The_American_Dream_in_Death_of_a_Salesmen

While reading and watching Death of a Salesmen one could really connect to the characters and situations. One of the main themes throughout the play was obtaining the American dream. Although there are many versions of the American dream, most people strive toward it. Willy, who is the main character has a dream set in his head and never stops working toward it no matter what. Throughout the play, Death of a Salesman written by Author Miller, there were many instances dealing with Willy’s version of the American dream and Willy’s skewed ideas. Willy’s thought of this dream, is what weakened his family and eventually led to his downfall. Personally, I think this hurt his family the most. One reason being, that since he was the bread winner he always had full control of the family’s affairs. He was also very short tempered because he was so unhappy. He would even put his family in grave danger for that same reason. Finally because he had this view, Willy wouldn’t even take a job with people who respected him so he could provide for his family. This twisted view also seemed to make Willy feel like a failure in life. The biggest reason being that everyone around him was successful in their eyes or at least happy with their life. The neighbors who were around the same age as his family had decent and happy lives but Willy’s family didn’t. There was also his older brother Ben who, “went into the jungle and came out rich.” Ben went out and got what he wanted, something Willy could never do. Lastly, since Willy was so dead set on obtaining his version of the American dream, it became an obsession. He had become so narrow minded that he would never give anything but his beliefs a second thought. Although he was a good carpenter, Willy never perused it as a career. Unlike his father, who made and sold his own flutes, which also bothered him. Then, when Willy was offered a good job, he turned it down because it wasn’t noble enough for him. After that, the job Willy did have, fired him and he was left with nothing. In Conclusion this play was great and really interesting. Although I personally, didn’t completely agree with Willy’s thoughts or actions many people will and have. I say this because, in the end he was just a selfish person and it didn’t get him anything but heart ache.