Death_of_a_Slaes_Man

English Essay Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” is an astronomical critique of the American Dream. The issues of “appearances over reality”, “materialism” and “social status” are all common factors in the play Death of a Salesman – which can relate to the issues faced when chasing the American Dream. Miller carefully plays with these issues in the play to show what following the American Dream can cause. Emphasising great status on wealth and success can weaken any reputable morals an individual would have. Creating pressure on society to live the American Dream can produce feelings of low self-worth if it is not gotten hold of, pushing people to go further to accomplish it. It motivates people to go so far that anything stopping it is surpassed by any means necessary. The American Dream does not contain of being honest and true, it is about having the success and wealth that comes with it. By the actions of Willy Loman, it becomes clear that the morals and values he once had were damaged by his overwhelming need to gain the American Dream. Lying and cheating are a few of the many instances of the poor morals the Loman family stands by. Superficial qualities such as: popularity and personal attractiveness are a few of the qualities Willy feels are most vital. By pointing out the false values shown in the play it becomes easier to comprehend that the American Dream is what drives these values. Willy becomes so anxious to achieve his dream; he is willing to do whatever it takes. During the play, Willy encourages his son Biff to cheat so he is can pass his state exam gaining him acceptance to University. “Didn’t Bernard give you the answers”. This isn’t the only the time Willy encourages bad morals – Willy when told multiple times that he’s son Biff is a thief he constantly knocks it off and doesn’t see anything wrong with it. Willy says, “shut up”, with great force when told Biff is being chased by the cops. Willy stresses Biff's success because it takes him that much closer to his dream. The way Arthur Miller represents the Loman family truly criticises the fact that wealth and success are not the most significant qualities in real life. The American Dream focuses on material things, as a result it makes a money-oriented world; a world where the most important thing is having luxuries that are coveted. Throughout the play we see this quality in Willy. Willy is continually trying to improve himself by buying the best and biggest things. When Willy's son Biff is making a dollar an hour it is not good enough. It does not meet Willy's standards. As far as Willy is worried, the possessions you have and money you earn prove success. Willy says “why did we buy a Westinghouse – who has ever heard of a westing house... we should have bought a well-known fridge”. The fridge for Willy is a visual representative of wealth and social status for him – as he has a cheaper fridge he feels like he’s a lower status than Charlie, who owns a well know branded fridge. This shows how phoney and materialistic the American Dream really is. Making the foundation of life on material items generates a world where real, honest feelings and relationships are absent. As Willy's mental welfare begins to worsen, we can see how his overpowering need to have everything causes him to lose sight of everything that is genuine in his life. Appearances in today’s society is too over worked and analysed by anybody living in a developed country. Miller’s play present responders with a powerful critique of post war American life with appearances. Appearance over reality is mostly effectively shown throughout the whole play when Willy constantly calls his sons “Hercules” and “Adonis’s”. The constant repetition of calling his son these Greek gods and saying that they can get by life with looks sets the wrong example by Willy. With the main protagonist, Willy, constantly calling them “Hercules’s” and “Adonis’s” it gave them a false image of themselves – even Biff knows this when he says “you blew me up of hot air”. Biff says this right at the end of the play proving to us Willy’s way of bringing up his children is indeed the wrong way of bringing them up. The further we going into the play we see Willy constantly bringing up appearances, this criticises the fact that appearances don’t go as far as knowledge in real life and the American Dream is flawed. Death of a Salesman is a true criticism of the American Dream. Willy illustrates that the American Dream is unachievable for average people. The Loman family's lack of honest and decent actions helps to emphasize the point that wealth and success can lead to an appalling set of morals and values. Willy's overpowering need to achieve everything uncovers the superficial aspects in the American Dream. By focusing your life on material things, real things become less important and the world around you becomes materialistic. Arthur Miller’s play is a true critique of the American Dream.