Deception and the America Dream in Death of a Salesman Essay

The concept of the American dream consists of a belief that any single individual has the ability to achieve anything possible. Because of course, most believe that success equals happiness. In Arthur Millers tragedy Death of a Salesman, an insecure and feeble Willy Loman continually strives to accomplish this dream as a mere traveling salesman. Capitalism and the American way of life drives him to assume that a charismatic personality alone is the only necessity to gain easy access to success, so much so that he begins to fail under pressure and even causing damage to his mental health. Thus, Willy Loman stands as any other individual who wishes to take care of his or her loved ones, but is afflicted with the constant demands of the capitalistic society. Unfortunately, his struggle for the American dream directly causes the wrong outlook on life, the poor upbringing of his sons Biff and Happy, and the mental insanity that he endures daily (which tragically leads to his death).

Like any other citizen living in America, Willy Loman has certain needs and desires that he strives to acquire for him and his family, and truly believes that he will accomplish his goals. Although it is unclear what it is exactly that he sells, it is apparent that his strategy is to be well-liked so that he may be able to sell himself. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. (pg.15) This shows that Willy truly believes in the American way of life and feels that his personality is a shoe-in for success. He does not realize that his beliefs are outmoded concepts, and that materialism prevailed, despite the fact that he himself falls victim to the materialistic world. This disillusionment causes Willy to lose touch with reality, affecting his relationships with others as well as his already deteriorating health.

When it comes to his sons Biff and Happy, it is obvious that Biff portrays more charismatic qualities of Willy. Despite Biffs charm and popularity, he has gotten nowhere in life, revealing that it is usually necessary to have some sort of knowledge and skills to earn success. Regardless, Biff is slightly different from Willy in that he realizes his failure (partially due to the distress of finding out his fathers affair) and does not self-deceive nor does he take on any other characteristics of Willy. Happy, on the other hand, somewhat takes after his father in a more mental way and has all the wrong perspectives and motivations. For example, his attitude toward women is quite similar to Willys way of treating them. Willy is also heavily influenced by the success of his older brother Ben and highly looks up to him. By repeating, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. Any by God I was rich, (pg. 19) Ben shows that a capitalistic society can in fact produce wealth. However, Willy does not catch the fact that Ben has a feeling of emptiness inside, despite his success. As a result, Willy neither learns the true meaning of the American dream nor does he set example for his children and their future.

From the start, Willy appears to be mentally unstable and later, readers find out that there are times where he has already contemplated suicide. With too strong of a desire to become a success, few friends, and distrust from his family, he inevitable becomes extremely anguished and mentally unstable. After Willy is fired by Howard, a characteristic not shown previously is suddenly apparenthis pride. His pride is the one quality that allows him to reject the job offered by Charley. In addition, he is too prideful to admit that he always knew little about the business world and what it takes to become a good salesman. At this point, Willy has made up his mind to commit suicide because he himself was not able to achieve the American dream, he instead was a failure his entire life. It is ironic that he gives his own life for the same system that failed him. Unfortunately for Happy, capitalism is what he will continue to believe in and in a sense, condemning himself to a similar life as Willy. He had a good dream. Its the only dream you can have to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where Im gonna win it for him. (pg. 43). What Happy does not understand is that his father fought with all of the wrong intentions.

In the end, Willy Loman never realizes his flaws associated with his strong desires for financial achievement. Death of a Salesman criticizes the capitalistic society and uses the common man to prove it. Willy is physical proof that not every individual has what it takes to become a significant, successful person. If he was able to value acceptance over popularity and appreciate the important things in life (his family), Willy would have never committed suicide and become a tragic hero. What he never quite understood was the pursuit of happiness that comes from the American dream. Willy was so caught up in giving the life he never had to his boys and achieving his goals through personality alone that he lost track of accomplishing the real goal of the American dreamfreedom and happiness. His obsession and his life as a deceitful salesman ultimately resulted in nothing and instead took his own life. It is very possible to achieve the American dream in a capitalistic society with the right mindset; however, Willy Loman took matter in his own hands and lost his chance at success and more importantly, happiness.