Dreams in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - 828 Words

What is a man, but, pieces of limbs made into a body and a mind, full of thoughts, beliefs, and dreams - dreams that urges one to try and convinces one to live. What if the dream, the reason to live, leads one to a futile life? In the Death of a Salesman, by playwright Arthur Miller, Willy the main character slowly dies as his dreams demise. In this play, one can discern how people surrounding Willy influenced his dreams and how his dreams influenced himself and his sons’ lives. This is best exemplified by the influence he received from his father, a famous salesman and his wife, who all aided in constructing his life to the wrong dreams and principles, and consequently destructing his sons’ future. Family and people surrounding Willy†¦show more content†¦Receiving incorrect life lessons from his father, as well as the inability of his wife to influence him towards the right direction, shaped Willy’s naà ¯ve dream of becoming a person, whom he was not destined to become. The overwhelming dream of gaining materialistic success blinds Willy to a point that he fails to see his real interests. Marginalizing his actual desires which include operating with hands, he struggles to make a living with his iniquitous dreams of being a salesman. Perhaps, if he opened himself to his real desires he could have â€Å"made it big† as Biff says â€Å"there’s more of him in that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made† (103). In fact Willy longs for a simpler lifestyle as he says to Linda â€Å"you wait, kid, before it’s all over we’re gonna get a little place out in the country, and I’ll raise some vegetables, a couple of chickens† (50). Agonized by his failing in life, he blocks the reality and creates a self-aggrandizing and delusional persona of himself - whom is famous, and well-liked: â€Å"Call out the name Willy Loman and see what happens! Big shot!† (43). However, somewhere inside, he knows that à ¢â‚¬Å"people laugh at him† (43). As Willy slowly realizes his failure in life, the dream of salesman dies within, hence his multiple attempts at suicide. His last hope to keep the dream alive is by proxy and as Biff refuses to become a salesman, Willy shatters inside, and downShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller1127 Words   |  5 PagesMany people dream of the American dream. To have a big house, two kids and a picket fence. In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman every character uses lies and deceit as a way to escape reality. With this said, it is only Biff’s character that is dynamic, realizing the error of his ways. Constantly, each character escapes their problems with deceit. Even Biff remains in this state of falsehood, until he reaches his epiphany. 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