What view of the American Dream does Miller present in “Death of a Salesman”?
What view of the American Dream does Miller present in "Death of a Salesman"?
In "Death of a Salesman" Miller presents a corrupted view of the American Dream. It has become corrupted due to the increased importance of consumerism and materialism instead of the traditional values of spiritual happiness and physical comfort. In "Death of a Salesman" Willy's view of the American Dream is solely about material wealth, overshadowing the importance of freedom and spiritual fulfilment. The play is about how the American Dream translates from the original context of agriculture, and freedom through the ownership of land, to the modern day urban existence.
Willy and Happy have been brought up to believe that achievement can only be measured in terms of wealth, as shown by Happy when he says "Yeah, but when he walks into the store the waves part in front of him. That's fifty-two thousand dollars a year coming through the revolving door." This is due to the fast economic development and urbanisation of America after World War II. The urban society found it difficult to relate to the traditional ideas of property and freedom. The play therefore romanticizes the rural-agrarian dream but does not make it genuinely available to Willy, instead it is just part of Willy's fantasies, as is shown when he tells Linda that "Before it's all over (they're) gonna get a little place out in the country, and (they'll) raise some vegetables, a couple of chickens..." Miller uses this to show how the American Dream has been misinterpreted in modern society. Respect and therefore happiness through money seem to be paramount in the Lomans' ideology of life. The idea of wealth has become so important to the family that money tends to be the subject of conversation: "Well, the fan belt broke, so it was a dollar eighty." Willy sees wealth as the key to happiness. He realises that he is not going to make a fortune. He therefore looks to live vicariously through his sons, and use them as a vessel for his dream of wealth. This is clearly shown when he mumbles to himself that Ben "...was rich! That's just the spirit I want to imbue them with! To walk into a jungle!" It seems as though Willy's failure in life is a direct result of striving so hard for success, that in struggling to do so he has lead to his own downfall, and the capitulation of his life-long dreams.
When Willy's dreams of success for his prodigal elder son Biff are shattered, he subconsciously becomes disenchanted with the American Dream, and chooses to fall into a world of illusion in order to cope with his broken dream. He has been brought up to believe that success is a right, not a privilege and therefore is unable to come to terms with the reality of mediocrity. He copes with the situation by fantasising about the future in an attempt to keep his dream of wealth and success alive. He still thinks, "(Biff'll) be great yet. A star like ...
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When Willy's dreams of success for his prodigal elder son Biff are shattered, he subconsciously becomes disenchanted with the American Dream, and chooses to fall into a world of illusion in order to cope with his broken dream. He has been brought up to believe that success is a right, not a privilege and therefore is unable to come to terms with the reality of mediocrity. He copes with the situation by fantasising about the future in an attempt to keep his dream of wealth and success alive. He still thinks, "(Biff'll) be great yet. A star like that, magnificent, can never really fade away!" Willy has let the dream take hold of him, and Miller represents this by making it unclear what is fantasy and what is real in Willy's world. The past and the present are juxtaposed together in a confused jumble of recollections and reminiscences. "I was thinking of the Chevvy," he says when he confuses the car he drives to work with the car he owned in 1928. As a result, the drama of the play lies not so much in its events, but in Willy's deluded interpretation and perception of them.
Miller purposely names the main character of the play "Willy Loman" to emphasise the fact that Willy is meant to represent the Everyman. In using this average person as the main character of his play, Miller amalgamates the archetypal tragic hero with the mundane American citizen. Willy therefore is perceived as a contemporary example of a classic tragic hero. It seems that Miller's intention in writing about the death of a salesman, a seemingly mundane occurrence in twentieth-century society, was to express the playwright's own vision of an American society and the nature of individuality. Miller uses Linda as a vessel for his justification of writing about the tragedy of a mediocre individual when she says, "A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man. He works for a company thirty-six years this March, opens up unheard-of territories to their trademark, and now in his old age they take his salary away." Miller is showing how the corruption of the American Dream has lead to such competition for wealth and success that the average person is brutally cut down from office in the race for success. Linda also says about Willy, "... But he's a human being and attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog." Miller is making a political point that in our attempts to fulfil the American Dream we should not sacrifice the well being of the average person.
