Discuss the importance of Dreams in

“Death of a Salesman”

There is a wide range of dreams throughout the play. Every Character is living a dream and these dreams are what affect and change how the play flows. The main dream is the great capitalist American Dream, The dreams dramatically affect relationships, jobs and even threatens lives, and these dreams are usually unachievable so are never going to be reached. This however doesn’t ever stop the Loman’s from dreaming and eventually at the end of the play it gets the better of them.

Willy Loman is a salesman whom lives his life chasing the American Dream. The American dream destroys Willy. Willy didn’t want to believe that he was different from any other salesman or human being. He always wanted to be greater than that anyone else. Willy’s hopes and dreams make him a selfish and dishonest person. Throughout the play the Loman’s cannot tell the difference between reality and dreams. Willy is lost in false dreams. He’s working but not earning enough money to pay his bills. As he gets older, he has trouble working out the difference between the past and present and is often having flashbacks. This problem makes Willy fall into his depression. His sons Biff and Happy are also failures, but Willy does not let himself see this. He wants his kids especially biff, to succeed and lead better lives then he did. He believes that to be well liked is to be successful. Willy would rather be in a world with dreams than realize that he was a failure.

In the play there is a lot of Daydreams. Daydreams are just another way for Willy to escape failure. He daydreams about his sons being successful. A good example of this is when he is dreaming about Biff playing American football, “You’re comin’ home this afternoon captain of the All-Scholastic Championship Team of the City of New York.” Willy’s hopes and dreams for Biff live in his heart as brightly as his past fantasies, “God almighty he’ll be great yet”. Willy also daydreams about money and his financial situation. He dreams about being a great salesman and earning lots ...

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In the play once Willy realises he has failed he puts all his hope in his sons. Willy wants Biff to become a great salesman. Willy has failed at this but he wants his son to fulfil his dreams for him, “I’ll get him a job selling, he’ll be big in no time.” Ultimately Willy is trying to push Biff towards the American dream. This is because Willy’s last ambition was to help Biff, “Can you imagine that magnificence of $20,000 in Biffs pocket.”

Miller portrays America as the total opposite to “ The land of opportunity.” He uses Willy and Biff to show how there is set standards in the American society. One is regarded a “failure” If they don’t have a successful job with a high wage,

“There is nothing more inspiring or beautiful than the sight of a mare and a new colt…I suddenly get the feeling, my God, I’m not getting anywhere! What the hell am I doing, playing around with horses, and earning twenty-eight dollars a week. I’m thirty four years old I ought to be making my future.”

Biff likes his job yet quits because he doesn’t think the pay is “acceptable” and feels he should be making his future. Biff realises he doesn’t want the American dream, “Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be.” Biff realises he had an unrealistic dream. The difference between Biff and Willy is that Willy never knows himself because he always tried to achieve what society said he should achieve instead of what he wanted to achieve.

Willy’s flashbacks reveal where Willy’s problems come from. In pages 87-92 it shows how Willy’s problems with Biff stem from. The flashbacks show the past, as Willy wants them to be. These flashbacks are therefore seen as a place of refuge from the capitalist society and so this is why he frequently has flashbacks.

To summarise each characters dreams:

Willy wants the most unrealistic dream of them all, the American dream. He wishes to be well liked, rich, healthy, and to have all he wants. We know he never reaches this because he kills himself in the end to continue this dream for his son Biff. Willy wants to keep his pride yet he loses his job, has an affair and has 2 failing sons.

Linda desires to simply be happy and free from debt. She dreams to have a normal and happy family that is totally reachable. She sticks by Willy’s dreams because she loves him even though his dreams are totally unreachable.

Biff initially wants the American dream but then quickly realises that it is not for him. He realises that dreams are unrealistic and false and he is the only Loman to find his true self.

Happy wants the American dream and is too blind to see that this dream is the thing that killed his father off. He also deeply wants to be loved by his father yet this is near impossible because Willy only likes Biff.