The American Dream In Death Of A Salesman Willy
America was founded on freedoms. The Declaration of Independence states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Rakove, 77). This was the birth of the American Dream. Immigrants flocked to America in search of a richer and fuller life with happiness. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman documents the downward spiral of Willie Loman’s aspirations and hopes for the American Dream which lead to his suicide. The film “revolves around the last twenty-four hours in the life of Willy Loman, a sixty-three-year old traveling salesman whose ideas of success conflict with the reality that he is living” (Sickels 76). Willie wanted the perfect life, but discovered it was more challenging than he fantasized. Many themes are evident throughout the film. One central theme is abandonment which is evidenced by Willy’s brother, his dad, and his son severing their relationships with him. At the beginning of the film, Willy’s very successful brother Ben has recently passed away, which contributes to Willy’s belief that Ben is the model for success in the American Dream. Throughout the film,
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Demonstrating his desperation, Willy imagines Ben and repetitively asks him to “Please tell about Dad.” He craved for Ben to tell his sons about their grandfather. Willy can only “remember is a man with a big beard”, being in his mother’s lap around a fire and “some kind of high music” (Act 1). This high pitched music heard throughout the film represents the flute which Willy’s father played. With Willy’s father and older brother deserting him to live their own lives, Willy has no male role models to look up to which results in his ineffectiveness as a father. This is shown when Willy fails to teach his son Biff how to develop into a successful business
Demonstrating his desperation, Willy imagines Ben and repetitively asks him to “Please tell about Dad.” He craved for Ben to tell his sons about their grandfather. Willy can only “remember is a man with a big beard”, being in his mother’s lap around a fire and “some kind of high music” (Act 1). This high pitched music heard throughout the film represents the flute which Willy’s father played. With Willy’s father and older brother deserting him to live their own lives, Willy has no male role models to look up to which results in his ineffectiveness as a father. This is shown when Willy fails to teach his son Biff how to develop into a successful business