If one were to ask, “define the ‘American Dream’ ”, not one definition can sum up this traditionalistic belief. Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”, depicts conflicts within the Loman family, while addressing larger affairs regarding American culture, more specifically Willy Loman’s blind view of the American Dream. Miller not only broadcasts the cost of blind belief in the American Dream but places ‘charges’ on America with a false advertisement to its people, that which is constructed around
symbols and motifs that are recurring symbolic elements that create the theme in the story. Miller uses many symbolic items throughout the play that have meaning outside of what he is saying. Motifs are structures or literary devices that develop and inform the text’s major themes of the stories. Willy uses the mythic figures of adonis and hercules to describes his sons, Happy and Biff. He believes his son are the definition of “personal attractiveness” and are “well-liked.” To Willy, his sons were
Death of a Salesman, many motifs and symbols were embedded within the text to convey deeper meaning beyond what is literally happening. The most important motif is using foreign lands, like Alaska, Africa and the American West, to portray missed opportunity. It calls to question the benefits of living a “typical” American lifestyle like the Lomans’ live. Willy Loman’s father became rich off of living in Alaska, an adventurous lifestyle, the exact opposite of what Willy was achieving as a New England
Salesman, Miller utilizes symbols and motifs to explore the manner in which the common man displays qualities of a tragic hero. In Death of a Salesman, Miller intricately examines American life and consumerism. In creating Willy Loman – the protagonist of the play – Miller wrote a destructively insecure anti-hero. Willy is often shown to be obsessed with the concept of the “American Dream,” a recurring motif in the play. This concept is something that Willy strives to achieve in the duration of
In the play, Death of a Salesman, the Lomans are a typical middle class family struggling to support themselves while the rest of the world seems to thrive around them. Willy Loman believes that how he carries himself is the most important trait needed to prosper in all aspects. His idea of success is similar to that of the concept that arises from Survival of the Fittest: the people who are born with the right set of skills are bound to be well adapted to their surroundings and naturally better