American Dream in Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby
This paper offers a thematic analysis of the American Dream as depicted in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949) and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Beginning with the origins of the term as defined by James Truslow Adams, the paper examines how Miller uses characters such as Willy Loman, Ben, and Biff to illustrate competing versions of the dream and the personal costs of pursuing it. It then draws a parallel to Fitzgerald's portrayal of excess and moral corruption during the 1920s. Both works are shown to converge on a shared conclusion: the American Dream ultimately leaves its most devoted pursuers isolated, hollow, and without genuine human connection.
- The American Dream as a Central Theme in Death of a Salesman: Origins and core definition of the American Dream
- Competing Visions of the Dream: Willy, Ben, and Biff: Three characters embody contrasting versions of success
- The Great Gatsby and the Corruption of the American Dream: Fitzgerald portrays the dream in its most extreme form
- Parallel Funerals: Isolation and the Failure of Materialism: Poorly attended funerals reveal hollow pursuit of success
- Conclusion: Both authors show the American Dream as ultimately destructive
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds its argument in a historically sourced definition of the American Dream (James Truslow Adams, 1931), giving its literary analysis a concrete conceptual foundation before moving into textual evidence.
- It uses direct quotations from both primary texts to support its claims, allowing the characters' own words to carry argumentative weight rather than relying solely on paraphrase.
- The funeral comparison is a particularly strong analytical move — identifying a structural parallel between two otherwise very different works to reinforce a shared thematic conclusion about isolation and failed materialism.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates comparative literary analysis: it establishes a thematic lens (the American Dream), applies that lens to one text in depth, then extends the analysis to a second text, and finally identifies a specific shared device — the poorly attended funeral — to synthesize both readings into a unified argument. This technique is effective for showing how different authors address the same cultural concern through different narrative registers.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by defining the American Dream historically, then examines three characters in Miller's play who each embody a different relationship to that dream. It transitions to Fitzgerald's novel as a point of comparison representing the dream in its most extreme form. The parallel funeral scenes serve as the analytical climax, and the conclusion restates the thesis that the American Dream ultimately harms rather than fulfills those who pursue it.
The American Dream as a Central Theme in Death of a Salesman
One of the central themes in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman is the concept of the American Dream. The concept of the American Dream has been one of the fundamental beliefs of American society since the country's inception. The basic concept is fairly egalitarian in nature, holding that if an individual truly devotes themselves to improving their situation, they will ultimately find prosperity through their hard work. This prosperity is possible because there are few truly limiting factors that can prevent someone from reaching their goals, and whatever obstacles are present can be overcome through dedication and resourcefulness.
James Truslow Adams was among the first to explicitly refer to the American Dream in his 1931 book The Epic of America, in which he stated:
"that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." (Adams)
This passage embodies the essence of what was thought to be the core concept of the American Dream: the ability to overcome the circumstances of birth and reach one's full potential in life.
Despite the attractiveness of this concept, the reality is that it often does not hold in practice, and many people are unable to achieve their ideal vision of the dream. Arthur Miller is clearly skeptical of the American Dream, and this skepticism is one of the central themes running throughout Death of a Salesman. While characters such as Willy Loman have achieved basic success through their charisma, it is not clear how this strategy will pan out in the long run. In fact, Willy does not even believe that hard work is truly part of the equation. Rather, he believes that success is achieved largely through relationships and personality. However, the play demonstrates that this strategy does not ultimately work, as neither Willy nor his son Biff are able to make their careers succeed.
References
Adams, J. The Epic of America. Simon Publications, 1933. E-book.
Fitzgerald, F. The Great Gatsby. E-artnow, 2015. Complete Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Miller, A. Death of a Salesman. Pearson Education, 2007.
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