came out rich. Ben is the totally self-assured man who knew what he
wanted and got it with his efforts. His motto is: “Never fight fair with a stranger.” Willy’s life is dominated and governed by Ben Loman.
The American Dream is also symbolized by Dave Single man, who is Willy’s ideal salesman. His life had inspired Willy to become a
salesman. It is Dave Singleman’s success that leads Willy towards selling profession. Finally, the American dream is symbolized, in its most
noble embodiment, by Willy’s father. He was who not only ventured into a pioneer’s wilderness with no security or assurance of success,
but also was also- a creator.
‘Death of Salesman’ is deals with the evils of Capitalism. Howard’s treatment of Willy shows us how an innocent man is made victim
by selfish and harsh society. Howard doesn’t pay any attention to Willy and is fully absorbed with a toy like machine. Willy tells him to give
him travel. But Howard suggests a cut in salary from sixty to forty dollars a week.
Howard grants none of Willy’s requests and casually dismisses from the company. Willy fails to convince Howard. Willy remembers
Howard’s father and adds that that it was he who had suggested Howard’s name but Howard doesn’t move. We find Willy caught by evils of
Capitalism. The play can be regarded Communist propaganda denouncing the evils of Capitalism In a word of Eleanor Clare,
“The play is a crude Marxist attack on the brutal capitalist system in America..”
Willy is a victim of this merciless social system which drives people to frantic, all-consuming dreams of success. The commercial society
gives importance to success, appearance, ambitiousness and self interest. Willy is ruined by all such forces. He loses his life in seeking his
place in that society. Thus the American Social System leads Willy to kill himself as he is unable to provide comfort and he gives it after his
death as insurance amount. Willy’s fate shows that Miller seems to be disapproving a system that demands total commitment to success
without regard to human value. Esther Jackson rightly remarks
“Death of Salesman represents ‘perhaps most nearly nature myth about human suffering in an industrial age.”
To summing up, ‘Death of Salesman’ is primarily a social-political criticism of American culture. It strikes a balance between the social
problem of the shattered myth of success and Willy Loman’s sex and family problems. Miller uses appreciate concrete symbols for the social
realities of his time and place. He achieves an internal drama of a man’s epic journey to self-knowledge through experience and ‘Death of
Salesman’ in this sense, is a recognition scene.