Name: XXXX Student number:XXXX
Course: A Journey in English Literature Instructor: June.10, 2011
Abstract:
Death of a Salesman is a great tragedy which was written by Arthur Miller, an American dramatist .It is different from classical tragedy. It is a story about an ordinary sales man .Salesman Willy Lowman has worked thirty six years for a company. He believes that a man with a well liked job can be successful through persistent hard work. However, everything goes against his wishes. As he could not sell the product well, the boss in the company fired him without showing any sympathy for him. Willy’s dream of success was shattered. The play has profound social significance, because it comes from the real life and authentically reflects the tragedy of the ordinary people America.
Title:
The exhortation from Willy’s American dream
Key Words: the death of salesman exhortation American Dream
Introduction
As a great American realistic dramatist, Arthur Miller paid always attention to the moral and educative functions of dramas. Death of a Salesman is his most representational work and also an influential “most great drama in America after the War” (尹露，2009)Willy is an ordinary salesman, he was struggling for his unrealistic dream all the time, but he failed .I think it is completely unavoidable, because he picked the wrong way. The tragedy of Willy also indicated the burst of the American Dream, I think , we should have a great exhortation from him.
American realist playwright Arthur Miller is a contemporary American theater, and one of the most famous playwright.” Death of a Salesman" is the late representative works of Arthur Miller. Miller in the play not only condemned the American business system, but also revealed the illusion of the American dream from the tragic fate of salesman Willy Loman, and it further revealed the unrealistic nature of the American dream, which is rooted in the American soul. It's durable and disillusionment is the sick show under the cover of American social and economic prosperity.
"Death of a Salesman," Willy, the hero is such an ordinary people. He is a very average American salesman and he dedicated to his perceived "American Dream" in his own life, and make Unremitting efforts for it. He built his life on top of his dream, and treated the fantasy as reality. When he was in trouble in life, although he tried to identify problems, because of a strong desire to his dream in mind, he was leaving the dream deceived himself. He lived in his own world with naive, never considered whether the dream can realize or not in the business world.
Willy's dream has different expression and continuity on his two sons. He tried to indoctrinate his son's success principles, resulting the eldest son Biff can not correctly understand of himself in long-term, and he can do nothing. The little son Happy was holding the same beliefs with Willy all along, he is the victim of Willy’s philosophy. Until the end of the play he also believes he will be able to success as long as following the footsteps of his father. Miller revealed the universality and continuity of the "American dream" in the lives of ordinary people. On the success of shaping the character, as well as his confusion between reality and dream, it reflected ordinary people in American society longing for a dream and struggle for life. He vividly depicts a typical "American Dream of "the tragedy of shattered. The performance of the tragedy, on the one hand reveals weakness in the character of ordinary people, the other major expose the shortcomings of American society itself（杜新宇，2007）.
"Death of a Salesman," which on the "American Dream" lasting and disillusion of thinking, still worth thinking deeply and reflect on later.
"Death of a Salesman" is a classic modern tragedy. It exposes some of the ills of American society, shattered the myth "everyone can succeed". Willy's life is the process "American dream" shattered; is a true reflection of objective reality for American dream. Sadly, Willy did not see this until died, his death should make people blind in dream do a deep reflection.
The real source of Willy’s tragedy is that he can not distinguish fantasy and reality, can not be unified harmony his own dreams and responsibilities. If Willy can understand the illusory dreams and hard realities, he would not be abandoned by the society.
It should be said, while adhering to their own dreams, Willy is a brave man. If he choose another dream, he will be very easy to achieve happiness. Because his family has a self-reliant feature. He has strange skillful hands. If he chooses a job in the field, Willy will do well, but he chose to sell the business. Willy chooses to commit suicide after the failure, is the last struggle to re-establish their self-confidence and prestige of the family. Yes! They can get twenty thousand dollars! Twenty thousand is quite visible and tangible hard goods. Willy naively believe that Biff units to be happy if he has the twenty thousand. In this way, he walked to the valuable, great death which he considered with his dream that his son can success at last. Dreaming is not wrong. Willy’s mistake is he made a dream she should not do. Willy’s biggest tragedy is that he put his own life to this dream, but he did not understand this dream is wrong, it is impossible to achieve, until his death. People is in pursuit of status, money, but not popular and personal charm in that society. Western values represented by Willy’s American dream can only to burst.
If your destination is the top, and the road you choose is leading to the abyss, then, in any case, you will not get the place you want to. Well begun is half done, if you start in the wrong direction, how can you success? There is no doubt that Willy had made the wrong direction .He made a dream is not his own, and he was unwilling to wake up. All of this led his tragedy with no doubts. It had aroused our awareness and thinking.
Conclusion
We all have the right to dream. In the meanwhile, we must have a dream as our goal, as our life compass. But we should know what kind of dream we can do, what kind of dream we can not do here, we must understand that dream is not the dream we only can think Unrealistically all day , the difference between the two usually have a very worth pondering distance. The past is past, if you do not own dreams, then you should find one in a hurry .Because T. Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (3rd U.S. President)say that I do not recall the past history but Commit to the dreams of the future. -However, we should remember ,the one who want write their dreams should be clear more. Only like this they won’t go to the abyss like Willy. If you have own dreams relevant, hard work you should be pursued, eventually you will realize the dream that one day. Tennyson said: As long as a lasting dream, can become a reality. I hope that everyone can dream come true.
Reference
尹露，（2009年8月 第四期）从《推销员之死》看阿瑟.米勒对美国梦的阐释，新乡学院学报
杜新宇，（2007年1月第一期）《推销员之死》看西方价值观的破灭，工会论坛