He blames his father his personal failure because he, "blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That's whose fault it is!" (1108). Willy's failure extends beyond the workplace and spills over into his family life. This should come as no surprise since the two are closely connected when we think of the American Dream. Willy does not want to change and this proves to be detrimental to his job, his life, and his family. At the age of 63, Willy decides not to think about change or failure. It is easier to find excuses. For example, he tells Linda, "The trouble was that three of the stores were half-closed for inventory in Boston. Otherwise, I woulda broke records" (Miller 1046). He admits "people don't seem to take to me" (1047) and he is often overlooked and "not noticed" (1047) at work. He does not ever consider changing jobs and we wonder about his practicality. It seems as though he has invested so many years into his sales job that he refuses to back out. So, he does not back out and stays in the same rut for years. He lies to himself to make things seem better but the truth is never far behind. John Gassner claims that the play bridges the "gap between a social situation and human drama" (Gassner 339). The social circumstance is the appeal of the American Dream and the human drama is Willy's failure. We see how Willy failed and we see how he pushed his twisted way of thinking onto his sons but we realize he is not an evil man. He is a failure and while this may sound harsh, we learn from Willy just how easy it is to fall into this trap. Willy believes in the ease of the American Dream, believing the country is "full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England . . . I have friends" (Miller 1044)....

This lie is far too easy for Willy to believe than the truth is to accept. Willy is too old to change.
Death of a Salesman revolves around the American Dream but its final truth is not one we want to face as a country that prides itself as one where anyone's dream can come true. The fact of the matter is that achieving a dream is a difficult task that not only requires a dream but also hard work and focus. It is not enough to have the dream: one must execute certain steps in order to make that dream a reality. Some people may seem to have it easy but success involves a certain amount of hard work and fortitude. Willy was not a bum but he was still missing critical components to making his dream come true. He wanted it to be easy because for many, it seemed easy to him. He wanted his dream to be a success in his chosen field to come true but he never even tried to do anything else. He limited himself although he did not realize it and this hurt him. Willy shows the world how the American Dream, whatever it may be for us, is elusive if we do not stay focused and flexible.

Works Cited

Beatty, Mary Lou. "Arthur Miller." Humanities. (22)2. (2001) 2. Site Accessed April 13, 2010.

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Gassner, John. Modern American Literature. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing. 1969.

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. An Introduction to Literature. Sylvan Barnet, ed. Boston:

Little, Brown and Company. 1985. pp. 1030-1114.

Phelps, H.C. "Miller's Death of a Salesman." Explicator. 53.4. (1995) p239-41. Site Accessed

April 13, 2010. Web.

Tierney, John. "Willy Loman: Revenge of a Nephew." New York Times. February 8, 1999: late edition, B.1. Site Accessed April 13, 2010.

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