Dave Singleman is someone that really puts up on a pedestal. But it’s very important and it bears repeating, that we remember exactly who he is when we talk about the title of this book. We talked about him a little bit earlier, I think in a different episode. He's not telling us either way but we might just start thinking about would that kind of dream really work for everyone. I really think that Miller wants us to question the American Dream. Biff is a hard worker, he’s not lazy at all, why isn’t he succeeding? Why is he lost? The American Dream is still in place in Willy’s mind, he doesn’t understand why Biff doesn’t fit the equation, but at the same time he really doesn’t get it, that he doesn’t fit in it either. There’s one thing about Biff – he’s not lazy.” This is reinforcing the idea that if you’re working hard, you’re going to be successful. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such – personal attractiveness gets lost. When he’s talking about Biff at one point, he says, “Biff Loman is lost. It’s really unfortunate, but he still believes in this idea. So even in death, Willy is not really able to accomplish what he wants to. If you think about it, he’s take out his insurance policy and most insurance policies, I would probably say all insurance policies though, I’m no expert, if they know that somebody committed suicide, they’re not going to pay that money out. Even in failure, Willy still believes in this dream, even at the end. It’s really unfortunate but we see Willy working hard but he’s not getting what he’s supposed to be getting. Hard work does not always create success, and that’s kind of part of what’s the idea behind the American dream. The different things that I said, that he tries to do in his job, they don’t really pay off for him. Now the next question I would ask is Willy realistically able to really achieve his ambitions? That’s a big question. That’s the kind of social element of his version of the American Dream. He talks about how important that is for a sales man. Later, he does different things in his job and then in the end he has this life insurance policy that he thinks is going to able to accomplish his dream in taking care of his family.
At one point, he talks about wanting to go off with his brother, because his brother's been really successful. Remember, he goes through so many different iterations of trying to make money for his family. So is Willy really accomplishing the American Dream? What is Willy’s version? We said it’s financial. However, we see him struggling to get there and no one can say that Willy is not working hard. We see Willy his version of the American dream is providing for his family, being well liked and well known, so it’s kind of financial and social at the same time. The American dream isn’t the same thing for all people. You want to be the most important person in your circle of friends. Someone else’s dream could be financial, they want to be a billionaire, or maybe it's social status. If you think about it, our dreams are tied to very different things. He wants to know whether it really exists or not for everyone. But my idea here is that, Arthur Miller, in Death of a Salesman, kind of questions the American Dream. Now, whether you agree with that or not, that’s really your decision. Essentially the idea is, if you work hard you can be successful and that’s our right and that’s our freedom as Americans.
DEATH OF A SALESMAN THEMES FREE
If I say the words 'The American Dream', what is it that you think off? This phrase is used all the time but do we ever really stop to figure out what it means? The American Dream is the belief and the freedom that allows all citizens in the United States, to pursue their goals in life through hard work and free choice. That’s a lot to handle, but I think we can handle it.
The last thing we’re going to talk about is Motifs and the different Motifs that are present in this play. We’ll also discuss the title significance, what’s so important about the Death of a Salesman. We’re going to talk about the theme of the American Dream.
The first time I read Death of a Salesman, I really had to stop for the first time and wonder, is the American Dream really attainable to anyone if they work really hard? That’s what we’ll discuss today. That’s what’s promised in the American Dream. If you work had enough, and put a lot of passion and effort into something, you’re going to be successful. My grandparents to me were always really an example of the American Dream at work. My grandparents really believed that the opportunities they had here in this country, would be much greater than what they had in Eastern Europe. My mother was German and my dad’s side of the family immigrated to this country in the 50s from Latvia. I’m a first generation American in my family.
0 kommentar(er)
