Teo Irisarri
HIST-T121-F01
Death of A Salesman Reflection
In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller analyzes the American Dream by portraying a few days in the life of a broken down salesman named Willy Loman. The concept of the American Dream as we have come to analyze it, while a definite goal of many people, remains particular to everyone. Willy's version of the American Dream is quite different from most people's though; it is fundamentally based on other's perception of him and focuses on achieving monetary successes rather than reaching for something that will make him happy. Willy's fixation on superficial qualities contrast drastically with the traditional interpretation of the American Dream which identifies hard work and perseverance as the key to success.
Death of a Salesman is Miller's critique of those who place to much stress on material gain, instead of the more admirable values of the Dream exemplified by the likes of Ben Franklin and Andrew Carnegie. Willy never truly achieves the "American Dream" because he never actually follows his aspirations and instead deludes himself into thinking that success is easy to obtain and that he is deserving of it. Realistically however, he becomes so faithfully attached to his stunted version of the American Dream that it leads to his psychological decline and ultimately; is the reason behind his demise.
Willy believes that the only things important in life are the successes he has achieved and the amount of friends he...
