The American Dream

• The American Dream: Contradictions

  The idea of the American Dream is central to the play. Much of Willy's insecurity comes from his idealisation of this concept and his contradictory ways he understands it.
• The dream

  • As Miller states in his long opening stage direction describing the Loman household, “An air of the dream clings to the place…”
  • Miller does not try to disguise that this “dream” is the Lomans’ version of the American Dream: the idea that success and happiness are available to all Americans willing to work hard and grasp the opportunities that become available to them.
• Mythology

  • This dream is ingrained in the mythology of America.
  • Willy, despite his struggles in New England, does not question his belief that America is “the greatest country in the world” where success is open to all who seek it out.
• Use of language

  • Indeed, as Willy tells Ben, “that’s the wonder, the wonder of this country”, the repetition of “wonder” helping to communicate the awe Willy still feels at the opportunities available in America.
• Contradictions

  • Unfortunately, Willy creates his own version of the American Dream, basing it on ideals or values which are contradictory and work against each other.
  • Willy never settles in his own mind which is the more important: to show the ruthless, competitive spirit of Ben (“Never fight fair with a stranger, boy”) or rely on the charisma (“personal attractiveness”) displayed by characters such as Dave Singleman.
• Ben

  • As Willy tries to convince Ben, “it’s not what you do, Ben. It’s who you know and the smile on your face!”
  • Ben, however, is unconvinced, believing that a man has to “fight” to succeed.
• The Loman's Reality

  Part of Willy’s tragedy is caused by the fact that he has based his version of the dream on people he has barely known.
• Guiding examples

  • Willy was abandoned by his father at an early age, then later by his brother, Ben.
  • Dave Singleman is another character recreated from Willy’s memories.
  • Every one of these three guiding examples is an idealised, romanticised figure rather than a real person.
• Myth

  • Willy judges himself, and his sons, against mythical figures - he chooses fantasy over reality.
  • This blurring of fantasy and reality is seen in the lies or myths that the Lomans tell each other in which they pretend that they are a success.
• Delusions

  • Willy insists that he “averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in the year of 1928” but Howard simply does not believe him.
  • Happy boasts that he is an “assistant buyer” whereas he is only “one of two assistants to the assistant”.
• Reality

  • Biff realises that he was never the budding success story his father held him up to be: “Dad, I don’t know who said it first, but I was never a salesman for Bill Oliver”.
  • As Biff sums up at the play’s climax, they have judged themselves against “a phony dream” and, as a family, have “never told the truth for ten minutes in this house!”
• Critiquing the American Dream

  Ultimately, Miller’s play critiques Willy’s corrupted version of the American Dream, rather than the Dream itself.
• Critique

  • Miller himself admitted that he wanted to expose “the bullshit of capitalism” and his play offers a powerful critique of the American Dream in which, ultimately, success and self-worth are judged in shallow, material terms such as property, career, household luxuries etc. leading to the tragedy of Willy ultimately valuing his own life at the $20,000 to be collected from his life insurance policy.
• The people not the dream

  • However, in 1958, Miller reminded readers and audiences that “The most decent man in ‘Death of a Salesman’ is a capitalist (Charley) whose aims are not different from Willy Loman’s. The great difference is that Charley is not a fanatic… Charley’s boy, Bernard, works hard, attends to his studies, and attends a worthwhile objective.”