Miller may be condemning the American Dream in "Death of a Salesman", but he certainly considers it attainable. This is shown in the play, as both Charley and Ben seem to have fulfilled its criteria, albeit in different ways. The way Ben achieved success was by, "When (he) was seventeen, (he) walked into the jungle. And by twenty-one (he) walked out. And by God, (he) was rich!" Miller deliberately creates a vagueness about the way in which Ben creates his fortune, as this is the example that Willy tries to follow, and the lack of detail adds to the feeling of fantasy surrounding the ideas of a pioneering American Dream in the play. Charley on the other hand is seen to be the model character, as he has fulfilled the American Dream in the sense that he is rich, happy and has a successful family, highlighted by Bernard's achievements. He has attained his success through honesty, and is clearly the example that Miller wants us to follow. On the other hand, Ben has a savage and dishonest approach that is condemned by Miller. His savagery is shown when he says to Biff, "Never fight fair with a stranger Biff." He also never seems to offer Willy the kind of support that is expected from a family member. Charley offers advice and charity to Willy, but his words are ignored, as Willy chooses to instead follow the more glamorous dream of Ben's wealth. For example, when Charley says, "You want a job?" Willy refuses the offer. The reason for this is that acceptance would have been tantamount to admitting that Charley's philosophy was the right one. As Charley has clearly fulfilled the American Dream, the play cannot be seen to be condemning it, but merely showing that it is unattainable for the majority. Although paradoxically Charley has fulfilled the American Dream by ignoring it.
The success of Bernard, "Gonna argue a case in front of the Supreme Court." Shows the merits of Charley's philosophy on life: "My salvation is that I never took any interest in anything." This shows that Charley's approach is the complete antithesis of Willy's. The fact that Charley has been successful, and Willy a failure, is a clear condemnation of Willy's huge aspirations for wealth.
Biff tries to break away from Willy's ideas of the American Dream, and his incessant quest for wealth and improved social status. He realises that, although the possibility of property and wealth are open to many in the city, he is more suited to physical labour, as he does not have the entrepreneurial skills required to make it in the city. "I looked up at the sky... and I realised what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been." He can admit to being an average human being, something that Willy finds beyond him, as is shown when he tells Willy that "Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you!". Biff also realises that Charley is fulfilling the American Dream and so looks to him for inspiration, which even leads Linda to say "Then make Charley your father, Biff. You can't do that can you?" as she sees Biff's references to Charley as an act of betrayal of Willy. Biff actually openly condemns Willy's ideology when he says "He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong." At the end of the play when he chooses to leave the city, Biff has clearly discarded the American Dream imposed upon him by society and instead has chosen to fulfil his own dream, showing that he knows who he is. He is happy in himself spiritually, but does not have the property and material wealth mentioned in the American Dream.
Happy on the other hand becomes caught up in his father's misdirected dream. "I'm gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have-to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I'm gonna win it for him." Happy's statement in the Requiem that he will follow his father's dream gives the play a rather hopeless cyclical feeling. Happy is not able to see himself for what he is, unlike his brother, who finally has an epiphany of who he is and what he stands for. It is as though Miller is admitting that it is impossible to stop people pursuing the foolish dream of material wealth and try to find their own dreams rather than the one society dictates that Americans should follow.
The play is a criticism of the American Dream, as Miller sees it to be inaccessible to the majority of Americans, and to the average person, largely leading to despair and failure rather than the wealth and happiness promised. He therefore claims that the most important idea in life is to know your own limitations, and find a dream that is within your limitations.
Words: 1569
Charlie Smith
6.1 Coursework
