Fetters of the Dream Failure and Success in Death of a Salesman - Literature Essay Samples

Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman is a story about the futility of self-deception, but it also examines the definition of success in post-WWII America and the danger of suppressing ones own inclinations to meet the expectations of others. Willy Lomans dismal failure results from delusions and a false sense of entitlement, but those are symptoms of a deeper problem: his desperate attempt to be something hes not. His collapse is balanced by Biffs self-awakening, which questions the strict definitions of success that led to Willys downfall. In the end, it might be Biff who is the most important character, the only one capable of change. In Biffs willingness to face himself and pursue an alternative to the conventional American Dream, we see the freedom and self-fulfillment that people obsessed with social status can rarely achieve.In post-WWII America, people were buying the advertisers claims that everyone deserved a new car, fancy appliances, and a big house with a white picket fence . The definition of success was being whittled down into a rigid set of parameters. To Willy Loman and his ilk, success wore a business suit and carried a briefcase. Owning a nicer car or house or refrigerator than the neighbors was of paramount importance. Willy embraces these material goals, believing that good looks, luck, and charisma are all it takes to end with diamonds (160). Like many contemporary Americans, he lives beyond his means in order to project an illusion of success. Wealth and upward mobility, or at least the appearance of them, are what he is conditioned to pursue. Despite Willys grandiose claims, theres a sense that he doesnt belong in the business world: he confesses that people dont seem to take to me (116), that people laugh at him, that he talks too much or makes too many jokes. Running beneath all of this are hints of Willys talent for working with his hands. He puts up a ceiling, installs plumbing, builds a porch and garage and extra bathroom. As Charley c omments after the funeral, he was a happy man with a batch of cement (206). Biff probably summarizes the situation correctly when he proclaims, we dont belong in this nuthouse of a city. We should be mixing cement on some open plain, or or carpenters. A carpenter is allowed to whistle! (138). Unfortunately, working with his hands doesnt fit Willys vision of success. He tells Biff that even his grandfather was better than a carpenter. Willy is so trapped in his desire to impress others, to achieve social status and be well-liked, that he has suppressed his own natural inclinations and forced himself into a mold that doesnt quite fit. He beats his head against the door of corporate America, scorning the idea of working on a farm, but a glimpse of some inner contradiction is had when he promises Linda, were gonna get a little place out in the country, and Ill raise some vegetables, a couple of chickens (148). After Willys funeral, Biff says quietly, theres more of him in that front st oop than in all the sales he ever made (106). Biffs epiphany, near the end of the play, comments strongly on one-size-fits-all notions of the American Dream. After trying to squeeze himself into his fathers (and Americas) definition of briefcase-carrying success, Biff finally admits that he dont fit in business (138), that hes just what I am, thats all (201), that the sky and the work and the food and the time to sit and smoke (201) are what he loves. He realizes that all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am! (201). He is happiest working as a ranch hand; accepting this fact gives him peace. Perhaps Willy would have found the same peace if hed traded his suit and shoeshine for a job that utilized his real talents.Ultimately, Death of a Salesman exposes the pitfalls of conforming to someone elses definition of success. Willy tries so hard to be something hes not that he can no longer face or even see himself. He totters through a world of lies, perma nently lost behind a faà §ade. Biff, however, breaks through the deceptions and restraints to find happiness waiting. His enlightenment forces the audience to contemplate alternative paths to happiness and see that wealth accumulation is not the only marker of success. It gives permission to the Biffs of this world to be Biffs and not Bernards and, most importantly, not to regret it.