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Death Of A Salesman - A Dead End Dream - College Paper

Death Of A Salesman - A Dead End Dream

"Death of A Salesman," by Arthur Miller, is a play that tells the story of a traveling salesman, Willy Loman, who encounters frustration and failure as he reflects on and experiences his own life. Willy’s quest for the American Dream leads to his failure because throughout his life, he pursues the illusion of the American Dream and not the reality of it. His mindset on perfection, his obsession with success, and his constant reminiscence of the past and foretelling of the future, all contribute to his defeat in the end.
The reality of the American Dream is that people are capable of succeeding. Success, though, requires one to work hard and be dedicated to both his/her professional ...

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of distorting the past, never allows Willy to realize what is going on right then and there in the present. At one time, when Willy goes off down memory lane, he "says" to Biff and Happy, "America is full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys…the finest people…there’ll be open sesame for all of us, ‘cause one thing boys: I have friends. I can park my car in any street…and the cops protect it like their own" (31). Willy makes this distortion of the past in order to make himself believe that he has achieved the American Dream. At times when doing this was not possible, Willy looks to the future and thinks he can still achieve it then. For instance, he has this dream of having a big, spectacular funeral. In the end when Willy dies, at his funeral, Linda says, "Why didn’t anybody come…Where are all the people he knew?" (137). All his life, he holds on to this fantasy, but he never faces the reality of how he could ...

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Death Of A Salesman - A Dead End Dream. (2008, March 29). Retrieved November 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Death-Of-Salesman-Dead-End-Dream/81276

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 3/29/2008 06:43:37 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 994
Pages: 4

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