Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how, in "Death of a Salesman", Miller focuses on failure in a society that is obsessed with success. Willy Loman, an unsuccessful salesman, is the main character who falls prey to the propaganda of a society that shuns unsuccessful people. It shows how, through the use of his characters, themes, and symbols, Miller shows his audience how a man who believes in the "American Dream" as it has been marketed to him can ultimately be destroyed by it.

From the Paper:

"Willy's obsession with the American dream is symbolic of the unattainable, as well as of the flaws of the dream. Willy lives his entire life in pursuit of the American dream yet never attains it. The American dream represented opportunity and freedom for all, in Willy's eyes, and he believed that all he needed to do was work hard and become popular. According to Willy, "the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates a personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want (p. 21)." However, hard work left him with nothing. The Samerican dream did little more than make Willy harshly judge himself and those around him by their material accumulation, as is demanded by capitalism and the American dream."

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