Popularity, Physical Appearance, and the American Dream in Death of a S

Popularity, Physical Appearance, and the American day-dream in Death of a Sales publicFor most, the American Dream is a sure fire shot at true happiness. It represents hope for a successful, fortune-filled future. Though most agree on the meaning of the American Dream, fewer follow the same path to achieving it. For struggling salesman Willy Loman, achieving this dream would mean a completely fulfilled existence. Unfortunately, Willys simplistic ideas on how to accomplish his goal are what finally prevent him from reaching it. Out of all of Willys simplistic ideals, one major pattern we can notice is how Willy truly believes that popularity and physical appearance are what arrive at people wealthy. We are first introduced to this idea when Willy is speaking to his wife, Linda, about their parole Biff. Biff Loman is lost, says Willy. In the greatest country in the world, a young man with such personal attractiveness gets lost. In this quote, not only is Willy confused about how Biffs good looks cant help him get a job, but also because his son cant get a job in a country like Ame... ... things that made people successful in life, regardless of whether or not hard work was involved. Because of these simplistic ideas, Willy went through life with a somewhat naive frame of mind, and was unable to reach his goal of achieving the American Dream.Works CitedLewis, Allan. American Plays and Playwrights. reinvigorated York, NY Crown Publishers, Inc., 1970. 47. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Discovering Literature Stories, Poems, Plays. Ed. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele L. Rico. Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice Hall, 1997. 1211-82.