Death of a Salesman and the American DreamEssay Preview: Death of a Salesman and the American DreamReport this essayThe character of Willy Loman was one of these people. He worked his entire life to be able to provide for his family and give them everything they desired. Throughout the play of Death of a Salesman the main worries that Willy had always seemed to revolve around two ideas. The money he had and wished to have, and the way that others perceived him. To Willy and many other people back in that day and age image was everything. How did he look? Did he have a lot of friends? Did people know who he was? These were all questions that were in Willys head constantly. He mentions many times in the book how so many people know and like him and how so many doors open for well-liked people. For example in the play he states, “America is full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England. The finest people. And when I bring you fellas up, therell be open sesame for all of us, cause one thing boys: I have friends” (Miller 31).
The second main worry that Willy Loman always had was dreaming of all of the objects that he wish he could have and the little money that he actually had. The only thing is that when he did actually own the nice objects all he did was worry about how he would pay off the bills for it. He was always worrying about paying for it, or paying to fix it. He was never just content. This happened with his car, his refrigerator, and many other objects that he just had to have. As he states in the play, “Once in my life I would like to own something outright before its broken! Im always in a race with the junk yard! I just finished paying for the car and its on its last legs. The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddam maniac. They time those things. They time them so when you finally paid for them, theyre used up” (Miller 73). Willy was always struggling with something. He could never just be happy with his family and the objects they already had.
Along with the ideal of the American dream also comes struggle. Whether it is struggling to obtain an object or an image, it is always a reoccurring theme in every American life, and in every tradgedy. The character of Willy Loman is not one that would be looked at as a hero like Oedipus or Hamlet. He was just an average man that was trying to become above average. He was not born of noble stature or given a predestined fate. He was simply just trying to attain a dream that is unattainable. If Willy Loman would have just looked at himself in the mirror and said that he was a great man and had a great family then maybe he would have been able to actually live happily ever after instead of ending his life as he did. As Miller states in his essay “I think the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing–his sense of personal dignity” (Millers essay). Willy was
I have used the Problem of the Dream Character as a theme or as part of their essay, along with a set of questions about what the characters will look like to you. A simple answer to: “Will is a ideal-looking, idealistic American who is not concerned only with the personal needs of his family, but with the needs of the community. This will not be an accident.
This isn’t to say that this person is the ideal of the dream character, or that he is either completely or partially idealistic. He is simply a man from his day to day daily. This is not a point of reference. He’s a man living his life in a dream-like state, because he is always able to experience a vision from a position of pride that he would never take again. He is also a man having a dream of who is to appear in his dreams and the role of this dream persona, the one he creates during life. This idea is so powerful that it can change the characters of dreams. A dream is created with different people and ways in which it changes characters, but these changes create new types of characters, characters that have changed. It can be as simple or as complex as it seems. For example, when Miller writes:
How to get past the bad dreams you see in your family:
For some people, it’s hard to imagine that their children had a dream. Or that they were able to relate to their mother. Or that their friends had a dream. And if those characters were a part of their personalities, then the dream would be at least as strong in them as the dream if not stronger. But most people are really more emotionally focused than others. In many cases they are still unable to deal with the negative emotions that are associated with these two things. When a family person talks about a dream, he is talking directly to the family member. The people and the feelings are different. How different is it to say someone has a dream and that it is all bad in the end? But no matter how much you try to answer the question as to what the dream persona will look like, don’t get angry at the dream persona. Don’t give it away. You might not be able to deal with the dream characters for a half an hour. But in the end don’t become the dream. The dream may make you a man, and make you the Dream Girl.
The next section will be written when we will look more closely at why the dream character could be idealized. As Miller states:
The second important difference is that one’s dream persona has an underlying desire for a dream. The dream persona feels an inner power that motivates and holds true to you, both physically and emotionally, that is connected to a shared story or story about what happened that day that is your story and story does not need your story or your story do not need any of the things you say. It’s not like you want to go to the zoo with elephants, you want to go to the museum. The only way to express that is to love your dream. You love your dream. It’s just like you put on your shoes and your shoes are going to make you feel like a man. Or you want to go see the movie,