Death of A Salesman : American Dream
... rather part of the problem with this dysfunctional family and their inability to face reality. In restraining Willy from his quest for wealth in the Alaska, the ‘New Continent’, ironically the only realm where the “dream” can be fulfilled, Linda destroys any hope the family has of achieving “greatness”. Even so, Linda perhaps is the symbol of the play’s ultimate value: love. In her innocent love of Willy, Linda accepts her husband’s falsehood and his dream. However, in her admiration of his dream, she is lethal. Linda encourages Willy to live in the world of illusions and allows her sons, Biff and Happy, to follow their father’s fallacious direction in life. The play ends on an ironic note, as Linda claims that she has made the final payment on their house, and provided the Lomans with a sense of financial security for the first time. Willy Loman has worked for thirty-five years in order achieve stability, and yet he chooses to commit suicide before he can enjoy the result. As for all other Americans, they continue to work hard towards a simple goal of having a sound financial status. Charlie is the Loman’s next door neighbor, and owns his own sales firm. Although he is a close friend of Willy, but his perception in life is the total opposite of Willy’s. Despite his seemingly ordinary lifestyle, enjoys far better success compared to the Lomans. Unlike Willy, he is financially secured and does not indoctrinate his son, Bernard, with the same enthusiasm as Willy. Subsequently, Charlie stands for different beliefs to Willy and, ironically, ends up far more successful. Charlie is always the voice of reality in the play, trying to set Willy straight on the facts of Willy’s situation. Unfortunately, Willy’s proud and stubborn nature endures that he will never accept Charlie’s many generous job proposals. Willy has stuck to his dream and believed such an ordinary job will not fulfill the true expectations Willy holds for himself and his sons. Willy never realizes that these job proposals are the one gate left open to Willy and his hopes of becoming someone important. Another successful character is Bernard. In the past he is used to be a typical nerd and nothing more than a follower. He is considered as not “well-liked”, the ingredient which Willy believes is important to become successful. However, through fifteen years of hard work, Bernard has turned out to be a very successful individual. He has finished university and become an important attorney. He has been chosen to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court which shows that he is at a high position in his career. Furthermore, Bernard is married and has two sons, showing that he is settled. Bernard appears to be proof enough of the “system’s” effectiveness and affirms the proposition that success is achieved through persistent application of one’s talents. The figure who Willy idolizes the most is his dead brother, Ben. Ben is the only member of the Loman family who has ever achieved something “great” when he proclaims, “when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich.” Ben is idealized by Willy since he has fulfilled the genuine American Dream: to start out with nothing and eventually become rich through effort and hard work. The fact that Ben has found the diamond mines in Africa suggests that there may be very little left available for the ordinary individual within America. People may have to go somewhere else to fulfill the American Dream. There seems to have a lot of room for failure as well as success in America. The perception of Biff and Hap represents the materialistic sense of success that exists in the society of America. Both of them have adopted Willy’s belief that being well-liked is the key to success. Biff believes that his father is so well-liked that he can convince his math teacher to pass his examination. He shares Willy’s illusions of success and greatness, and uses his physical attractiveness rather than working hard for his job. As a result, Biff has become a drifter and failed in his business career. Hap owns a sexually...