The play Death of a salesman is indeed an anatomy of the American dream especially because the plot of the story revolves around some of the basic material gains that individuals in the American society yearn for. This is evident from the onset of the play when the lead character Willy Loman arrives home after a failed work mission and immediately embarks on blaming some of his woes on his under-achieving son Biff.
From the flashback Willy is disappointed that Biff was a representation of a bright future when he was much younger but turned out completely different on growing up (Miller 1-3). This is definitely what happens to most families in the American society where individuals get into life hoping to have all the best in terms of material wealth as well as have families that would be the envy of most of their neighbors (G.Perkins, B. Perkins and Phelan 1928).
Fathers and mothers have dreams of how their children would be even more successful and they (the parents) tend to bend their children towards growing up in this direction which is sometime informed by the parents’ failure to achieve certain goals in their own childhoods. Unfortunately, in most cases, the children tend to have their own wishes and aims and in the process of trying to fulfill the desires of their hearts they end up disappointing their parents.
The rant by Willy about not taking the opportunity to accompany his brother on his mission to Alaska and Africa, and therefore missing on the chance to become as wealthy as Ben is a complete revelation of how individuals in the American society fail to appreciate the little blessings they have in their wish to have everything. This desire for all the best of things in the world is the guiding principle of the American dream and figuratively speaking it is the primary fuel that keeps the fire burning.
In society most people would not appreciate the fact that they are lucky to have three square meals a day and even the potential to bear children just because they can see other individuals living better than them. If the sons that Willy found a failure were to be taken out of his life by him not being given the ability for procreation, it is definitely predictable that Willy would start complaining about his inadequacy as a man.
It is Willy’s inability to attain most of his heart’s desires that leads him to committing suicide. His son, Biff, also responds to his own inability to achieving the American dream by resorting to theft. He regards his kleptomaniac state as a way of rebelling against the corporate world which he could not penetrate. In the American society, most individuals would resort to inappropriate ways of dealing with their frustrations and Biff’s case is not unusual.
The American dream leads individuals to always want appreciation from other people in society. Almost everybody would do anything to become popular and when they fail to do so, they enter into a realm of self-pity. This is evident by Linda’s disappointment at the small attendance of Willy’s funeral. Ideally Linda should be saddened by the loss of a life partner to notice such a small thing as they number of people at the funeral.
It should actually not matter whether it is only the direct family members who show up at the burial but as a person wishing to achieve significance in society, Linda’s hope is that her social network is big enough for people to appreciate her pain.
Works Cited
Miller, Arthur. Death of a salesman: A play in two acts. New York City: Dramatists Play Service, 1952. Print.
Perkins, George, Barbara Perkins & James Phelan. The American Tradition in Literature, Volume II. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.