Dream or Nightmare, an Analysis of Arthur Miller’s Play,

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Dream or Nightmare, An Analysis of Arthur Miller’s Play, Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller’s classic American play, The Death of a Salesman, is an example of the frustration limits some people will push themselves to in order to attain what was the American dream in the 1940’s. Willy Lomax,the primary character, unfortunately lets his dreams overpower his resolve and the unrealistic goals he set for himself consumed him unto death by suicide. Everyone has dreams, but it is hard to realize those dreams if we do not take into account all of the sacrifice and work that it takes to actualize them. Willy takes all of his internal problems and frustrations and projects them onto his family as well, making them collateral victims of his final solution. Success is like fame, it has the potential to only last for a brief moment, and Willy was trying to hang onto his success when was younger and just starting out as his measure of what the future would be. During the interim period, Willy forgot that he was getting older, slower and the world was changing, nor did he see that in business the new ideas always win out. Like so many people who get stuck in one profession for most of their lives, Willy had painted himself into a corner and he just could conceive of trying to reinvent himself as do a lot of people which makes this play all the more powerful. In contemporary times we have plenty of professional athletes, musicians and actors who suffer this same fate. Willy Lomax reached the point in life when everything was unsatisfying to him and nothing he does seems to add up, (add quotes about the car and fridge). All of life’s problem seem to compound for Willy, the failures of his sons, Biff and Happy and the fact that his wife Linda does not seem to be assertive enough. The day Willy got fired, he becomes overwhelmed with reality. When he remembers that Biff discovered
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