Romulus_My_Father

I am going to be giving my speech on human conditions, but constantly refer to the American Dream and how it has been represented in American literature. I will be referencing two texts in my speech, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger. I would firstly like to talk about the American Dream. What is the American dream' The term has been thrown around in American culture since the 1930s. The term was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America, written in 1931. He states “The American Dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” It has many meanings to the different socio-economic classes within America, but it is generally thought to be embedded in every American citizen’s right to prosperity and success. Owning a home is believed by many Americans to be the American dream, as it separates the middle classes from the poor. It can also be identified in success how working class immigrants seek to join the American way of life, or in certain sports. American citizens feel that they need to uphold this dream and its many contexts. It can result in people becoming obsessed in being as successful as possible, and will stop at nothing to achieve it. This often results in failure. My first text, The Catcher in the Rye, written in 1951, is considered to be a classic American novel, and is example of someone struggling with what the American dream is about. In this novel we see Holden Caulfield, a troubled teenage boy with some very ideological views on society. Throughout the book we see American society as it is through Holden’s eyes. Holden feels completely alienated from society. He represents a gentle side in his wish to help other kids from falling into the far depths of society. He states: “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff.” This quote shows Holden’s irregular view of the progress from childhood to adulthood. The Catcher in the Rye illustrates the American Dream by revealing the hardships one must go through while growing up and finding their place in society. Holden is taken aback by how ‘phony’ everyone is. He believes that no one really thinks for themselves and the only creatures that still possess innocence are children. He has a tough battle fighting the progress from childhood to adulthood. Childhood seems to be where all the immaturity and pure innocents are – but adulthood is where all the phonies are. My second text, Death of a Salesman, written in 1949 is also another American classic. It portrays the downfall of a great man. The main character, Willy Loman has lived his life in pursuit of the American Dream. Willy became obsessed with the traditional meaning of the American Dream, opportunity and freedom for all. However, his ambition and hard work amounted to nothing in the end. He did not have the talent to become a salesman. He was blinded, trying to achieve that dream, that he ignored his carpentry skills and his family. He judged himself and all those around him by their material accumulation. He was fascinated by accumulating things, his desire for goods makes him want objects that he neither needed nor could afford. He thinks he needs to buy his wife, Linda, a new refrigerator and stockings even though they were not a necessity. He looked up to people, such as his brother Ben, who became successful in accumulating material wealth. He also punished those who did not work to the ideal of material wealth, such as his son Biff, and himself. His ideals and ambitions became so extreme that he lost sense of reality, and created another reality for himself. The result of this is his suicide. There is also a manner in which he pursues the Dream. He is a salesman, a profession that is associated with trickery and illusion. He could not pursue a noble dream that will give him much respect by doing something that is based in deceit. Both Holden Caulfield and Willy Loman suffered in a similar way. They both became separated from society, and from their families and friends. Both characters believe that they can change things for the better. Holden believes that he can become a ‘catcher’ – which is saving all the children progressing into adulthood – resulting in ‘phoniness’. Holden gets caught up in the pressure of growing up and working for the American Dream. Willy believes that things will change. He believes that it is only a matter of time before he becomes successful, and that things will change for the better. He deceives his family and friends, and also deceives himself. He eventually becomes delusional. He constantly boasts that he is an effective salesman, but the truth is that he is just one of many similar people in America trying to achieve the American Dream. However, there are some differences between the characters. Holden Caulfield is in the progressing stage of life. This stage is where he has to make decisions for himself that will affect his future. Unfortunately for Holden, he is unable to comprehend what exactly he is meant to do. On the other hand, Willy is at the stage where he should have accumulated some wealth, and be preparing to settle down and retire. However, Willy and his family are just scraping by, and Willy refuses to believe that he is an unsuccessful salesman, and cannot face up to his family and say that he has failed. This results in disillusionment, and ultimately suicide. From these two texts, we can see how these human conditions can come into play, and how they affect people. These two texts are good examples of how two different types of people become influenced and troubled by the expectations of society. It changes people. Thank you for listening to my speech.