Death Of A Salesman American Dream Essay

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The play is set during the late 1940’s, a time where people are trying prosper after World War II. In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the playwright uses the theme of The American Dream and how it affects Willy and his family as the focal point of the play. Miller uses this time period to help develop the theme of The American Dream within the play. In 1949, America experienced an economic boom due to their success in World War II. Miller uses the character of Willy to demonstrate to the audience what the average individual in America was going through. Willy uses Biff as a representation of himself to reflect and symbolize on his ideal of the American Dream. Miller uses Willy as a symbolic element, allowing the audience to…show more content…
Since Willy never became a successful salesman, he remains confident that his son Biff will become one because of his good looks and his past glory in high school. Making Willy feel the need to live his life vicariously through Biff, “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” (Miller 8). Willy’s over ambition has led to the destruction of his future, yet he overlooks the consequences he was presented with for living up to society’s standards and continues to pursue his American Dream through his son Biff. Willy fails to accept that his flaws led to the destruction of Biff’s future, if it wasn’t for Willy’s poor judgment Biff could have had a chance to attend university, but it all ended when Biff found his father in a hotel room giving his mistress Linda’s stocking “You - you gave her Mama's stockings!” (Miller 89). Upon Biff’s discovery of his father's affair, he goes into a state of shock, failing to attend his final course making his attempt to attend a university hopeless. Biff soon comes to realization that his dreams do not accommodate his fathers, he would rather work on a field without knowing if he has a secure future ahead of him than follow his father’s path and suffer the harsh

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