Death of a Salesman and the American Dream - Essay Example

Death of a Salesman and the American Dream: A Critical Response This literary masterpiece by Arthur Miller, the Death of a Salesman, is too often described as the fallibility of the American Dream. It has become almost common lore to treat this text as a manifestation of its author’s distaste for the pursuit of money and material success. A closer reading of the text, and a more careful analysis of the characters, demonstrates that the fatal flaws may reside in the characters rather than in the romantic American ideal. The pursuit of the American Dream, for instance, did not doom Willy Loman’s neighbor, Ben, to a life of regret and misery; quite the contrary, Ben retired to a life of material comfort and took emotional pride in the fact that his son had become an intelligent and successful attorney. It would therefore be too simplistic to advocate an interpretation that denigrated the pursuit of the American Dream as a sole causal factor. To be sure, the text does not bear out such a narrow reading; the fact is that Willy Loman’s own personal interpretation of the American Dream, rather than the American Dream itself, led to his downfall and to his personal failures. As a preliminary matter, Willy Loman viewed the American Dream as a sort of hoax that the clever played on their fellow citizens. Wealth and success were obtained by misdirection, by charm, rather than through hard work and sincere relationships with other people. Early on in the play he proclaims that charm is the superior virtue, rather than talent or hard work, by stating “The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want” (Miller, 1949: Act 1). Being liked is not normally a sole basis for success in the American business world. To be sure, many of the most successful businessmen are despised and feared. The text, therefore, cannot be construed as an attack on the American Dream in and of itself. Willy is constantly defining his own terms in ways which are sometimes at odds with reality. The charm of which he is so confident does not appear self-evident to other characters in the play; at one point, for instance, Willy’s own wife, Linda, states rather matter-of-factly that “Willie Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. Hes not the finest character that ever lived. But hes a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. Hes not to be allowed to fall in his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person” (Miller, 1949: Act 1). His own wife admits that her husband may have pursuing something other than the American Dream. Willy had been pursuing a sense of recognition, a boost to his own self-importance, and attention from the people around him. These pursuits, while understandable, are not necessarily those associated with the American Dream. In the final analysis, Willy’s attempts to be well-liked affected his life in ways which made the American Dream less accessible for him. In addition, this superficiality was buttressed by Willy Loman’s view that the American Dream was achieved individually rather than with the help of friends or family. He didn’t identify himself as being a part of a team or as a part of a larger whole. Instead, he attempted to make the dream his own by setting himself up as something greater than other people. When asked about his interest in moving, Willy responds “They dont need me in New York. Im the New England man. Im vital in New England” (Miller, 1949: Act 1). He is neither a contributor nor a simple salesman. He views himself as vital, as more important than other people or the company, and in this way begins to define the American Dream according to his own ego. In addition, rather than focussing on hard work, a cornerstone of the American Dream as it is more commonly understood, Willy interprets it as flowing from charm rather than discipline, integrity, or hard work. At one point he remarks that, “Personality always wins the day” (Miller, 1949: Act 1); at another point, he extols the virtues of being handsome and sociable. If not particularly admirable, Willy is at least consistent. He is consistent in defining the American Dream in his own terms, as the product of charm and presentation rather than substance and sincerity. What this play demonstrates, rather than the fallibility of the American Dream, is an individual who has taken his opportunities for granted. He has wasted his opportunities for a secure and confortable retirement. He has wasted his opportunity to enjoy a contented and happy family life in his twilight years. These losses flow from his misinterpretation of the means to success, and not any fundamental flaw with the American ideal of a materially and emotionally comfortable life. The American Dream, whether as a part of a company or as a part of a family, do not tolerate the selfish type of individualism and egoism in which Willy indulged himself. Finally, a comparative analysis, involving Willy and Ben, illustrates the accessibility of the American Dream for those who understand it properly. Ben is neither bitter nor filled with regret as the play nears its end. Rather, Ben has earned a comfortable retirement, has proven a positive role model for his successful son, and has even retained a spirit generous enough to try and help Willy when he is in trouble. Both men are roughly the same age and have the same concerns. Yet, the American Dream seems to have been fulfilled in Ben’s case whereas Willy laments that “After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive” (Miller, 1949: Act 2) and that “Ive got to get some seeds. Ive got to get some seeds, right away. Nothings planted. I dont have a thing in the ground” (Miller, 1949: Act 2). Ben is embraced and secure. Willy, on the other hand, feels deceived and abandoned. The cruel irony is that Willy praised deception and charm as his greatest attributes, and at the end he may have fallen victim to these very illusions. Had this play been a stinging indictment of the American Dream, then Ben and his son’s characters would not have been possible. Their existence, when contrasted with Willy and Happy in particular, suggests that the fatal flaws are better allocated to Willy’s view of himself and the world than with America or the outside world itself. To sum up, a critical response to the play’s text demands a more nuanced interpretation of Arthur Miller’s work. It is simply not enough to claim that Miller was engaged in an attack on the American Dream generally or the pursuit of wealth and security more particularly. Such an interpretation ignores the ways in which Willy created his own sense of self-importance, and attempted to transcend the truer pillars of the American Dream. His individualism, in a sense, was simply too extreme and exclusive. In this way, the dream that he claimed to be pursuing wasn’t really American or even a New England dream, but instead a Willy Loman dream. It is here, by defining the difference between the American Dream and Willy Loman’s own aspirations and illusions, that a more complete interpretation can be accomplished. This more complete interpretation would reaffirm the possibility of obtaining the American Dream, some false premises that doomed Willy Loman, and the limits of individualism, vanity and pride. Works Cited Miller, Arthur (! 949). “Death of a Salesman.” Iowa State University. Accessed June 20, 2007 Read More