American Dream (M7D1)
What is the American Dream? Seeing the American dream through the eyes of others in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. To prepare for our discussion, please read: •Act I of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Miller, Arthur (1949) Death of a Salesman. ACT I. [Premiered on Broadway in New York, recipient of 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play]. Retrieved from http://www(dot)pelister(dot)org/literature/ArthurMiller/Miller_Salesman.pdf •“The American Dream in ‘Death of a Salesman.’” Bradford, Wade “The American Dream in ‘Death of a Salesman.’” [What does Willie Loman sell?]. Retrieved from About.com at http://plays(dot)about(dot)com/od/plays/a/themesales.htm As you read the first act of the play and Bradford’s article, think about the following questions: 1.How would you define the “American Dream”? 2.How do you think the play’s protagonist, Willie Loman, would define the “American Dream”? 3.How would Willie’s sons define the “American Dream”? 4.What values do you see Willie trying to instill in his sons? 5.Based on your reading of the first act in Death of a Salesman, what do you think the dramatist, Arthur Miller, could be saying about the “American Dream” and/or American values? 6.What lines from Act I could you use to support your responses on questions 2 through 5? Wade Bradford, in his “American Dream” article about Miller’s Death of a Salesman, states: “It has often been said that Death of a Salesman is a harsh criticism of the American Dream. However, it may be that Miller wanted to clarify our definition: What is the American Dream? The answer depends on which character you ask.” In an initial response of no less than 250 words, respond to the following question: Describe your reaction to the first act in Death of a Salesman, sharing your thoughts on what it means to pursue the “American Dream” and what the play could be saying about pursuing some version of the “American Dream,” using at least two (2) quotes from a character to illustrate and support your points.
American Dream
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The American dream is one of the most elusive aspects of the American life and the aspiration of the American people. The American dream can thus be defined as one of the philosophies that give people paper dreams and hopes but take away the means to accomplish even the simplest of their personal goals. As such most of the people are caught up in the rat race, trying to live beyond their means and in a distant time while everything around has changed (Bradford, 2014).
According to the protagonist and one of the main characters in the play, Willie Loman, to live the American dream one has to be well liked and thus must possess great charismatic elements. According to him, one does not have to work hard rather they just need to have a great personality and success will follow. He even tries to instill in his two boys the aspects about life and success that do not involve hard work, and tells them to rely on their charisma.
“LINDA : I don’t know. I think he’s still lost, Willy. I think he’s very lost.
WILLY : Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such — personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker. There’s one thing about Biff — he’s not lazy.
LINDA : Never.
WILLY (with pity and resolve): I’ll see him in the morning; I’ll have a nice talk with him. I’ll get him a job selling. He could be big in no time. My God! Remember how they used to follow him around in high school? When he smiled at one of them their faces lit up. When he walked down the street... (He loses himself in reminiscences.)” (Miller, 1949)
Like Willie, Happy believes that the American dream is all about the charisma one carries around them. This is due to the fact that he followed in the footsteps of his father rather than find his own path. In the case of Biff the first born son to Willie, hard work and passio...