Posted Wednesday 18 September 2013 // by Nabad
AMERICAN DREAM
“Death of A Salesman” stirs up many perspectives on the touchy subject of the American Dream, allowing viewers to make up their mind on which interpretation of the American Dream is most suited to them. Willy Loman, the protagonist of the play, has concocted a shocking misconception of such dream in his head, which proves destructive to himself and his family. He believes that success is not rooted from hard work and innovation, but merely from personality and, as repeated many times in the play, “being well-liked.” Unfortunately for him, this mentality gets him nowhere, and instead causes conflict between him and his son, when Willy is desperate for his son to abide by his warped version of the American Dream. It is obvious that Willy Loman is much too caught up in his fermented dream, constantly pushing it upon the backs of his family and disallowing them to create and live their own American Dream. Possible reasoning behind Willy being so terribly caught up in Biff’s life is the fact that in his teen years, Biff was an exact representation of the American Dream. Portrayed through the flashbacks, we can see Biff as a well-liked, popular football player – all that a man like Willy Loman could want in his child. However, Biff suddenly changes, and his father heavily opposes his wishes of working on a ranch. Biff realises that his father’s dreams are wrong, and that Willy Loman was chasing an empty life. Biff decides that he will not let the fate of his father’s be his own, and sets out to pursue his own version of the American Dream.
BETRAYAL
Most conflict arising in “Death of a Salesman” roots from ideas of Betrayal. Willy’s obsession throughout the play are his ambitions for Biff’s life, and as Willy always imagined Biff to be a vivid portrayal of the American Dream, he feels betrayed that he would walk out on him and pursue his own dream instead of Willy’s twisted American Dream. Willy is a salesman, and Biff’s decision to totally discard that idea and work on a ranch is clearly a turn down of his American Dream, which is the one thing he treasures the most. However much he feels betrayed, though, Willy knows that the cause of Biff’s betrayal is his own fault – the affair which Biff found out about left him in a state of awe and absolute betrayal of trust, not to mention the betrayal of Willy’s loyal and loving wife, Linda, who seemed to be the only person who stuck by him through all of his misadventures. In the play, the stockings represent shame that Willy feels for betraying his family with the affair;:Will you stop mending stockings? At least while I'm in the house. It gets me nervous. I can't tell you. Please,” he says to Linda, as the stockings are a striking reminder of both the trust of his son and the love of his wife which he had betrayed. The tragedy of Willy’s suicide is also a horrible betrayal to Linda – she is undoubtedly in love with him and refuses to believe he’s gone when he is. How sad! Biff also feels that Willy has betrayed him in the way that he has expected nothing less than greatness from him, making the challenges of the world a hell of a lot harder.
Labels: Death of a Salesman