Washington 1 Jalyn Washington
English 101
Professor Macy
12 April 2015
The Dream
The American Dream has many definitions. There are many different answers to describe Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. The American Dream in the late 1940s was to have the “perfect American household”(The American Dream). This was to have a house in the suburbs, a steady job, being married, having a few kids, and keeping up with the Jones’. Death of a Salesman is a harsh criticism of the American Dream. The American Dream in Miller’s play is depicted as the ability to become prosperous by being well liked, the ability to start from nothing to something, and pursuing others dream. It also depends on which character is asked: Willy Loman, Ben, and Biff’s American Dream.
Willy Loman’s American Dream is the ability to become prosperous by popularity. Willy believes that personality, not hard work and innovation, is the key to success. Time and again, he wants to make sure his boys are well-liked and popular. For example, when his son Biff confesses to making fun of his math teacher’s lisp, Willy is more concerned with how Biff’s classmates react. Biff says he crossed his eyes and talked with a lisp (Miller 1770). Willy giggles and asked him did the kids like it and Biff responds with “They nearly died laughing!”(Miller). They all make fun of Bernard at the beginning of the movie. Willy marks Mr. Bernard for getting his stuff together and says “Oh well he won’t ever amount to anything like you Biff” (Miller). Once, his wife asked him about the money he made and he lies to her about how he sold thousands. Even though Biff was the king of popularity in high school, Biff grew up to be a thief and a ranch-hand. Willy’s own career falters as his sales ability drop off the face of the Earth. He tries to use his personality to ask his boss for a raise, he gets fired instead. His version of the American Dream is not what he gets.
Ben is Willy’s filthy rich older brother. His vision of the American Dream is to go from rags to riches. This is to start with nothing and turn your nothing into fortune. “William, when I walked into the jungle, I was seventeen. When I walked out I was twenty-one. And, by God, I was rich (Miller)!” Willy has always been jealous of his brother’s success. Willy’s wife Linda is frightened when Ben stops by for a visit. She thinks he represents wildness and danger. For example, when Biff started to win a sparring match, Ben trips him and stands over him with the point of the umbrella aimed at Biff’s eye. Ben’s character signifies that a few people can make it out the struggle to achieve greatness but still one must be a little wild to obtain the American Dream.
Biff is Willy’s golden child. He doesn’t really have a clear mindset of what the dream is. He is more for living for his father. Biff wanted to pursue a football career at UVA because his father said he would be a star. The only thing that stopped him was his horrible math grade. There is a shift of what Biff feels after discovering his father’s infidelity. He is no longer happy with his father but confused and angry. Biff does have potential to pursue the “right” dream but he is stuck in between two different dreams. If he should pursue his father’s world of business and sales, or should he give his dream of nature, and working with his hands a try. He tries to explain this to his brother. Biff says that there ups and downs with working on a ranch. By the end of the play, Biff realizes that his father was the one that had the wrong dream. Willy wanted Biff to live for what he couldn’t do because he lived an empty life. During Willy’s funeral, Biff decides to walk away from the dream because he will not allow that to happen to himself.
Willy was a nut case. He was a delusional person who thought he was loved by everyone. Death of a Salesman is a slap in the face on the American Dream. Americans insist that the American Dream is never fully attainable. What good has the American Dream done for Willy? It left him with heart ache and pain. The American Dream in Miller’s play is depicted as the ability to become prosperous by being well liked, the ability to start from nothing to something, and pursuing others dream. At the end, Willy commits suicide, so there is nothing good that comes out of the American Dream.


Works Cited
Miller, Arthur. “Death of a Salesman” Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2013. 1765-1831. Print.
“The American Dream of the 1940s & 1950s.” Ultra Swank RSS. N.p.,n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.