Victims of the American Dream

American society is a curious thing. Throughout the years it has been praised, derided, ridiculed, and condemned. Many authors choose to include an examination of society in their works. To do this, repeating symbolic images or phrases, known as motifs, may be used. Through the manipulation of various motifs, Arthur Miller's famous play Death of a Salesman can be seen as a commentary on the shortcomings and fallacy of American life.

Death of a Salesman is the story of Willy Loman, an aging traveling salesman, and the breakdown of his life. Miller deliberately portrays Willy as an "everyman's hero." By creating a character with whom virtually the entire audience can identify with, one who "stabs himself into a playgoer's consciousness. (Gassner 310)" In his youth, Willy set up certain goals for himself that he was fated not to achieve, but cloaked himself with the illusion of success. His many lies caught up with him, and he was unable to handle the dismal truth of his life. Convinced that his insurance was worth more than his life, he commits suicide.

One of the most repeated motifs is "well liked." Willy firmly believes that "a person can have diamonds in America on the basis of being well liked. (Miller )" To him, a person who is well liked and personally attractive is the one most likely to succeed. He was convinced in his youth that selling was "the greatest career a man could have, (Miller)” by an encounter with a man who could go into any city, pick up the phone, and be remembered and loved by so many people (Miller). He raised his sons to believe in the same ideals, and when Biff finds that they do not stand up in the real world, he is paralyzed by the effects of his disillusionment (Foster 316).

Another significant motif is that of stockings. When Biff was in high school he was awarded a scholarship to the University of Virginia. The scholarship depended on his successful graduation, which he failed to do thanks to an "F" in math. When he went to Boston to talk to Willy, Biff found him with another woman in his hotel room. It was finally revealed to him that his father was a fake, a phony (Miller) and that he needs to find his own meaning in life, but is unable to do so, and doesn't even know where to begin. The woman in Boston, Miss Frances, "loves a lot of stockings (Miller)," and Willy gives them to her. In his later years, he is haunted by flashbacks to his time with her, triggered by seeing his wife mending her stockings. He tells Linda that he "won't have her mending stockings in this house (Miller)," and that it bothers him. What really bothers him, however, is the guilt associated with his times in Boston and Possibly the feeling that he is not the success he wishes to be. When Linda tells him she mends her stockings because they're so expensive, his guilt is compounded by the feeling that he isn't able to provide for his family in the way he'd hoped, unable to give his wife a steady supply of new silk stockings.

Another important symbol is the flute. During times of trauma, stress, or revelation the action is accompanied by a high flute melody in the background. Willy has very few memories of his father, since he left when Willy was very young, but from what he was told by his brother, Ben, his father was a success. Ben told him that his father was an inventor, and a salesman who would "make more in one week than you could make in a year (Miller)," and whom Willy remembers playing the flute. Willy's father and his brother symbolize the success that Willy has always worked for but is unable to attain. The flute music is associated with Willy's dreams, and the tragic fact that he cannot live them, but always be in pursuit of them.

Critic R.H. Gardner interprets the concept of the American dream as the embodiment of "the concept of this country as a land of opportunity, where the lowliest of men may become the greatest (Gardner 319)." That is exactly the view of Willy Loman, and his sons, but while his sons realize that the unrealistic goals are self-defeating, Willy cannot accept his eminent doom. He objects to the way his life has turned out, but after being weakened and worn down, his most vehement objection carries the weight of a feeble protest. The truth behind the American dream is that that is all it is, a dream.