The meaning of life is something philosophers have questioned for centuries, and many of them have touched on the concept of happiness in the process. Whether it be in culture, life, fiction, or philosophy, happiness plays a role. The criticality of happiness is determined through a person's values, views, and attention to media.
Happiness being such an abstract concept, it is hard to determine its vitality. In relation to culture, many people have done whatever they deemed necessary to obtain this deep rooted happiness. As for American culture, the majority of its citizens have some subconscious idea of what “happiness” is: the “American Dream”.
Media and advertisements are to blame for this ideal of wealth and success, especially with
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With this, his life became an endless cycle of useless habits that only led to depression and eventual suicide. These three fictional characters’ stories can succinctly be paraphrased as “seek and you shall not find,” speaking in terms of the pursuit of happiness. Another character in Death of a Salesman, ironically named, is Happy Loman. Happy is almost a replica of Willy Loman, and his competitive nature is directed at pursuing women rather than business successes. On page 23 of Death of a Salesman Happy says “And it's crazy. It's what I've always wanted. My own apartment, a car, plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I'm lonely.” on page 25 he says “You know how honest I am, but it's like this girl, see. I hate myself for it. Because I don't want the girl, and still, I take it and- I love it!”
Similarly to Willy with business, Happy’s attempts at happiness fail to satisfy him. Happy has the same arrogance as Willy and belief that being well-liked and indulging in shallow acts will bring him success, inevitably leading to happiness. The same tragic pattern that occurred with Willys suicide is reoccurring with Happy with his refusal to see things as they truly are and break out of the same dissatisfying cycle as his