The American play, Death of a Salesman, follows the trend of being part of American drama. American drama has traditionally been concerned with the conflict between the goals and concerns of individuals and the values of society in general. One of the main characters, Willy, is the person struggling against the commonly accepted beliefs of society. The accepted and known belief in this novel is the American Dream. Willy rejects the dream which includes a house, car, property, and money, which are all obtained my some form of work.
If a person works hard, they will succeed. Willy agrees with its converse. Willy does not understand the American Dream. He believes that if a person were well liked, they will always be highly successful. For instance, an allusion was made to Uncle Charley, which stated he was liked, but not well liked. Willy is brainwashing his kids away from society. Before he committed suicide, Willy should have faced reality himself. Willy has proved to be very unhappy about what he has amounted to in life.
In society, everyone knows that in order to succeed, one must have an education, be secure for the future, and work for money to become successful. The world is made up of dreamers and doers. Willy is a dreamer. By taking his own advice, he hasnt amounted to anything or anyone throughout his life. This play has been publicly criticized in a way in which supports the theory of those who struggle against society will lose in life by an Online Literary Criticism Collection.
This collection expressed Willy as being a man in need of a savior. Society works hard to achieve its goals. Meanwhile, here is Willy, a man who cant tell the difference in his mind about 1928 and 1944, with no discernable boundaries. Willy finally realized he has been wrong about his view on society because nature finally took its course in the role of reality. Willy tried to kill himself because he no longer has anything going for him. He has remained unsuccessful, and nothing more. His American Dream was thrown down in trash!
