Death Of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman and The American Dream On close examination of “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, the idea of the American Dream and its’ presence and significance throughout the play is huge. The American Dream offers those who start with nothing, the opportunity to gain riches. It dates back to the early history of America, in which pioneers conquered the wilderness of the frontier. Ben demonstrates this to Willy saying, “William, when I walked into the jungle I was 17. When I walked out, I was 21. And, by God, I was rich!” (p.40). The characteristics for success are thought to be masculinity, competitiveness and popularity. The allegory was that becoming rich was a simple matter of using your personal qualities as an individual. The other great myth that prompted people to work hard was that America was “The land of opportunity”. Thus, the logic of these myths is that failure to achieve the American Dream must be caused by a failure in the personality of the individual and could in know way be due to a flaw in the system. Obvious parallels between this train of thought and that of characters in the play can be drawn; both Willy and Biff hold themselves responsible for their lack of success and its’ negative
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 921
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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