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American Dream In The Great Gatsby And Death Of The Salesman

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The “American Dream” is the belief that through hard work, sacrifice, and wisdom, we can find happiness. In our society, the biggest achievement is living in a big house with a stable job that allows us to live a decent life. The American Dream is usually thought of as a motivation to become better. It is part of human nature to have the desire to prove that we are special for the dreams of success and possession, as shown in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Miller’s Death of the Salesman. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby tries to create a life beyond the common one he is given. In Death of the Salesman, Loman demonstrates the obsession of money and possessions. Gatsby and Willy both demonstrate the common tendency to linger in the past and aim for an ideal goal that sacrificing themselves ultimately ends in tragedy. …show more content…

When Willy met Dave Singleman, Willy reconsidered his decision of going to Alaska and chose to be a salesman. Dave was “eighty-four years old, and he’d drummed merchandise in thirty-one states”(81). It seems as though Willy viewed him as a father, so he followed his same path hoping to have the same future and success. The Loman family was befuddled by the process of Willy’s fraudulent acts. Biff started arguing with his dad in front of the family and said they “never told the truth for ten minutes in this house!”(131), but that was Willy’s fault because he lied to please them. Willy exaggerates to praise himself so that he appears to be wealthy and powerful. Willy says, “I was sellin’ thousands and thousands, but I had to come home”(34), instead of specifying a specific number. He uses “thousands and thousands” to make his selling seem successful, emphasizing the amount of money he made. Willy’s obsession with the business success dream destroyed himself and his family in the

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The Similarities of Willy Loman and Troy Maxson in Death of a Salesman and Fences Willy Loman and Troy Maxson, as the protagonists of Death of a Salesman and Fences, respectively, has shown significant similarities in the plays over their social status, personalities, and relationship with their family members. On the other hand, there are also many noteworthy differences between them to be discussed, such as those in understanding of their own status, in the expectation toward the children, and in their family and friend’s reaction at the demise of themselves. Willy Loman and Troy Maxson share similarly hard-pressed life situation, but they view such hardship completely differently. In the play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is a figure deeply focusing on his fame and relationship with his social friends. As a salesman, Willy dreams of making successful deals as well as becoming appreciated by other people.

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The American Dream is the long held belief that everybody can succeed in life by merit of hard work and perseverance. A man’s origins were not to be an inhibitor of his success. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's work The Great Gatsby the American Dream is portrayed as being misunderstood by the people of the 1920s. The American Dream became corrupted by people searching not for happiness, success, and honorable ambitions in life, but instead for wealth, power, and excess.

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“The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead” (33). In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller uses foil characters to elucidate Willy’s flaws that ultimately prevent him and his family from succeeding. The contrast between Charley and Willy and Bernard and Biff serves to highlight how Willy’s obsession with achieving his version of the American Dream impacts both his life and his children’s. His poor values are passed on to his children producing even more failures. ¬¬¬¬Both Charley and Willy work as salesmen, however Charley represents what Willy desired to become – successful.

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Some say the American Dream is exceptionally attainable if one tries hard enough. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald questions this statement by presenting a novel that portrays how the result of the American Dream--wealth--causes destruction. Fitzgerald also argues that trying to fit in where one desires to is not always the best idea. Fitzgerald uses a multitude of examples from his novel to present his argument. Fitzgerald used geography--East and West Egg--to depict the American Dream.

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Bartleby, from Bartleby the Scrivener, and Willy Loman, from Death of a Salesman, are in many ways opposites. Bartleby is an extreme individualist; only doing what he wants to, no matter the personal or professional cost. On the other hand, Willy Loman is a conformist; he does what he is told, lives an average life, and pursues the “American Dream” like most Americans do. Bartleby and Willy also share similarities: both are physiologically broken and their respective individuality and conformity lead them to their deaths, albeit in different ways. The stories themselves are also similar in that they both critique American society.

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And by God I was rich”(Act I). Despite the little information his uncle shared with him, Willy admires Ben’s story and decides to dedicate his life to being well-liked and successful like him. As a salesman man, Willy needs to be popular in order to have the most success. Ironically, Willy Loman is not a hard character to hate and he has such little success with his job, that he eventually gets fired. Back in the 40’s, men were considered the head of the household–they made the money while their wives kept busy at home.

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In Death of a Salesman, Linda is Willy’s loyal and loving wife, who always unconditionally supports Willy’s unrealistic American Dream and defends Willy against the criticisms of their sons. She criticizes that Biff should not wander from place to place any more because she and Willy are getting older and will leave this world one day. Biff replies to Linda’s statements, but he doesn’t mention Willy at all. Biff’s behavior makes Linda upset and angry; Linda tells Biff that he either respects his father or leaves home. When Linda tells Biff that Willy often mumbles to himself, Biff is ashamed of Willy’s irrational behavior.

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Willy categorizes Ben as perhaps one of the most, if not the most, successful man he knows, for this. Ben played a big role in leading Willy to his own demise. Willy Loman would have done anything to be as “successful” as his brother, but instead Willy stays in his shadow until his death. Willy often imagines Ben talking to him, and in the closing scene the imaginary Ben really did “lead him to his death.” “LINDA, to willy: Come dear!

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He has a Job, two kids, and a wife. Willy is a salesman who dreams to be like his role model, Dave Singleman. Singleman - in Willy perspective- had the ultimate successful life, as expressed in this quote: "Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?" [Act 2] Willy believed that success, was equivalent to how well liked he was. Willy's 'flaw' was his foolish pride, his persistence of achieving "his rightful status".

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