American Dream 1930s-1940s

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The play “Death of a Salesman” by, Arthur Miller examines what life in America was like in the 1930s-1940s. The play is a timeless play which has many of the same principles that applied back than that still apply to America today. This essay will focus on the plays main character Willy Loman and his family, as Willy who is deeply troubled by the way his life turned out and in turn affects his family. Furthermore, through Willy and his family, Miller is able to enlighten the reader of cultural issues that are present in America society, economically and socially.
First off, to understand the play we have to look at the time period on when the play was written. Now there is little evidence on the time period to when the play was written but …show more content…
The first clue that Miller provides is when Willy says, “I was thinking of the Chevvy nineteen twenty-eight”. Also, another line that dates the play is when Happy, Willy’s son says, “That’s fifty-two thousand dollars a year coming through the door”. That amount of money is below the average income of a family today. With this information it is believed that the play takes place during the 1930s-1940s.
The American Dream runs rampant through the characters in the play. One would have to take into consideration that the American Dream is different for everyone. The dream of being the guy was Willy’s dream. Similarly, Willy believed that being rich and successful was the only way to live. For example, he idolized his older brother Ben who was a rich and successful entrepreneur, this is seen when Willy says, “Your uncle Ben [is] a great man” (Miller 27). Another example, which is vital to understanding Willy’s perception of the American Dream is the way Willy criticizes other professions that do not make a lot of money. Miller express this when Willy believes that being a carpenter is not suitable for his son Biff and says, “Even your grandfather was better than a carpenter” (Miller 35). What this …show more content…
Biff throughout the play was never able to live up to Willy’s expectation of him and would not let Biff become who he wanted to be. With that pressure from his father Biff never did what his father wanted him to do. For example, at the end of the play Biff and Willy are fighting and it is the climax of the story, this is when Biff says, “I never got anywhere because you blew me full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody” (Miller 80). Furthermore, Biff says, “Pop I am nothing” (Miller 80). What this shows is that Biff sees himself as a failure to his father because he was not what Willy wanted him to be. When looking at the writings of Elaine Heffner a CSW, and Ed.D an expert in her respective field writes about how, “ The failure to excel at a particular subject in school or to develop a wished for talent is experienced by a parent – and, as a result, by the child – as a failure” (Heffner). What Heffner writes here, the reader can see a direct parallel to Biff and his father. Secondly, to prove that what Biff wanted for his life was different from his father vision was when Biff says, “men built like we are should be working out in the open” (Miller 11). For this line Biff is speaking to Happy and would like to go work on a farm and not be in a suit and tie all day. Moreover, Biff says, “if you were with me I would be happy out there” (Miller 11). What both of these lines show is Biff would
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